Problem connecting to Neotopia router.

Digger01

Strange problem I have, I have been connecting to internet through a Neotopia 2247NWG Eircom router for the last year with no problem .I do this on my laptop using a 11mbps 802.11b internal wireless card and also on my desktop that has a Dlink wireless USB network adapter 802.11G. I use BT as provider.

Now my laptop will not detect the router at all yet it sees neighbours routers.
The router has 4 green lights indicating no problem. I can connect using my desktop no problem. When I connect my laptop to the router via a cable ,I can connect no problem. The laptop is a Tecra S1 running XP SP2. Device Manager indicates no problem with wireless card ,I reinstalled it anyway,no difference.

I checked the config of the router, it is enabled for 802b+g . I have another older laptop running XP and I can't get this to pickup the router box either,yet it sees others in my vicinity,so I'm leaning on the problem being with the box.

Has anybody ever had a similar problem to this or advice on what to try next.

deceit

This happens to my girlfriends laptop also when connecting to the router wirelessly.sometimes does it then all of a sudden starts working again. No idea what causes it though unfortunately.

Digger01

Deceit,
Yes like that it works the odd time. I was thinking buying maybe another router if this keeps up,my other half is like a woodpecker complaining about this problem

Fuzzy Clam

2 possibilities here really.

1. There's another network or wireless device interfering with yours or

2. The Netopia is knackered.

Try changing channel. Download Netstumbler and scan for networks. Do this with your wireless turned off. Then set your channel as far apart as you can.

Eircom may supply you with a new modem or you buy a wireless router (not modem) and use it with the netopia.

logic

Cordless phones, wireless video senders can also interfere with wireless, if you have any turn them off while testing. Might be worth updating the firmware on the netopia if possible and if all else fails.

msg11

Covering Wireless at the moment, some content from the course hope it helps.

A Systematic Approach to WLAN Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting any sort of network problem should follow a systematic approach, working up the TCP/IP stack from the Physical layer to the Application layer. This helps to eliminate any issues that you may be able to resolve yourself.

Click the Approach button in the figure.

You should already be familiar with the first three steps of the systematic troubleshooting approach from working with 802.3 Ethernet LANs. They are repeated here in the context of the WLAN:

Step 1 - Eliminate the user PC as the source of the problem.

Try to determine the severity of the problem. If there is no connectivity, check the following:

Confirm the network configuration on the PC using the ipconfig command. Verify that the PC has received an IP address via DHCP or is configured with a static IP address.
Confirm that the device can connect to the wired network. Connect the device to the wired LAN and ping a known IP address.
It may be necessary to try a different wireless NIC. If necessary, reload drivers and firmware as appropriate for the client device.
If the wireless NIC of the client is working, check the security mode and encryption settings on the client. If the security settings do not match, the client cannot get access to the WLAN.


If the PC of the user is operational but is performing poorly, check the following:

How far is the PC from an access point? Is the PC out of the planned coverage area (BSA).
Check the channel settings on the client. The client software should detect the appropriate channel as long as the SSID is correct.
Check for the presence of other devices in the area that operate on the 2.4 GHz band. Examples of other devices are cordless phones, baby monitors, microwave ovens, wireless security systems, and potentially rogue access points. Data from these devices can cause interference in the WLAN and intermittent connection problems between a client and access point.


Step 2 - Confirm the physical status of devices.

Are all the devices actually in place? Consider a possible physical security issue.
Is there power to all devices, and are they powered on?


Step 3 - Inspect links.

Inspect links between cabled devices looking for bad connectors or damaged or missing cables.
If the physical plant is in place, use the wired LAN to see if you can ping devices including the access point.


If connectivity still fails at this point, perhaps something is wrong with the access point or its configuration.

As you troubleshoot a WLAN, a process of elimination is recommended, working from physical possibilities to application-related ones. When you have reached the point where you have eliminated the user PC as the problem, and also confirmed the physical status of devices, begin investigating the performance of the access point. Check the power status of the access point.

