Connected to Wi-Fi but no Internet access

Malice

I have added a new network card to an older desktop PC running Windows 7. Unfortunately, while it can connect to the wireless network, it doesn't have access to the Internet. Other devices e.g. smartphones and this laptop have no trouble connecting.

This is what I see under Network Connections:


This is the output of running ipconfig /all for a Windows 7 laptop which is connected to the Wi-Fi and has Internet access:

Windows IP Configuration

   Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Tim-PC
   Primary Dns Suffix  . . . . . . . : 
   Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
   IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
   WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
   DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : home

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : 
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom NetLink (TM) Gigabit Ethernet
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-22-19-F2-6C-83
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : home
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) WiFi Link 5100 AGN
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-22-FB-A6-C0-58
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::8c22:50fd:2db4:cb58%10(Preferred) 
   IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.110(Preferred) 
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
   Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : 29 April 2017 10:43:57
   Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : 02 May 2017 10:43:57
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.254
   DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.254
   DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 184558331
   DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-15-1A-D0-01-00-22-19-F2-6C-83
   DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : fe80::1%10
                                       192.168.1.254
                                       192.168.1.254
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Tunnel adapter isatap.home:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : home
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 17:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : 
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 2001:0:9d38:78cf:867:19a3:a0d3:b63(Preferred) 
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::867:19a3:a0d3:b63%24(Preferred) 
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : ::
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled

This is the output for the desktop:

Windows IP Configuration

   Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Tim-PC
   Primary Dns Suffix  . . . . . . . : 
   Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
   IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
   WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : 
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Qualcomm Atheros AR5BWB222 Wireless Network Adapter
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 74-29-AF-80-49-33
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration IPv4 Address. . : 169.254.9.8(Preferred) 
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Tunnel adapter isatap.{D7273B70-0FA8-44EC-9C19-83926E91C158}:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : 
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::5efe:169.254.9.8%17(Preferred) 
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled

Tunnel adapter Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : 
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

I have reset WinSock, IPv4 and IPv6 to their defaults but nothing changed.

When I run ipconfig /renew on the desktop, it sits there for a while before telling me "An error occurred while renewing Wireless Network Connection : unable to contact your DHCP server. Request has timed out."

I have verified that the DHCP client is running in services. I have also tried stopping and restarting this service but it made no difference.

I'm not even sure if the inability to run ipconfig /renew is related to the underlying issue. Does anyone have any suggestions on other things to try?

srsly78

Install driver from manuf website, do not rely on the one chosen by windows.

Malice

srsly78 wrote: »

Install driver from manuf website, do not rely on the one chosen by windows.

Sorry, I should have mentioned in the first post that I did install the driver off the CD that came with the card. The driver files on the CD were dated 2016 so I assuming they must be up to date.

I also changed the host name on the desktop PC as it was the same as one of the laptops on the off-chance something was conflicting there but that didn't help. Lastly I set my phone up as a wireless hotspot and the desktop PC was able to connect to it straight away. While that's reassuring from the point of view of confirming that the network card is working correctly I am mystified as to why I can't connect to the other network. It's a standard router supplied by Eircom and none of the other phones or laptops required any special configuration to connect.

TheChizler

Try setting a static ip address and gateway and see can you ping out. You'll know if the card is working at all then.

srsly78

Malice wrote: »

Sorry, I should have mentioned in the first post that I did install the driver off the CD that came with the card. The driver files on the CD were dated 2016 so I assuming they must be up to date.

I also changed the host name on the desktop PC as it was the same as one of the laptops on the off-chance something was conflicting there but that didn't help. Lastly I set my phone up as a wireless hotspot and the desktop PC was able to connect to it straight away. While that's reassuring from the point of view of confirming that the network card is working correctly I am mystified as to why I can't connect to the other network. It's a standard router supplied by Eircom and none of the other phones or laptops required any special configuration to connect.

Don't use drivers off cd, download latest ones off website.

