nep1
asked on
Internet stopped working. Connected to WAP
Hi, I'm pretty well clueless when it comes to networking and I have a small problem with a new wireless setup. I've extended my Wifi over to my brothers house in the next street, at first he could browse the web but a few hours later he cannot. Have you an idea what I'm doing wrong maybe with the configuration, etc?
PC's and hardware configs detailed below.
#1 Black ADSL wireless Netgear box B/G series supplied by Sky broadband which is the main source for internet and is in My house (House#1). This is connected to the phone line.
#2 Edimax Wireless 802.11n Access Point EW-7416APN.
http://www.edimax.com/en/produce_detail.php?pl1_id=1&pl2_id=5&pl3_id=140&pd_id=326
This is connected via ethernet to #1 (the adsl box) and pointing from my window towards my brothers house (House#2) in the next street.
#3 Edimax Wireless 802.11n 32-bit PCI Adapter.
http://www.edimax.com/en/produce_detail.php?pl1_id=1&pl2_id=44&pl3_id=126&pd_id=225
This is installed in my brothers PC which uses a 32-bit XP os and is pointing back towards the WAP.
When I first set it all up it was working fine and my brother was able to browse the web but now for some reason he's unable to and I could either spend weeks reading through many forums trying to figure it out on my own or ask the very clued up experts here and have it solved in a matter of hours , so I choose EE :0)
Additional Details:
Security:
#1 ADSL Box uses WPA-PSK TKIP encryption.
SSID broadcast name is hidden.
Brothers MAC address is trusted and is set in the Wireless Station Access List.
#2 and #3 use WPA2 with AES encryption.
SSID of #2 (WAP) is hidden and it's MAC is set to be trusted in the ADSL box settings.
(All MAC's are set to trust each other)
I've made a few boosters to extend and strengthen the signals which I've placed onto the antennas. Here's what I mean
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUTT8wdN_VA&NR but it seems impossible to get x3 Windsurfers on all 3 antennas of the Wireless Adapter, theres just not enough space. Will mod the antennas so they're further apart using some coaxial cable and a few SMA plugs.
My brothers PC says it is connected to the WAP and can be auto assigned an IP. The signal strength is very low but it's inproved since I fitted the play school style directional antennas and yet it is still unable to browse the web. I'm cabbaged, first it was working now it's not, Please help guys/gals. I want to get this done asap before my brother decides he's had enough and returns the goods back to the store.
Thanks and Merry Christmas! :)
nep
PC's and hardware configs detailed below.
#1 Black ADSL wireless Netgear box B/G series supplied by Sky broadband which is the main source for internet and is in My house (House#1). This is connected to the phone line.
#2 Edimax Wireless 802.11n Access Point EW-7416APN.
http://www.edimax.com/en/produce_detail.php?pl1_id=1&pl2_id=5&pl3_id=140&pd_id=326
This is connected via ethernet to #1 (the adsl box) and pointing from my window towards my brothers house (House#2) in the next street.
#3 Edimax Wireless 802.11n 32-bit PCI Adapter.
http://www.edimax.com/en/produce_detail.php?pl1_id=1&pl2_id=44&pl3_id=126&pd_id=225
This is installed in my brothers PC which uses a 32-bit XP os and is pointing back towards the WAP.
When I first set it all up it was working fine and my brother was able to browse the web but now for some reason he's unable to and I could either spend weeks reading through many forums trying to figure it out on my own or ask the very clued up experts here and have it solved in a matter of hours , so I choose EE :0)
Additional Details:
Security:
#1 ADSL Box uses WPA-PSK TKIP encryption.
SSID broadcast name is hidden.
Brothers MAC address is trusted and is set in the Wireless Station Access List.
#2 and #3 use WPA2 with AES encryption.
SSID of #2 (WAP) is hidden and it's MAC is set to be trusted in the ADSL box settings.
(All MAC's are set to trust each other)
I've made a few boosters to extend and strengthen the signals which I've placed onto the antennas. Here's what I mean
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUTT8wdN_VA&NR but it seems impossible to get x3 Windsurfers on all 3 antennas of the Wireless Adapter, theres just not enough space. Will mod the antennas so they're further apart using some coaxial cable and a few SMA plugs.
My brothers PC says it is connected to the WAP and can be auto assigned an IP. The signal strength is very low but it's inproved since I fitted the play school style directional antennas and yet it is still unable to browse the web. I'm cabbaged, first it was working now it's not, Please help guys/gals. I want to get this done asap before my brother decides he's had enough and returns the goods back to the store.
Thanks and Merry Christmas! :)
nep
You should eliminate the 2 most common causes. What I would do is improve the signal by temporarily reducing the distance. If this works, you know what has to be done and you can stop wasting time on other cures.
The suggestion from TrustWise about resetting the router is a good first or second step. On most routers holding the reset button in for about 20 seconds will do it. On others, unplug the power from the router then hold the reset button in while you plug it back in should work.
.
