Can't get onto internet on wireless network

DeDuDe

Hi all,

I bought this router from Komplett a short while ago (http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=304347&cks=SPC). Just got NTL broadband installed and attempted on friday to set up a wireless network.

I have a laptop and so set up and configured the router through my laptop, using it as the wired pc.
All was fine and with modem, router and laptop all cabled together I was successfully able to connect to the net.
I then unplugged the modem and router from my laptop and attempted to connect to the wireless network. Again...this was successful. No prblems in connecting to the network.

However, I couldn't access the internet wirelessly. Anyone any ideas? The first part was really easy but now I'm totally lost.

seamus

I'm not familiar with the setup screen for that gateway, but it should give you a breakdown of the current setup - basically, can you find out if the Gateway is getting an IP addresss from the Modem?

DeDuDe

Ehm...I'll have to check that out when I get home. Thanks Seamus. The wireless router homepage I connect to *wirelessly* does have an "Internet" tab...but I don't remember seeing an ip for the NTL modem. Perhaps I'm mistaken though.

seamus

Heh.

Best bet is to connect your laptop to it with both the cable and the wireless card, that way you can see what's going on. Your router should allow you to view who's connected, and what kind of access they have - if you have both connected, the router will show that.

DeDuDe

That's a good idea. I'll try that tonight and post back from home. Thanks Seamus.

DeDuDe

Tried again last night. I can connect to the wireless network fine. When I do an ipconfig I get (while wireless network is enabled) 192.xxx.etc..

There's nothing wrong with connecting to the network or bringing up the router config page.

The problem it appears, after looking at it again last night, is the ISP gateway. The router isn't seeing it. The NTL modem and router are cabled together.

Here's the status of the router...

*************************************
Status and Logs
Status Usage Logs

General Information
3C number 3CRWE554G72T/3CRWE554G72TU
Software version V1.00.08
Boot loader version V1.00.00
Wireless version V1.0.1.0
Hardware version 01
Serial Number MURA49B9E6B2E

Access From the Internet
Discard PING from the internet side Yes
Firewall Switched On Yes

Internet Settings
PPP over Ethernet Enabled No
Internet IP Address 0.0.0.0 Dynamic IP
Subnet Mask 0.0.0.0
ISP Gateway Address 0.0.0.0 Disconnected
DNS 0.0.0.0 ; 0.0.0.0
Remaining Lease Time Requesting
MAC Address 00-0F-CB-9E-6B-2F

LAN Settings
LAN IP Address 192.168.1.1
LAN Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0
Router's DHCP Server Enabled
DHCP Range 192.168.1.2 to 192.168.1.254
LAN Port MAC Address 00-0F-CB-9E-6B-2E

Wireless Settings
Wireless Networking Enabled Yes
Channel 11
Service Area Name/SSID 3Com
WPA Encryption Disabled
WEP Encryption Disabled
Wireless MAC Address 00-0F-CB-9E-6B-2E

Hardware Status
Port Speed Duplex
Cable / DSL Port 100 Full Duplex
LAN Port #1 No Link No Link
LAN Port #2 No Link No Link
LAN Port #3 No Link No Link
LAN Port #4 No Link No Link
*************************************

At the moment in the "Internet settings" section of the router, it's set up to obtain an ip automatically...but I think this might be wrong? And the "Clone Mac address" section is using the routers mac address.
Should I be using PPPoE for ip allocation? It says for DSL only? I'm a bit crap when it comes to stuff like this.
Any help would be really appreciated.

seamus

DeDuDe wrote:

Internet Settings
PPP over Ethernet Enabled No
Internet IP Address 0.0.0.0 Dynamic IP
Subnet Mask 0.0.0.0
ISP Gateway Address 0.0.0.0 Disconnected
DNS 0.0.0.0 ; 0.0.0.0
Remaining Lease Time Requesting
MAC Address 00-0F-CB-9E-6B-2F

At the moment in the "Internet settings" section of the router, it's set up to obtain an ip automatically...but I think this might be wrong? And the "Clone Mac address" section is using the routers mac address.
Should I be using PPPoE for ip allocation? It says for DSL only? I'm a bit crap when it comes to stuff like this.