Malice

TheChizler wrote: »

Try setting a static ip address and gateway and see can you ping out. You'll know if the card is working at all then.

I'm not sure if I've done this correctly but I set the IPv4 settings to this:

Basically I matched the laptop's settings for default gateway and subnet mask. I also tried with and without Google's DNS servers.

I checked the validate settings on exit box each time. Windows Network Diagnostics ran for a while before eventually telling me there is a problem:


The network is still listed as unidentified so running "ping www.google.ie" fails as the host can't be found and "ping 216.58.206.163" fails with each request timing out.

ED E

Its not really connecting as it doenst even manage DHCP.

1. Remove the static IP settings you applied before (set it back to auto and auto)
2. Create an access point with OPEN security (no password). You can do this with a phone hotspot if tethering its allowed on your plan.
3. Connect to that access point with the desktop

If this works:
Its a WPA issue. Common with crappy older Atheros adapters that half supported the standard. Also common with Vista where the OS was initially missing proper support.

Finding the correct driver will fix it, but can be a bit of a pain. Atheros.cz is not run by Atheros but can be a good resource assuming you dont click the dody "download button" ads.

dunworth1

how far away are you from the Ap?
in the picture above you have 1 bar
if you are too far away it wont connect

Malice

Thanks for all your responses so far folks. Everything is much appreciated.

dunworth1 wrote: »

how far away are you from the Ap?
in the picture above you have 1 bar
if you are too far away it wont connect

That's a good point actually. I'm not that far from the router. It's about 3 rooms away but the internal walls are all concrete which probably doesn't help. I suppose I'm assuming that if Windows says it's connected then it's actually connected.

ED E wrote: »

Its not really connecting as it doenst even manage DHCP.

1. Remove the static IP settings you applied before (set it back to auto and auto)
2. Create an access point with OPEN security (no password). You can do this with a phone hotspot if tethering its allowed on your plan.
3. Connect to that access point with the desktop

If this works:
Its a WPA issue. Common with crappy older Atheros adapters that half supported the standard. Also common with Vista where the OS was initially missing proper support.

Finding the correct driver will fix it, but can be a bit of a pain. Atheros.cz is not run by Atheros but can be a good resource assuming you dont click the dody "download button" ads.

srsly78 wrote: »

Don't use drivers off cd, download latest ones off website.

I can connect to a Wi-Fi hotspot provided by my phone alright. I guess the next step is to find an updated driver. Unfortunately Qualcomm don't provide drivers and Combrite don't seem to have a website. I had a look at Atheros.cz but it's a parked domain.

I did find atheros-drivers.com which provided a couple of likely links to updated drivers based on the version number. The CD in the box came with version 303 but it looks like version 336 is available here and version 328 is available here.

The thing is that site looks kind of dodgy so I'm wary of running anything I download. Also the files were 2.5Mb each where the driver file on this page weighs in at 45.3Mb which is a lot closer to the size of the files that were on the CD.

I suppose the fact that the smaller files are targetting a specific chipset rather than a generic all-in-one solution could account for the difference but I'm still a bit reluctant to trust these files.

Has anyone ever used atheros-drivers.com?

ED E

Try this
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-networking/solved-wifi-limited-qualcomm-atheros-ar5bwb222/936ef803-3016-41f6-8b14-3b550b417235?auth=1

Malice

I tried each of the atheros-drivers.com files but no joy. I end up in the same connected to unidentified network situation with each of them. Looks like srsly78 was right about the drivers though as the ones on the CD were from 2014. The ones from atheros-drivers.com were from 2015 and 2016 respectively.

I have kept the most recent version, 336, installed.



It still manages to connect to my phone's hotspot.

ED E wrote: »

Try this
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-networking/solved-wifi-limited-qualcomm-atheros-ar5bwb222/936ef803-3016-41f6-8b14-3b550b417235?auth=1

I think Acer have made their site more difficult to navigate since that thread was posted unfortunately. It doesn't seem to be possible to get at individual driver files without entering serial numbers or selecting specific computer models.