The suggestion from TrustWise about resetting the router is a good first or second step. On most routers holding the reset button in for about 20 seconds will do it. On others, unplug the power from the router then hold the reset button in while you plug it back in should work.
.
ASKER
Hi thanks for your comments!
I tried both your suggestions but the PC in the next street was still unable to browse the web. It worked when originally setup but for some reason I just can't get it to work again even though the homemade boosters help increase the signal strength from around 10-20%. I'm thinking mabe the cold and moist weather we've been getting recently is effecting the radio frequencies or something and I don't think the antennas on either of the products was powerful enough to keep a stable connection. The antennas are were only 3dbi and they're available in at least 7dbi. I needed some SMA plugs so I could've modded my own but my brothers 7 day return policy ended yesterday so he decided to return the products.
Anyways, I'm wondering why I need to change my IP into the same range of address as the Wireless AP before it lets me login to it. For future reference how can I configure the TCP/IP settings, adsl router and wireless AP so I can browse the web and login to both boxes without having to keep changing back and forth the IP? Sorry if I'm confusing.
I wish I could've had a bit more time to play around with the setups but at least I've increased my netorking skills somewhat.
Thanks again for your replies and if you know of a way so I can do whats asked above then you'd be very helpful :0)
nep
I tried both your suggestions but the PC in the next street was still unable to browse the web. It worked when originally setup but for some reason I just can't get it to work again even though the homemade boosters help increase the signal strength from around 10-20%. I'm thinking mabe the cold and moist weather we've been getting recently is effecting the radio frequencies or something and I don't think the antennas on either of the products was powerful enough to keep a stable connection. The antennas are were only 3dbi and they're available in at least 7dbi. I needed some SMA plugs so I could've modded my own but my brothers 7 day return policy ended yesterday so he decided to return the products.
Anyways, I'm wondering why I need to change my IP into the same range of address as the Wireless AP before it lets me login to it. For future reference how can I configure the TCP/IP settings, adsl router and wireless AP so I can browse the web and login to both boxes without having to keep changing back and forth the IP? Sorry if I'm confusing.
I wish I could've had a bit more time to play around with the setups but at least I've increased my netorking skills somewhat.
Thanks again for your replies and if you know of a way so I can do whats asked above then you'd be very helpful :0)
nep
In Network Connections, open the properties for you network adapter. Open properties for the adapters TCP/IP. Select the Alternate Configuration tab. There you can configure an alternate address to use for the other router.
ASKER
I added an alternate address but it doesn't seem to work. Here are the settings that I tried in General settings...
IP Address: 192.168.0.x
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: 192.168.0.1
Prefered DNS Server: 192.168.0.1
Alternate DNS Server: 192.168.2.1
The above settings only allowed me to login to the Sky router and not the Wireless AP. To login to both I did...
IP Address: 192.168.2.x
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: 192.168.2.1
Prefered DNS Server: 192.168.0.1
Alternate DNS Server: 192.168.2.1
But then I can't browse the web. How can I configure these settings so I can login to both the Sky router, the wirelelss AP and browse the web?
192.168.0.1 = ADSL router
192.168.2.1 = Wireless AP
nep
IP Address: 192.168.0.x
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: 192.168.0.1
Prefered DNS Server: 192.168.0.1
Alternate DNS Server: 192.168.2.1
The above settings only allowed me to login to the Sky router and not the Wireless AP. To login to both I did...
IP Address: 192.168.2.x
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: 192.168.2.1
Prefered DNS Server: 192.168.0.1
Alternate DNS Server: 192.168.2.1
But then I can't browse the web. How can I configure these settings so I can login to both the Sky router, the wirelelss AP and browse the web?
192.168.0.1 = ADSL router
192.168.2.1 = Wireless AP
nep
If I remember right, all I did was assign an IP address to use for the extra router.
ASKER
Yes, your probably right. Because I don't have the gadgets here to test any more I'm unable to verify. Plus you mention setting an alternate IP by clicking on the Alternate Config Tab whereas I only used the General settings and entered an alternate DNS through there. Would it make a difference which way I did it?
Something else I remember is if I set general settings to this
IP Address: 192.168.2.x
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: 192.168.2.1
Prefered DNS Server: 192.168.0.1
Alternate DNS Server: 192.168.2.1
Which was the only way I could figure out how to login to the Wireless AP, then DHCP would seem not to be enabled. If DHCP is not enabled then would this provent me from browsing the web? and if so how would I enable it and configure the settings without having to auto assaign the IP's?
Please say if I'm being hard to understand or if I'm not making much sense...
Something else I remember is if I set general settings to this
IP Address: 192.168.2.x
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: 192.168.2.1
Prefered DNS Server: 192.168.0.1
Alternate DNS Server: 192.168.2.1
Which was the only way I could figure out how to login to the Wireless AP, then DHCP would seem not to be enabled. If DHCP is not enabled then would this provent me from browsing the web? and if so how would I enable it and configure the settings without having to auto assaign the IP's?
Please say if I'm being hard to understand or if I'm not making much sense...
