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Ledgem · 2006-03-16, 15:35

One of my friends is having an interesting issue with her router. I think that I know what the issue is, but I wanted to see if anyone else had any other insights into the matter.

The router in question is a wireless-capable D-Link (I didn't get the exact model number). My friend lives with three other roommates, making for a total four girls who claim to know nothing about computers. Supposedly the router was set up by some guys who knew what they were doing. The wireless network is password-protected, but I'm unsure of any other security measures that they set up. SSID broadcast is enabled, but I forgot to check if they changed the default channel. There are at least six other wireless networks in the area.

Here's the problem: her computer automatically connects to the router and receives a proper IP, but it can't access the internet. What partially makes this very strange is that there was a period of a few days last week where her internet DID work, but now it's gone back to not working.

I suspected that perhaps she'd acquired some malware that was disabling her wireless access, but that can't be it - she accesses the internet just fine when she's on campus. Her computer can use the internet, and it can use it wirelessly. That's not the problem.

What I think it may be is MAC address blocking within the router; however, since neither my friend nor the one roommate who was there knew the router access information, I couldn't check it. In other words, if the guys who set up the router knew just enough but not really enough, then they would have set up a MAC address whitelist on the router for the four girls, but perhaps they accidentally entered my friend's physical ethernet MAC address and not the wireless one. As for how her internet worked randomly, perhaps her machine found an unlocked network first and connected to that. I'm not sure how her system is set up, though.

We plugged her system into the router via an ethernet cable and the internet worked, although it seemed very slow. I suspected that perhaps the cable modem needed a reboot, but the roommate wasn't having issues with her internet, and it was working wirelessly.

What I'd really like to do is just completely reset the router and set it up properly, but seeing as how nobody seems to know the WEP password, I wouldn't be able to do that without causing all four of them to have to redo their network configurations. That'd earn me the wrath of three Asian girls in the process, and indirectly they'd probably be upset at my friend as well. So that option is out.

Any thoughts? (I've also never used a D-Link, so I'm not sure if there are any weird quirks like this with it). Thanks in advance.

Kurz · 2006-03-16, 19:08

If they dont have the password then its just better to reset it. Just say it'll take an hour tops to configure the computers. There is hardly anything I can think of that will fix this situation.

Then Tape the Password to the router with some strong tape.

Dreamgazer_X · 2006-03-17, 05:32

1)D-link sucks

(sorry, that doesn't solve the problem, but just want to get that out of the way)

2)I assume you already tried accessing the router through http://192.168.0.1 (or 192.168.1.1) using admin/(no pass)? I doubt the guy who was setting it up would have altered that part without the girls knowing. If he did change it, then even a reset might not help.

3)You might want to try setting the wireless configuration to manually connect to a connection instead of auto. If she is refuse to do that, you can still set priorities for the connections. Additionally, you might want to disable/re-enable the wirless cad through network connections, which oddly enough...works from time to time.

4)I really need more details about her computer, because I don't think it's the router's problem(the other girls are doing fine, no?). It would help if you can provide the router's model number, wirless model number (or type).

5)It might be a bit farfetched, but you might want to consider the possibility that someone is illegally accessing the router. WEP, sadly, is not the most secure encryption standard out there.

Keitaro · 2006-03-19, 01:35

I also think D-Link makes crappy routers.

Hm...In your situation I would just redo everything. Including resetting the wireless router and each wireless adapter.

From your post I think you know pretty much the basics of setting up the router. So I think you will be able to follow.

1. Password protect the routers firmware.

2. Change and disable broadcast ssid if possible

3. Setup Wep (128bit)

4. Enable Mac address filtering for wireless/wired computers accessing the router (In Start menu > Run > type cmd in text box, then type ipconfig /all in command prompt. There you will see the computers MAC address listed. If they have external wireless adapters the MAC address should listed in the back or under the adapter.)

5. Change wireless channel. Probably, most users in the area are using the same wireless channel. To avoid interference I suggest you change the channel from the default.

6. Configure wireless adapters on each of the computers

7. Like the other guy said write and tape down the routers firmware password, wep key, ssid name etc.

Hopefully, this will earn you some kudo points from the four asian chicks.

Ledgem · 2006-03-19, 18:02

I think one of the four may have the access stuff, but if not... I'd love to redo the settings, but I need their permission. WPA > WEP by my preference, if it's supported. But as I said, it's a puzzle to me largely because it works fine for the other roommates, and yet my (girl)friend's computer (yeah, recent developement, go me) can access other wireless networks without a problem. It makes it really difficult to determine what the problem is, but I'd really like to fix it for her.

I'll see if I can get permission to redo the network for them. If it still doesn't work 100%, then I guess we'll know where the issue really is. Thanks everyone!

