Tag Archives: 802.11

Windows 7 WiFi authentication requests username and password

Computer Aid Posted on by

I was setting up a new windows 7 laptop for a customer.

As I was setting up the WiFi connection, I noticed that the WiFi router was set to use WEP encryption.

I’ve lost count of the number of WiFi networks that have been setup by so-called IT experts, only to find that these experts are living in the past, believing that WEP is good security… what rubbish!

I quickly convince the customer that WPA-PSK is best.

I change the WiFi settings and a change to the SSID (the router say that it has applied the new settings, so I assume that it has done what it has said…

Back to windows 7, I go to the network settings, search for the new SSID (new WiFi name), and then connect to it…but…

I now get a windows security window… and its asking for Network Authentication… it wants a username and a password…

What?

WPA-PSK should only be asking for a password, not a username… and since WEP is similar, then it seems logical that something is wrong with windows7.

Well I fumble around for a bit, until I decide to try restarting the WiFi router…

Once the WiFi router restarts, I am now prompted for the usual WiFi password (no username!).

So, it seems that modem/router/WiFi manufacturers still have problems writing reliable firmware

How reliable are internal laptop WiFi cards?

Computer Aid Posted on by

I’ve started noticing a interesting trend: the built-in WiFi in laptops seems to break quite often.

Whats worse, is the failure seems to be either intermittant, or causes hardware timeouts (otherwise seen as a “very slow laptop”).

Its difficult to diagnose a failure, when the WiFi might run OK for hours / days, and then stop working for hours/days… or if the laptop slows to a crawl for about 1 minute every hour.

I often end up going around in circles, until I decide to plug in a USB WiFi adapter… and then everything runs perfectly.

I once wondered why most laptop makers continue to build laptops with a removable WiFi cards (rather than integrate them into the motherboard). I thought it might be so they could offer a WiFi-less laptop for a lower price.

wifi-card

Now I’m starting to think it might be so that these unreliable components can be easily and cheaply replaced when a warranty claim is made.

wireless (wifi 802.11) network interference

Computer Aid Posted on by

I must say that in 2.5 years, and countless wifi installations, I’ve never encountered a problem with interference on wireless LAN channels.

But in this case, it seems highly likely.

Customer had a wireless router, and the wireless part of the router stopped working. So I install a new belkin wireless router, and everything seemed to work well (with the one wireless desktop PC).

A few days later, he asked that I setup 2 laptops for the 802.11 wireless network. One laptop (IBM thinkpad) cannot be setup (it sees the wireless network, but the 802.11B card in the laptop doesn’t support the WPA protocol (only WEP, which I wouldn’t use nowadays).

The other laptop (Acer) has builtin 802.11G electronics, so it should be easy.

But it cannot see any wireless networks within range… despite the other thinkpad seeing the router via the 802.11B network…

I check the desktop PC that I setup a few days ago, and it seems to have suddenly lost its connection (despite it saying that it is connected, I cannot ping the router…)

I connect to the router via an ethernet cable, and everything looks fine…

I decide to change channels (from channel 13 to channel 3… you can see I’m a lazy typist  🙂 )

Customer also says that he has 3 different wireless/cordless phone systems in the house (attached to the landline). And he says the dropouts happen less frequently in the late evening.

So I’m starting to suspect a channel overlap problem. The channel change should fix things.

But I also show the customer how to change the router channel, so he can experiment if need be… If it becomes an ongoing issue, I might need to explain that the channels actually overlap, such that channel 1 can also see the signals from channels 2, 3, and 4.

Ideally (to minimise overlap with many routers close together), I’d say the channels to select are: 1, 5, 9, 13 (only if you select the Australian wireless range… other countries might only have channels 1-11, in which case, just use channels 1,5,9).