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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You shouldn't need to set up a static IP on the computer if the router is set up as DHCP. The router looks to the modem for the IP address to access the internet and the computer looks to the router for its IP address. If both the router and the modem have the same IP address you would need to change one in order to avoid conflict and enable you to access both separately for configuration purposes.
Both yours and your brothers computers should have been set up to access the internet via DHCP if it is just a standard home setup.
Is there a reason you were configuring a static IP?
Both yours and your brothers computers should have been set up to access the internet via DHCP if it is just a standard home setup.
Is there a reason you were configuring a static IP?
ASKER
The manual which came with the wireless AP said to make my IP 192.168.2.2 if I wanted to login to the Wireless AP who's default gateway is 192.168.2.1 by default. The wireless modem automatically sets the DHCP settings during the auto assign of my IP, so does the Wireless AP when it auto assigned my brothers PC accross the road. However, I need to make a static IP because it's the only way I know how to login to the Wireless AP and by making my IP static in the same address range as the WAP it seems to disable DHCP preventing me from browsing the web unless I switch back to auto assign or by creating a static IP that is in the same range of address as my modem eg, 192.168.0.4. I needed to login to the WAP to change settings like the channels, set security and to enable WPS/PBC, etc. I thought there would be some way to setup my IP's so I wouldn't need to create a static IP everytime I wanted to change a few settings in the WAP, but I'm guessing there's not.
Thanks for all your comments, If there's anything else you'd like to add before I bring this question to a close you have 24hrs to do so...
Have a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Thanks for all your comments, If there's anything else you'd like to add before I bring this question to a close you have 24hrs to do so...
Have a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
SOLUTION
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ASKER
Hi Trustwise, I was setting a static IP on the wireless adapter, the adapter that used to be in
my bro's PC not the WAP. The manual which came with the WAP said to change the wireless adapter
to 192.168.2.2-254, as long as it was in the same address range as the WAP which by default was
192.168.2.1 which I'd type into IE to access the WAP, but by doing this it prevented me from
accesing the web, I think because the wireless adapters IP hadn't been assigned by DHCP. Sorry,
I hope I'm making sense. Anyways, the WAP IP settings I had a little play around with but didn't
really know what I was doing so I reset them back after about 5 mins. Setting the security,
passwords, etc was the first thing I did as soon as everything had power going through it and I
had no problem accessing the WAP with the correct password but still, I had to create a static
IP on the wireless adapter before I was able to do this.
I could access the web and both the WAP and modem from my PC without having to use a static IP
using 192.168.0.xxx but things were different when trying to do access all 3 (Web,WAP,modem) on
the wireless adapter (bro's PC)
Me setting the IP to 151 or above is good info, I kept on setting the wireless adapters IP below
151 for example 192.168.2.2 so maybe thats why I was having problems. Also, me setting the
wireless adapters IP to 192.168.1.xxx is something I hadn't tried but then if I did that I'm not
sure if I could've accessed the WAP because it would've been out of the address range for
example 192.168.2.1 for the WAP conpared to 192.168.1.xxx.
I've just noticed on my PC that the IP is auto assigned by DHCP. If I ever come accross a
similar setup in the future I'll know to make my WAP device assign the wireless adapters IP
using DHCP. Not sure how but I'll go down that road when I come to it.
Thanks very much to both of you for your time and helpful comments!
Over and Out...
nep :)
my bro's PC not the WAP. The manual which came with the WAP said to change the wireless adapter
to 192.168.2.2-254, as long as it was in the same address range as the WAP which by default was
192.168.2.1 which I'd type into IE to access the WAP, but by doing this it prevented me from
accesing the web, I think because the wireless adapters IP hadn't been assigned by DHCP. Sorry,
I hope I'm making sense. Anyways, the WAP IP settings I had a little play around with but didn't
really know what I was doing so I reset them back after about 5 mins. Setting the security,
passwords, etc was the first thing I did as soon as everything had power going through it and I
had no problem accessing the WAP with the correct password but still, I had to create a static
IP on the wireless adapter before I was able to do this.
I could access the web and both the WAP and modem from my PC without having to use a static IP
using 192.168.0.xxx but things were different when trying to do access all 3 (Web,WAP,modem) on
the wireless adapter (bro's PC)
Me setting the IP to 151 or above is good info, I kept on setting the wireless adapters IP below
151 for example 192.168.2.2 so maybe thats why I was having problems. Also, me setting the
wireless adapters IP to 192.168.1.xxx is something I hadn't tried but then if I did that I'm not
sure if I could've accessed the WAP because it would've been out of the address range for
example 192.168.2.1 for the WAP conpared to 192.168.1.xxx.
I've just noticed on my PC that the IP is auto assigned by DHCP. If I ever come accross a
similar setup in the future I'll know to make my WAP device assign the wireless adapters IP
using DHCP. Not sure how but I'll go down that road when I come to it.
Thanks very much to both of you for your time and helpful comments!
Over and Out...
nep :)
ASKER
Merry Christmas!
Remember once you reset the router you will have to reconfigure it, test the connection with default settings first.