2006-03-16, 15:35	Link #1
Ledgem Love Yourself Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Northeast USA Age: 38	Wireless Router Issue (D-Link) One of my friends is having an interesting issue with her router. I think that I know what the issue is, but I wanted to see if anyone else had any other insights into the matter. The router in question is a wireless-capable D-Link (I didn't get the exact model number). My friend lives with three other roommates, making for a total four girls who claim to know nothing about computers. Supposedly the router was set up by some guys who knew what they were doing. The wireless network is password-protected, but I'm unsure of any other security measures that they set up. SSID broadcast is enabled, but I forgot to check if they changed the default channel. There are at least six other wireless networks in the area. Here's the problem: her computer automatically connects to the router and receives a proper IP, but it can't access the internet. What partially makes this very strange is that there was a period of a few days last week where her internet DID work, but now it's gone back to not working. I suspected that perhaps she'd acquired some malware that was disabling her wireless access, but that can't be it - she accesses the internet just fine when she's on campus. Her computer can use the internet, and it can use it wirelessly. That's not the problem. What I think it may be is MAC address blocking within the router; however, since neither my friend nor the one roommate who was there knew the router access information, I couldn't check it. In other words, if the guys who set up the router knew just enough but not really enough, then they would have set up a MAC address whitelist on the router for the four girls, but perhaps they accidentally entered my friend's physical ethernet MAC address and not the wireless one. As for how her internet worked randomly, perhaps her machine found an unlocked network first and connected to that. I'm not sure how her system is set up, though. We plugged her system into the router via an ethernet cable and the internet worked, although it seemed very slow. I suspected that perhaps the cable modem needed a reboot, but the roommate wasn't having issues with her internet, and it was working wirelessly. What I'd really like to do is just completely reset the router and set it up properly, but seeing as how nobody seems to know the WEP password, I wouldn't be able to do that without causing all four of them to have to redo their network configurations. That'd earn me the wrath of three Asian girls in the process, and indirectly they'd probably be upset at my friend as well. So that option is out. Any thoughts? (I've also never used a D-Link, so I'm not sure if there are any weird quirks like this with it). Thanks in advance. __________________ Last edited by Ledgem; 2006-03-16 at 21:17.

2006-03-19, 18:02	Link #5
Ledgem Love Yourself Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Northeast USA Age: 38	I think one of the four may have the access stuff, but if not... I'd love to redo the settings, but I need their permission. WPA > WEP by my preference, if it's supported. But as I said, it's a puzzle to me largely because it works fine for the other roommates, and yet my (girl)friend's computer (yeah, recent developement, go me) can access other wireless networks without a problem. It makes it really difficult to determine what the problem is, but I'd really like to fix it for her. I'll see if I can get permission to redo the network for them. If it still doesn't work 100%, then I guess we'll know where the issue really is. Thanks everyone! __________________

2006-03-16, 19:08	Link #2
Kurz Gao~ a sound for the ages Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: I live in a relm of swirling of thought and emotion, Ever lost in the relm of infinite possiblities. Age: 37	If they dont have the password then its just better to reset it. Just say it'll take an hour tops to configure the computers. There is hardly anything I can think of that will fix this situation. Then Tape the Password to the router with some strong tape.

2006-03-17, 05:32	Link #3
Dreamgazer_X Drago's Twin Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: USA Age: 39	1)D-link sucks (sorry, that doesn't solve the problem, but just want to get that out of the way) 2)I assume you already tried accessing the router through http://192.168.0.1 (or 192.168.1.1) using admin/(no pass)? I doubt the guy who was setting it up would have altered that part without the girls knowing. If he did change it, then even a reset might not help. 3)You might want to try setting the wireless configuration to manually connect to a connection instead of auto. If she is refuse to do that, you can still set priorities for the connections. Additionally, you might want to disable/re-enable the wirless cad through network connections, which oddly enough...works from time to time. 4)I really need more details about her computer, because I don't think it's the router's problem(the other girls are doing fine, no?). It would help if you can provide the router's model number, wirless model number (or type). 5)It might be a bit farfetched, but you might want to consider the possibility that someone is illegally accessing the router. WEP, sadly, is not the most secure encryption standard out there.

2006-03-19, 01:35	Link #4
Keitaro Kyuuketsuki Otaku Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Somewhere in Hawaii	I also think D-Link makes crappy routers. Hm...In your situation I would just redo everything. Including resetting the wireless router and each wireless adapter. From your post I think you know pretty much the basics of setting up the router. So I think you will be able to follow. 1. Password protect the routers firmware. 2. Change and disable broadcast ssid if possible 3. Setup Wep (128bit) 4. Enable Mac address filtering for wireless/wired computers accessing the router (In Start menu > Run > type cmd in text box, then type ipconfig /all in command prompt. There you will see the computers MAC address listed. If they have external wireless adapters the MAC address should listed in the back or under the adapter.) 5. Change wireless channel. Probably, most users in the area are using the same wireless channel. To avoid interference I suggest you change the channel from the default. 6. Configure wireless adapters on each of the computers 7. Like the other guy said write and tape down the routers firmware password, wep key, ssid name etc. Hopefully, this will earn you some kudo points from the four asian chicks.