Problem with setting up Netgear Wireless Network

Maxwell

Im ready to smash something here.....

Have the following:
NetgearWirelessRouter wgr614 v6
I connecting to it from an wireless transmitter through a cat5 cable.

So I have set up the router and its seems set up correctly and I have even registered it on the netgear site.

Once I tried to connect to it from my laptop, I am being asked for the network password, but when I type in the password I created its constantly asking me the following:

"the network password needs to be 40bits or 104bits depending on your network configuration. This can be entered as 5 or 13 ascil characters or 10 or 26 hexadecimal charaters"

I don't know what to do next as it will not accept my passwords

I have tried re-installing the router and when I run the CD and follow the procedure it ends by asking me for an admin password - again it will not accept the ones I have. I have checked on the netgear site and they have stated that the password would be either "password" or "1234" depending on the model - I tried both and none worked.

I don't know what to do now?

Can anyone help?

Karoma

Reset the router as per the manual. Start again.

Foxwood

Maxwell wrote:

"the network password needs to be 40bits or 104bits depending on your network configuration. This can be entered as 5 or 13 ascil characters or 10 or 26 hexadecimal charaters"

That means you're trying to use the insecure WEP standard. The use of HEX passwords, and incompatible translations between different clients is one of the major hassles with WEP encryption - the other is that WEP can be cracked in under a haf an hour.

If you're going to bother with encryption at all (and you'd be mad not to), then you should be using WPA, not WEP.

To log into your router, go to http://www.routerlogin.com/basicsetting.htm
(Thta might see an odd URL, but that's what Netgear says to do).

Click on Wireless Settings, and selct WPA-PSK. This will allow you to set a passphrase. This can be a short sentence of 5 or 6 words, that will be easy to remember, but hard to guess. Stick in a few numbers for good measure.

You don't say what wireless hardware you're using on your laptop, but it should support WPA too. Post more details if you have trouble getting it to work.

Maxwell

Thanks to you both for the help. Had to give up last night after getting frustrated with it. Will have a look when I get home and will try what you say.

Thanks

Krusty_Clown

What's happening Maxwell, is that you are getting your passwords mixed up. Here's a sum-up of the various passwords:

1) Login credentials to access your service provider. Your service provider may or may not require authentication to access their service (more usually associated with DSL). This is stored in your modem's config settings (usually the [Basic Settings] page. An example would be: username: krustyclown@iolbb password: krustypassword

2) Modem / router administration credentials: Usually of the form: Administrator / 1234. You use these credentials when you are trying to access the configurations page of your modem and/or router. This is what you were trying to enter as your WEP key / passphrase. Usually you will access the configuration settings by typing in the IP address of the router in a browser window, from a machine connected to the network. You will then get asked for the appropriate admin username/password combination.

3) WEP Key / passphrase: If you have enabled wireless security on your router, then in order to have a machine join the wireless network, you will need to enter a Key or pass-phrase before that machine will be allowed to join the wireless network. Typically you onnly need to do this once, if you don't change any other settings. This is the key/passphrase that you should have entered when you were prompted.

If you do not know what the WEP key or pass-phrase is, you need to:
1) Log into your routers administration interface, (typically by hitting: http://192.168.0.1 in a browser window from a machine already connected to the network (e.g. using a network cable).
2) Enter your admin username and password (if you're still using the default password you should change this later!).
2) Go to the [Wireless Settings] page.
3) Under [Security Options] or something simillar, you'll have options like: Disable / WEP / WPA-PSK / WPA-802.1x
4) Choose the security option you want (WPA is best).
5) In the field below this, enter a pass-phrase / network key (also write this down somewhere temporarily, as you'll need to enter this on each computer you wish to allow connect to your wireless network.
6) Click Apply so that the settings are saved (may need to reboot router)
7) On each computer that you wish to permit access to the wireless network, select your network from the [Choose a wireless network] wizard (Windows XP). You will then be prompted for the Key/Passphrase that you wrote down earlier.
8) Ba-da-bing..

For your WPA passphrase, don't go for something simple. Someone could gain access to a WPA-secured network by using a dictionary attack, if your passphrase is too simple. Consider using something like:
J8ck8ndJ1llW3ntUpTh3H1ll which is:
[Jack And Jill Went Up The Hill] with vowels substituted for numbers. It's easy to remember and re-create. (Needless to say, add some individual ramdon words etc, or choose something that's meaningful to you).

Also (finally!) you may need Windows XP service pack 2 on the clients that you wish to use to connect to the network via WPA-PSK. I don't think that this support was present before SP2.

Maxwell

Wow - thanks for that Krusty

Really appreciate the amount of effort you went to there. I will go through this when I get home.

When I googled, I did see reference to having the machines that connect that they need SP2, one of the laptops has only got SP1 and I will update it.

I presume wireless IPAQ's are okay with this security? I wanted to connect my IPAQ too, and will try it later, I presume it will be okay?

Thanks again

Krusty_Clown

Sorry, got a bit long-winded there..

For the iPAQ, it depends on its specifications. Check the manufactuers webiste to see:
1) If it supports WPA, or if there are patches to provide WPA support.
2) If it supports the 11g standard. If it only supports 11b, you will need to include support for 'g & b' mode in the Wireless settings.

Maxwell

Got this sorted last night - thanks to everyone for their help!!