Laptop not recognising wireless router correctly

[Ceefer]

I have a Netgear DGN2000 wireless ADSL router.I configured the router with WPA security.

I can connect to this wirelessly with a wide variety of computers, tablets and smartphones. No problem at all.

My daughters netbook can see the router OK but when she tries to connect to it, after entering the security key, a window pops up saying that 'the connection was unsuccessful' and 'This computer has limited connectivity to NETGEAR'.

When I click on the wireless icon on the taskbar and then hover the mouse over the NETGEAR entry, the little window that drops down shows the security type as WEP, which is incorrect. It should be WPA-PSK. I can then go to Properties and change the security type to WPA-Personal, change the encryption type to TKIP and put in the correct network security key, but when I do that I cannot click on 'connect' because it is greyed out.

Her netbook can connect to other wireless access points, with a variety of security types, without issues.

This is driving me crazy. Its a long time since I've been stumped by a tech issue.

Anyone got any ideas?

[matts-uk]

In my experience, the issue of wi-fi routers and wi-fi adapters failing to negotiate the encryption schemes is quite common, although much rarer today than it was when WPA and WPA2 were introduced. Some devices still ship to retail before the manufacturer has worked out all their interop issues.

Falling back to WEP is (often) the drivers way of saying, 'I can see the link is encrypted but I can not work out how.' So the first thing to do is check the router and NIC manufacturers websites and update to the latest firmware where applicable. Should the problem persist after firmware updates, you may have to do a bit of trial and error to find a protocol combination both devices are happy with.

+ Check the Wi-Fi protocols (a, b, g, n) that the router is supporting and turn off any slower protocols that you do not need. 802.1a is particularly unreliable when mixed with g and n and I would advise avoiding it completely these days.
+ Try single mode before mixed mode. On the router select just WPA, then just WPA2 and see whether it makes a difference.
+ Try a shorter key phrase, the minimum is 8 characters.
+ Try a key phrase longer than the minimum, say 12 to 16 characters.

The button disabling when you selected WPA/TKIP is a bit baffling. Can you select AES and does it make a difference? It should WPA/TKIP and WPA2/AES but the driver may be 'confused'

Unfortunately, you might have to reboot a lot. Once you create a wi-fi profile it tends to hang around, associated to the SSID by the driver, until the host is rebooted. Simply deleting the connection does not always (rarely does) cut it.

Another thing to be aware of is poor SNR. The signal bar produced by a Wi-Fi adapter is the Wi-Fi signal level, which can be misleading in the presence of background interference, produced by such things as a damaged antenna, wireless CCTV, Sky re-senders and old baby monitors.

This is driving me crazy. Its a long time since I've been stumped by a tech issue.

This particular issue can be a nightmare. Wi-Fi has developed way beyond the EPOS cash register usage it was originally designed for. As a ubiquitous radio network protocol it is flaky and always will be to an extent.

[Ceefer]

Thanks for all that very useful info. I tried all the suggestions but unfortunately had no success. So I plugged in a TP-Link wi-fi access point which my daughter's laptop connects to without issues. Problem solved, but in a very unsatisfactory way.

[Jonj1611]

What netbook is it and what version of windows?

[Ceefer]

Its an Advent Milano Elite, running Windows 7 Home Premium.

[Jonj1611]

This may sound silly but have you run the network diagnostic tool? Also and this may sound silly, have you tried turning the router off for a few minutes, then turning it on, a lot of limited connectivity problems can be resolved that way.

Hmm, a lot of silly's in that post, sorry about that

[Jonj1611]

Also if that doesn't work, go into network and sharing center and go to manage wireless networks, remove everything there, reboot laptop and try again to connect.

[Ceefer]

Jon,

Thanks for the suggestions. Tried them. Still the netbook is seeing the Netgear wi-fi router as having WEP encryption rather than WPA. I've given up on it.

[Jonj1611]

Sounds like the router is running mixed mode encryption. Try changing to router wireless settings to WPA only and then trying again, also if possible see if you can get the latest wireless drives for the laptop.