Wireless router to work with Clearwire

robo

I am currently getting Clearwire broadband and using this router - Linksys WAG354G Wireless-G ADSL 2+ Modem Router Gateway, 4-Port Switch & Access Point

But I am having very bad connection issues, the laptop connects to the wireless router and there are 3 to 4 lights on the Clearwire box, but I can't always connect to the internet. So I repair and correct the connection and then after a while it works. But lately at night time, it has been woeful, it is very slow and own't connect for ages, like an hour or so.

Is this to do with the wireless router do you think?
Does anyone else use a wireless router with Clearwire and what are they using and what are their experiences?
I really don't think it is an issue with Clearwire, but conflict of issue with the router perhaos.

Any ideas guys?

Foxwood

As Clearwire isn't a DSL service, you're not using the Linksys as a router, just as a LAN switch. What IP address does your laptop use when you're connected?

It's much more likely to be a problem with Clearwire than with the Linksys.

robo

Thanks Foxwood, I am connected at the moment and the IP address is checking

generalmiaow

Hi,
I'm using Clearwire and a wireless router, a generic canyon router. It's fine, any standalone router should function with clearwire, treating the cw modem as a cable modem or any sort simple ethernet uplink. It should be noted that when it comes to random disconnects, slowness and so forth, Clearwire is generally responsible. Rant over. However, when you say it's slow to connect, or won't connect for an hour or so, do you mean it won't connect to your router or that you can't get internet. During these periods can you go to your router's setup page or is it just the internet that's the problem?

Also correct me if I'm wrong but I think Foxwood meant your laptop's ip address in the wireless network rather than your clearwire IP. (right click on the wireless connection icon on your system tray to find this out) I also think you should edit out your clearwire IP from your post, for privacy reasons, assuming that's not what foxwood asked for.

robo

When I say it won't connect, I mean that the laptop connects to the wireless lan (Linksys) but when I open Firefox or IE, I get the usual error page showing that it is not connected to the internet. This is everytime that I connect. It usually connects after about 10 minutes of disabling/enabling the Wireless Network Connection.

When I click on the Wireless connection Icon and check the details, I get the IP address as up above(that I deleted), but I also have a DHCP Server address, is that what Foxwood is looking for?
Thanks generalmiaow

Foxwood

robo wrote:

When I say it won't connect, I mean that the laptop connects to the wireless lan (Linksys) but when I open Firefox or IE, I get the usual error page showing that it is not connected to the internet. This is everytime that I connect. It usually connects after about 10 minutes of disabling/enabling the Wireless Network Connection.

When I click on the Wireless connection Icon and check the details, I get the IP address as up above(that I deleted), but I also have a DHCP Server address, is that what Foxwood is looking for?
Thanks generalmiaow

You said you've got an ADSL router. That means that the WAN port is a RJ11 phone socket. You can't plug an ethernet cable into that socket. Therefore you've plugged your Clearwire connection into one of the LAN sockets on the Linksys. The LAN sockets and the wireless connection are all just a simple switch, so sometimes your laptop gets a DHCP response from Clearwire, and can connect to the Internet (but you can't access the admin interface on the Linksys), and sometimes it gets a DHCP responce from the Linksys, and it can only talk to other 192.168.1.x devices so you can access the admin interface on the Linksys when this happens (but you can't access the internet). That's why I asked what you IP address is. There are no privacy issues involved in posting it here - you've already told us that you're a clearwire user, and you'll get a different IP address the next time that you connect to the service.

You can resolve this problem by disabling DHCP on the Linksys, but make sure you have really good firewall software installed on your laptop, because you've bypassed the hardware firewall in the Linksys that is protecting you from worms and other inbound attacks.You'd be better off swapping the Linksys router with someone who has DSL and has an ordinary Broadband router that will work properly with Clearwire.

generalmiaow

I agree with Foxwood; I tried to get an ADSL router working with Clearwire just as a switch, for about a month, and I gave up in the end.

robo

Thanks guys, I have disabled the DHCP on the Linksys and it is still playing up.
So do you think any DSL should work? Any recommendations?

Foxwood

robo wrote:

Thanks guys, I have disabled the DHCP on the Linksys and it is still playing up.

What does "playing up" mean? What IP address do you have when it's "playing up"?

Do you have an etherent port on the laptop? Does your clearwire connection work when you plug the laptop directly into it, or is the clearwire connection going up and down like the proverbial?