Hmm. Obtain IP automatically is right, cable doesn't use PPPoE. You shouldn't need to clone a MAC address. Try clearing that field altogether.
Weird. Sometimes I get some strange issues with my router, where for some reason it doesn't pick up an IP from the modem. I assume the lights on the modem are on?

If nothing's working, try rebooting the modem, then reboot the router, and try again.

DeDuDe

Yeah. Lights on modem are on alright...and light on router for modem is also on...indicating that modem is connected to router. You reckon it's just a reboot issue? I think I must have rebooted my laptop about 12 times last night!!

seamus

DeDuDe wrote:

Yeah. Lights on modem are on alright...and light on router for modem is also on...indicating that modem is connected to router. You reckon it's just a reboot issue? I think I must have rebooted my laptop about 12 times last night!!

Nah, you won't need to reboot your laptop, it should find and connect your wireless network as soon as the router comes online.

If all else fails, connect modem to laptop, and see if you can get internet access. If you can't, there's an issue with your line or modem. If you can, it's something in your router setup

DeDuDe

Hi Seamus. Once I disable the wireless network and plug the modem back into the laptop I have internet access. So, the modem itself is working fine, to the best of my knowledge.

So...this all points back to the router config...I just can't for the life of me see what's wrong. I've also set the wireless network setup to infrastructure. Only did that last night.

The_Conductor

Have a very similar setup with the exact same kit from 3Com on an NTL cable modem.

First of all- the NTL cable modem is setup in such a way that it will only release an IP address to a particular Network MAC address. I.e. when it first boots- it logs the Mac address of your network card and will not release an IP address to any other Mac address.

Even through the router (with its dynamic addressing) the modem will recognise your network card- and release an IP address.

It did my head in for a while- I was able to use the wired PC upstairs, but not wireless downstairs.

Solution-

Setup the network as ad-hoc without security initially.
Remove all the wired connections.
Turn off both the router and the cable modem.
Plug the cable modem directly into the uplink port on the router and reboot the cable modem.
Powerup the router.
Use the 3Com utility to do a fresh search.
Should work.

The 3Com router is a very nice piece of kit- and the signal strength from it is really good. I'm getting signal strength of 76% and signal quality of 82% upstairs through several walls. The only annoying thing I find is the way it falls back to a default 11mbps when using multiple wireless devices. I suppose its looking for the icing on the cake for the router to support multiple connection speeds?

DeDuDe

Thanks a lot smccarrick. I'll try that tonight when I get home. I'll post back and let you know if I have any probs. Thanks again

DeDuDe

First off...thank you smccarrick...that worked and for a fleeting 5 minutes I had a wireless internet connection. You were right

Then I turned on WEP encryption, the wireless network dropped off and I can no longer connect to it properly. I can't even get into the router config. The ip address it's generating appears to be wrong too...it's in the format 169 instead of 192...

I think I'm going to scream!!

I've unplugged the router from the modem and plugged the router into the laptop. So it's a wired connection. I rebooted the router but I can't seem to connect to it....can't get onto 192.168.1.1

I think...for the sake of my own sanity tonight I'm going to leave it for now. If anyone has any ideas on what the hell is going on I'd really appreciate it. This is supposed to be easy right?

DeDuDe

Ok. An update. I've clmed down. Managed to connect to router - wired. Turned off WEP encrption. Rebooted everything. Can now connect to wireless network following smccarrick's guidelines and get onto net with 192 ip address. All is well...except for this unsecured network business. I want to secure it and am about to attempt the same again.

Sorry if this is starting to read like my online diary now.

The_Conductor

Doing a few tests here myself this evening- will update you if I figure it out. I've everything working fine, without security- similar to yourself.
Only problem is downlink defaulting to 11mbps.
Am going to continue playing with the settings, I'd like 128 bit WEP, like yourself.....

Shane

DeDuDe

Okay. I think I have it. However...I know very little about encryption - I have the other encryption enabled (WPA?). It says that WEP is for wired encryption...so maybe that's why the ip was 169...I'm totally guessing now though.

Anyway...it says that the network is secure and I'm happily lazing on my couch writing this now so all seems well. As for the defaulting to 11mbps...I don't know. Keep me informed though on any developments. And...thanks again Shane for all your help. You too Seamus.