Wireless Network Problem

[SteveC]

I got my parents a Netgear MR814 wireless router, so my mom can get online without having to go up and down the stairs, but I can't seem to be able to get a signal from it. Checking with Netstumbler, it'll find the router for a couple of seconds, then drops it for about a second. This is from only a couple of feet away and a clear line of sight. Connecting to it with a wire works fine. Any suggestions?

 

[blakerwry]

hmm.. I got the same router for christmas.. no problems with it. You might want to try changing it to a different channel in the wireless config.

Do you have a known working wireless NIC?

 

[sechs]

What's the signal to noise ratio?

Trying other channels is a very good idea.

 

[SteveC]

I reflashed the firmware to the latest, and when I did that, the laptop immediately picked up the router. It worked fine until the laptop was shut off, and now it won't connect again. Switching the channels had no affect.

 

[blakerwry]

do you have security off? broadcasting of SSID's on? WAP enabled? authentication to automatic?

can you see the laptop in the attached devices list?

 

[Mercutio]

You may have a bad antenna. I've had that problem before.

Also, try moving to channel 11 if possible. It doesn't overlap with cordless phones.

 

[SteveC]

I think it is the antenna. Resetting it to the default didn't help. I don't think it was the wireless card because that was able to pick up someone's Linksys AP.

 

[SteveC]

I have a screenshot of the Netstumbler graph that shows the dropouts, if anyone wants to see it.

 

[blakerwry]

I've never used netstumbler, I'd be interested in what it shows.

 

[SteveC]

I did some more testing, and it works with SSID broadcasting on, MAC filtering on, and WEP on. But as soon as I turn SSID broadcasting off, it stops working.

 

[sechs]

This is probably your wireless NIC, being too stupid to attach to the network without seeing its SSID. Make sure that you have updated drivers and firmware (if applicable) for the NIC.

What's the NIC and what OS is on the laptop?

 

[SteveC]

It's a D-Link DWL-122, and the laptop is running XP Home.