Limited or no connectivity on two different laptops with the same wireless network

[Sizzlefish]

Hey guys,

this is my first post here as I have been struggling with a problem with my internet for about two weeks now. I'll try to describe the problem in as many details as possible.

I have a HP laptop with Windows Vista. Recently I moved to a new home and this [rented] home included a wireless network for me, it not being shared with anyone else.

When I connect to the wireless network it tells me I have limited connectivity, or no connection at all. The weird thing is that once in every few days it will work for a couple of hours and then say it has limited connectivity again.

My wireless network has WPA2-personal security and an AES encryption type. I have tryed connecting from a list from available networks and manually connecting to a wireless network, but the problem still remained.

I have called the person who takes care of the router and connections in my building which literally said I must have been doing weird stuff with my computer and that must be the reason for it not to work (how unprofessional is that?). I said that couldn't be the problem as I don't do weird stuff and he should come look at it. He came, he tryed to connect manually and it worked. He looked at me as if I was stupid and left again. But like I said before, a couple of hours later it didn't work again. I called him the next day and again he claimed I must be doing weird stuff with my computer and that if had to come again he'd charge me. So I wen't to this friend of mine which is an ICT professional and he said there are no problems with my laptop.

I called the other guy again and asked him if it could be that my adapter settings weren't the same as that of the router. He said that couldn't be possible as the router auto-adjusts to my adapter (Intel(R) WiFi Link 5100 AGN). He suggested we install a cable connection in my home because he can't keep coming to see what the problem is (I guess he got tired of me calling him?). He came yesterday to see where he could install the cable and such. After that he wen't to my laptop to check the connection once again. To my horror the connection did it again whilst he used exactly the same method to connect as I. He looked quite pissed at me. I told him I was sure that in a couple of hours the connection would be limited again (and that happened). He was like 'Yeah, whatever.' and said I should call him to install the cables when it doesn't work again.

After the first weeks of the problems with my own laptop I got a second different laptop which had exactly the same problem with the internet. I really don't know the problem anymore and I hope someone here could give a professional opinion/answer on this.

Sizzlefish

[Sizzlefish]

I really need an answer, does anyone have any ideas?

[demenace]

I do not know for sure. But I would suggest you look into a couple of things.
1. Make sure the name of the network is unique. If there are other networks nearby with the same name, it could cause your issue. They may not even be set to "broadcast" their name, but still have the same name as your network. So make sure the network (wireless) name is unique.

2. It is possible that there is some kind of "mode" negotiation going on (talking about the ABGN modes). If you are the only user, then it should connect using the A mode. If someone else attempts to connect to the router, but only has G capability, your router has to switch modes to accomodate the other user, even if they never fully connect. This mode switching could cause your issue. Not sure what you could do about it, except do not broadcast the network if you are the only user.

[danielperez]

I would ask your tech friend to check the IP address and dns suffix he should know this and maybe check on the wireless configuration so it can automatically obtain the IP address. Also what kind on computer is it Mac? PC? and what kind of browser are you using? it could also be some problem with the browsers setting if you are using more than one browser on you computer with different settings.Hope it helps.

[jvt4]

Confirm network key is entered correctly. Had same issues, so frustrating. See Wireless Networks, highlight preferred network, click properties, association, drop downs: Network Authentication: Open, Date Encryption: WEP, enter Network key (password from original wireless set up). I tried entering what I thought password was, however it accepts anything which I believe is the cause for limited or no connectivity...When I finally got password correct, got internet access in a flash!
I found 26 alpa/numeric code which I wrote down from original desktop set up and that's the password that finally worked in laptop. Good Luck!