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I have been to tons of websites and no one can help. I'm hoping I have luck here.
I have alltel wireless plugged into the front of my computer. I use this for internet access. I went out and purchased a linksys wrt54g wireless router to be able to go online for the Wii. I hooked the router up to the back of the computer. Everything was fine, it worked great but something happened. the alltel connection still works but the router will not. It says limited or no connectivity. What the heck happened? How can I fix this problem? I'm having major withdrawals from not being able to play rock band battle of the bands online. please give me some advice. please don't leave me.

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Dani AI

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Short, practical summary and what usually breaks in this setup

This exact symptom is very common when a USB cellular/aircard (Alltel) is plugged into the PC and a plain WRT54G is attached to the PC by Ethernet. The WRT54G expects an Ethernet modem on its Internet/WAN port — it is not a USB-host router — so the PC must be doing the actual sharing (Windows Internet Connection Sharing / ICS) for the Linksys to pass internet to other devices. ’s reset tip can help with corrupted router state, but it doesn’t change the sharing method under the hood. (Linksys manual: Internet/WAN port usage.) WRT54G manual. WRT54G series notes on mobile-broadband variants.

Quick troubleshooting checklist (do these in order)

  1. Verify the PC still has internet from the Alltel aircard.
  2. Confirm the Ethernet cable is in the router’s Internet/WAN port (not a LAN port) and then log into the router (default usually 192.168.1.1, password admin) and check the WAN status. Linksys defaults / login info.
  3. On the PC run these commands and note results:
ipconfig /all
ping 8.8.8.8

If the router’s WAN shows an address in 169.254.x.x, that is an APIPA address — a DHCP failure meaning the router didn’t get an IP from the PC/ICS. Devices behind the router will show “limited/no connectivity.” (What APIPA means.) Microsoft: APIPA explanation.

  1. If the PC is the host, re-enable/configure ICS on the connection that uses the Alltel device (Control Panel → Network Connections → right‑click the aircard connection → Properties → Sharing tab → allow other users). After enabling, check the router WAN IP again. (How ICS works / steps.) Microsoft: Using ICS / set-up guidance.

If that still fails

  • Temporarily disable PC firewall/antivirus (ICS can be blocked).
  • Try a factory reset of the router if its web UI is inaccessible.
  • For long-term reliability, use a router that explicitly supports USB/3G/4G modems (or a WRT54G3G-style mobile router) or connect a modem with an Ethernet output to the router — relying on a PC+ICS is fragile and requires the PC to be on. WRT54G series mobile variants.

Notes/cautions

  • ICS creates a small NAT network and can change IP ranges (watch for subnet conflicts).
  • Leaving ICS/firewall misconfigured can expose the host; prefer a router with native modem support for a permanent fix.

If already solved this elsewhere, the above explains why it happened and gives steps others with the same Alltel + WRT54G setup can apply.

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Member Avatar for cguan_77

try resetting the router

Member Avatar for rainey73

Are you kidding? Just wanted to say I got my problem solved on another website.

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