So do you think any DSL should work? Any recommendations?

If you want to use a DSL modem, I'd recommend cancelling the clearwire service, and ordering DSL.

robo

It works fine for me now, except when there are more than 1 laptops trying to connect to the internet then it loses connectivity or has limited connectivity with the wireless router.

I guess by that then I need to change something with the wireless setup, but when I go to I.P. 192.168.1.1 on IE and it won't open the configuration page. Any more ideas guys?

Foxwood

robo wrote:

It works fine for me now, except when there are more than 1 laptops trying to connect to the internet then it loses connectivity or has limited connectivity with the wireless router.

Because Clearwire only supports one device on the link, and you're not using the DSL router as a router, you're just using it as a switch, so you can't "share" that one IP address between two devices.

I guess by that then I need to change something with the wireless setup

You need to get a "broadband router", rather than a DSL router, so that you can plug the ethernet cable from the clearwire modem into the WAN port on the modem.

but when I go to I.P. 192.168.1.1 on IE and it won't open the configuration page.

Because when your laptop has a Clearwire address, you can't talk to 192.168 devices**.

You can't use a DSL router to share a clearwire signal. You need to get a broadband router instead.



(**Not strictly true. You can add a second IP address to your wireless card, and set it as a static 192.168 address).

robo

Foxwood wrote:

(**Not strictly true. You can add a second IP address to your wireless card, and set it as a static 192.168 address).

Thanks for your help Foxwood, just one more thing, how do I do above?

Cabaal

moved to wireless

Foxwood

Cabaal wrote:

moved to wireless

Plase move this back to Broadband, where it belongs.

The user is not trying to solve a wireless problem. They would have exactly the same problem if they were using an ethernet cabe to connect their lptop to the router.

irlrobins

It is not a broadband problem. His broadband connection is working fine. The problem lies with his own internal network. And since it is a wireless network he is trying to set up it belongs here.

Carry on....

Foxwood

irlrobins wrote:

It is not a broadband problem. His broadband connection is working fine. The problem lies with his own internal network. And since it is a wireless network he is trying to set up it belongs here.

Right, you fix it then. Tell him how to use his DSL router to share his non-ADSL broadband between two PCs. And, of course, explain why he wouldn't be having any of these problems if he wasn't using wireless.

Or are you seriously suggesting that Clearwire users and Irish Broadband users and Digiweb Metro users shouldn't be posting in the Broadband forum, because they've got "wireless" broadband?

irlrobins

Foxwood wrote:

Or are you seriously suggesting that Clearwire users and Irish Broadband users and Digiweb Metro users shouldn't be posting in the Broadband forum, because they've got "wireless" broadband?

No, not at all. As I have said this is not a problem with his broadband connection. His problem lies with trying to add wireless to this broadband connection, and hence why it was moved to the wireless forum. The fact that his broadband is a "fixed wireless" is irrelevant.

robo

He is a SHE :rolleyes:

Foxwood

robo wrote:

He is a SHE :rolleyes:

Sorry about that.

I presume that irlrobins very helpful input has resolved all your problems, and that you're now able to use your DSL router on your non-DSL broadband?

Even though your problems have nothing to do with wi-fi, and you'd have exactly the same difficulty if you were using 2 ethernet cables instead of 2 wi-fi cards.

robo

Unfortunately I haven't done anything with it. I think that my best bet is to buy a new router that will work for me with Clearwire. They used to have one on their site, but not anymore, wonder why!

Foxwood

DLink DI-524
http://komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=321925 €49 plus delivery

Linksys WRT54G
http://komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=314078 €67 plus delivery

Or see if you can find someone that wants to swap what you have for one of these.

robo

Thanks Foxwood for your help. I might just hold on to my ADSL router as I do plan to change broadband providers as soon as I get a phone line (new apt development!)

realblackstuff

For what it's worth,
I too have Clearwire, and use a normal Broadband Firewall Gateway, also known as router.
I have two routers, that both work flawlessly with Clearwire:
- Billion BiPac 640AE 4-port
- SMC Barricade 7008ABR 8-port
For wireless I use a dedicated WAP: EnGenius NL-5354AP1, which is 802.11a/b/g
(with Atheros chipset), which I can plug into either router.
My laptop also has an Atheros-based Mini-PCI internal 802.11a/b/g card.
Both WAP and laptop-card can do Super-G.