ED E

Malice wrote: »

I think Acer have made their site more difficult to navigate since that thread was posted unfortunately. It doesn't seem to be possible to get at individual driver files without entering serial numbers or selecting specific computer models.

https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/support-product/4088?b=1

Uses the same line of Atheros chips, drive should be compatible. Be sure to select 32/64b as appropriate.

Edit: the other thing I'd say with such low receive values I'd check that the antennas are correctly mounted.

Malice

ED E wrote: »

https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/support-product/4088?b=1

Uses the same line of Atheros chips, drive should be compatible. Be sure to select 32/64b as appropriate.

Edit: the other thing I'd say with such low receive values I'd check that the antennas are correctly mounted.

Thanks for digging out that download link. I pulled down the Windows 7/64bit driver but unfortunately it's older than any of the other drivers I have - version 274!



On the antennas, possibly a stupid question but how would I know if they are correctly mounted? I just screwed them into the slots at the back of the card.

Malice

As I was curious I moved the desktop closer to the router and lo and behold it connected straight away as soon as I logged in. While it is good to confirm that the card itself definitely works, it's more than a little frustrating that two laptops and a smartphone in the same room can connect no problem but the desktop can't.

As moving the desktop permanently isn't an option I guess I'm lookng for a range extender or signal booster or something. I guess I'll post a separate thread about that once I've done some research.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to reply!

ED E

Is the desktop buried in a press or anything?



The antennas screw on with those connectors, worth checking the centre pin wasnt accidentally bent in transit or assembly, that'd reduce reception to a few feet.

If the signal was weak I'd say blame the cheap adapter having reduced RX capability but none vs fine on X other devices says no antenna.

niallb

This is a job for powerline adapters!

Malice

ED E wrote: »

Is the desktop buried in a press or anything?

lol! No, it's sitting on the floor beside my feet as I type this.

ED E wrote:

The antennas screw on with those connectors, worth checking the centre pin wasnt accidentally bent in transit or assembly, that'd reduce reception to a few feet.

If the signal was weak I'd say blame the cheap adapter having reduced RX capability but none vs fine on X other devices says no antenna.

The antennas look fine to me, the centre pins aren't bent. A no/broken antenna answer would be great as at least that would make sense, not this poxy weak signal taunting me

niallb wrote: »

This is a job for powerline adapters!

I'm on a different circuit but couldn't I use something like this and a second router to get the source of the signal closer to the desktop computer?

niallb

That's ideal. You probably wouldn't need anything else really.
When you say you're not on the same circuit what do you mean?
Is it a different ring circuit on the same board, or is it a separate phase supply to where the modem is. Worth trying.

You did say the desktop was at your feet. Do you have steel radiators on the walls between you and the router?
Might be worth simply getting a longer antenna cable or a USB adapter on an extension and put it up a bit higher.

Put one of the devices that works on the floor beside the PC and see if it still connects!

ED E

The simple test is to put the tower in "backwards". You'd be surprised the change that can make (usually with USB adapters, but same principle).

Malice

Apologies for the delayed update. Things like the fine weather got in the way. I tried moving the desktop around the room and to a couple of temporary locations closer to the box but no joy, it still can't connect.

I came across this page which describes using just a second router to extend the range of the existing wireless network. The instructions seemed pretty straightforward but I'm stuck on step 5. I have an old TP-Link router which would have been supplied by Eircom years ago and the linked page says to do the following:

Then go to Setup -> Advanced routing and change the current mode from Gateway to Router. In some routers, this is listed as NAT and in that case, you need to disable it. Next disable DHCP Server since our main router will handle the task of assigning IP addresses to devices connecting to the wireless network.

Unfortunately I can't find the setting to change from Gateway to Router. I have already disabled the DHCP server setting and assigned a new IP address.

Also, the channel mode of the master router is set to Auto. Should I change this to a specific known value on each router?