Help with Linksys WRT54G setup?
in [Wireless Internet]
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From: ohaya on 14 Jan 2006 14:35 Hi, I'm trying to help a neighbor get wireless setup working with their Linksys WRT54G and a Toshiba Satellite M55. They also have a desktop going into one of the LAN ports, which is working. The WRT54G has a password set on it, which they can't remember because someone else set the Linksys up for them awhile ago. I found the following info for resetting the Linksys to defaults (""/"admin"): http://groups.google.com/group/alt.internet.wireless/msg/90989387486c98d7 But, before I try that, I wanted to ask about the current behavior that I saw when I was over there today. I haven't worked with the WRT54G before, so I'm not that familiar with it. Ok... They have the WRT54G in their library, on the 1st floor. The SSID/network ID is set to "linksys", and according to them, it was setup with a WEP(?) password. I enabled the wireless on the Toshiba (there's a small switch on the front edge that I flipped to 'on', and I enabled the wireless connection under Windows). Now, on the laptop, if I go to "View networks", I could OCCASIONALLY (but not always) see "linksys" appear on the list of networks. The signal was very weak... something like 1 bar. I moved the to the library, and even then, I could only see like 1 bar during those times that I could even see the "linksys" network at all. As mentioned above, I'm not that familiar with the WRT54G, so I was wondering if anyone might be able to suggest why the signal seemed so weak (again, to the point that I the Toshiba couldn't even see the "linksys" network sometimes)?? With the WRT54G, do you have to configure it to a specific channel? I'm thinking that there may be several other WIFI access points in the neighborhood (including mine, which is an old R1000, "B" only), and that this neighbor's WRT54G may be using the same channel as another way, and it may be overwhelmed? Is that a possibility? Thanks, Jim
From: Jerry Park on 14 Jan 2006 16:31 ohaya wrote: > Hi, > > I'm trying to help a neighbor get wireless setup working with their > Linksys WRT54G and a Toshiba Satellite M55. They also have a desktop > going into one of the LAN ports, which is working. > > The WRT54G has a password set on it, which they can't remember because > someone else set the Linksys up for them awhile ago. I found the > following info for resetting the Linksys to defaults (""/"admin"): > > http://groups.google.com/group/alt.internet.wireless/msg/90989387486c98d7 > > But, before I try that, I wanted to ask about the current behavior that > I saw when I was over there today. I haven't worked with the WRT54G > before, so I'm not that familiar with it. > > > Ok... > > They have the WRT54G in their library, on the 1st floor. The > SSID/network ID is set to "linksys", and according to them, it was setup > with a WEP(?) password. > > I enabled the wireless on the Toshiba (there's a small switch on the > front edge that I flipped to 'on', and I enabled the wireless connection > under Windows). > > Now, on the laptop, if I go to "View networks", I could OCCASIONALLY > (but not always) see "linksys" appear on the list of networks. The > signal was very weak... something like 1 bar. > > I moved the to the library, and even then, I could only see like 1 bar > during those times that I could even see the "linksys" network at all. > > As mentioned above, I'm not that familiar with the WRT54G, so I was > wondering if anyone might be able to suggest why the signal seemed so > weak (again, to the point that I the Toshiba couldn't even see the > "linksys" network sometimes)?? > > With the WRT54G, do you have to configure it to a specific channel? I'm > thinking that there may be several other WIFI access points in the > neighborhood (including mine, which is an old R1000, "B" only), and that > this neighbor's WRT54G may be using the same channel as another way, and > it may be overwhelmed? Is that a possibility? > > Thanks, > Jim That procedure will reset it. Use your browser to go to 192.168.1.1 . From there you should be able to set up whatever you need.
From: ohaya on 15 Jan 2006 02:08 Jerry Park wrote: > > ohaya wrote: > > Hi, > > > > I'm trying to help a neighbor get wireless setup working with their > > Linksys WRT54G and a Toshiba Satellite M55. They also have a desktop > > going into one of the LAN ports, which is working. > > > > The WRT54G has a password set on it, which they can't remember because > > someone else set the Linksys up for them awhile ago. I found the > > following info for resetting the Linksys to defaults (""/"admin"): > > > > http://groups.google.com/group/alt.internet.wireless/msg/90989387486c98d7 > > > > But, before I try that, I wanted to ask about the current behavior that > > I saw when I was over there today. I haven't worked with the WRT54G > > before, so I'm not that familiar with it. > > > > > > Ok... > > > > They have the WRT54G in their library, on the 1st floor. The > > SSID/network ID is set to "linksys", and according to them, it was setup > > with a WEP(?) password. > > > > I enabled the wireless on the Toshiba (there's a small switch on the > > front edge that I flipped to 'on', and I enabled the wireless connection > > under Windows). > > > > Now, on the laptop, if I go to "View networks", I could OCCASIONALLY > > (but not always) see "linksys" appear on the list of networks. The > > signal was very weak... something like 1 bar. > > > > I moved the to the library, and even then, I could only see like 1 bar > > during those times that I could even see the "linksys" network at all. > > > > As mentioned above, I'm not that familiar with the WRT54G, so I was > > wondering if anyone might be able to suggest why the signal seemed so > > weak (again, to the point that I the Toshiba couldn't even see the > > "linksys" network sometimes)?? > > > > With the WRT54G, do you have to configure it to a specific channel? I'm > > thinking that there may be several other WIFI access points in the > > neighborhood (including mine, which is an old R1000, "B" only), and that > > this neighbor's WRT54G may be using the same channel as another way, and > > it may be overwhelmed? Is that a possibility? > > > > Thanks, > > Jim > That procedure will reset it. Use your browser to go to 192.168.1.1 . > From there you should be able to set up whatever you need. Jerry, In their case, it looks like whoever set the Linksys up set it to 10.0.10 subnet. In any event, I already did point a browser to http://10.0.10.1. I got the login page, but like I said, they couldn't remember the password :(... I would rather avoid resetting to default, but I may have to if they can't recall the password. In the meantime, I am looking for ideas about the problems that I described above, where I couldn't even detect the network most of the time. I've been reading through the router guide, and I suspect a couple of possibilities: - They might have set it to "B only"? - They might be on a channel that has a lot of interference. I suspect the latter, because several other network IDs showed up, but the former is also possible, because up until trying the Toshiba M55, they had only a desktop with a WIFI PCI card working, and that was setup about 2+ years ago. Any suggestion/comments? Thanks, Jim
From: William P.N. Smith on 15 Jan 2006 07:04 ohaya <ohaya(a)cox.net> wrote: >Any suggestion/comments? If they can't remember the password, you really are going to have to whack it over the head and start over. Make sure you update to the latest firmware, and look into picking another channel. Use NetStumbler to look for other networks, or try 1, 6, and 11 and see which one works best. The low range sounds strange, but you can't even tell if they are (for instance) running some alternate firmware with the power turned all the way down...
From: ohaya on 15 Jan 2006 08:57
"William P.N. Smith" wrote: > > ohaya <ohaya(a)cox.net> wrote: > >Any suggestion/comments? > > If they can't remember the password, you really are going to have to > whack it over the head and start over. Make sure you update to the > latest firmware, and look into picking another channel. Use > NetStumbler to look for other networks, or try 1, 6, and 11 and see > which one works best. > > The low range sounds strange, but you can't even tell if they are (for > instance) running some alternate firmware with the power turned all > the way down... Hi William, Knowing these people, I doubt very much if they are running any alternate firmware. I'm pretty sure that the Linksys "out-of-the-box", other than the settings that were configured (by someone else). Jim |