When the access point settings have been confirmed, if the radio continues to fail, try to connect to a different access point. You may try to install new radio drivers and firmware.

Digger01

Thanks for the responses, there a few issues to think about ,I'm looking into the possibility of interference from other users. At the moment if I put router into just picking up 802.11b mode and not 802 b+g it works. It's a bit of a pain at the moment having to switch each time if I want to use the laptop and desktop.
I will download netstumbler and see about changing channel. On the eircom
router there appears to be an autosense function, though the default channel is 7.
My laptop is configured for 10 , but on the Toshiba utility for viewing other networks and my own,it seems to pick up my router running as 2.4Ghz ch1 while running in the 802.11b mode. Will tell you how I get on and the fix if there is one.

runswithascript

Digger01 wrote: »

Thanks for the responses, there a few issues to think about ,I'm looking into the possibility of interference from other users. At the moment if I put router into just picking up 802.11b mode and not 802 b+g it works. It's a bit of a pain at the moment having to switch each time if I want to use the laptop and desktop.
I will download netstumbler and see about changing channel. On the eircom
router there appears to be an autosense function, though the default channel is 7.
My laptop is configured for 10 , but on the Toshiba utility for viewing other networks and my own,it seems to pick up my router running as 2.4Ghz ch1 while running in the 802.11b mode. Will tell you how I get on and the fix if there is one.

Often the autochanneling does not do the job and you need to configure it manually. To do so, set autochanneling to off - use default, save changes after setting and forcing default channel 10 and restart. Failing that 13, 1, 7 (there is no way to determine what channel autochannel was using when it was on) and 11 before trying all the rest.

If you believe the modem to be faulty you will need to prove this to Eircom by taking it to where there is another 2247 with a working WLAN, confirm both are on the same channel or have autochanneling on. If you cannot connect to your own but can to the second modem you have proven it's faulty and Eircom will replace it for you.

I suggest if you go this route you actually do perform the test before telling Eircom you have, instead of waiting 5 working days on a replacement only to find you have the same problem.

Out of interest, how did you check what channel the WLAN NIC of your Toshiba is configured for exactly?

mossy464

Im having a similar problem with the netopia router.

When I try to connect to the routers web interface from my laptop its just timing out, but the internet is working fine on my laptop. I have always been able to connect to the web interface from my laptop no problem but lately it keeps timing out yet it is connected to it as the internet is working fine.

sfag

Dows your laptop always successfully find other wifi's when you are out of your house. If not then the problem could be with your laptop wifi. Try switching it off and on (usually a key combination on your keyboard for this. This can find wifi's where refreshing the available list does not.

Try a network cable direct to the box and connect to the net that way.
Try one m/c directly wired and the other viathe wifi to see if you can map each m/c.

I've solved 'finding' problems in the past by removing all the network protcols and services, etc (within network properties) on the problem computer and then running thru the network setup wizard again.

deceit

This problem i have, I've also have three of the 2247 modems, two being new unused and all have the same problem and the laptop works perfectly on other networks and can pick 5-6 other connections in the area. I'd say that only reason why it doesnt see it is interferance on the channel the modem uses but as its random when it happens must be something being switched on and off.

Digger01

At the moment, I didn't mess around with the channeling on the router as
I'm running now at 11MB/s using 802.11b , the router at best runs at 3MB/s
so there is no drop in service really using 802.11b as opposed to 802.11g.
Also my Dlink NIC adapter which is 802.11G seems to be backwardly compatible
with my router running in B mode only. So that saves me the inconvienence of having to switch between modes when using the desktop and the router.
So all in all no difference in performance really than before .
Still though it would have been nice to know what was causing the problem.
Anyway thanks for all suggestions.

P.s the Toshiba utility I was using was able to pick up apparently the broadcasting channel used by my neighbours routers. It would indicate the WiFi frequency and then
a channel value...if that helps ie. 2.4 Ghz and ch1