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laptop not connecting to wlan

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  • 16-12-2008 1:41pm
    #1
    pilot1087
    Registered Users Posts: 301 ✭✭


    Hi Guys,

    I'm away from home at the moment and trying to connect my laptop to the wireless in the house I am staying in. The network I am trying to connect to appears with full bars when I do a search for networks in range but when I double click on it to connect I get a message saying.. "windows is unable to connect to the selected network. The network may no longer be in range. Please refresh the list of available networks, and try to connect again"

    This is the first time I have encountered a problem like this and have connected my laptop to several different wireless connections in the past. The laptop will however connect to the internet when I plug the ethernet cable into it.

    I'm using XP and the laptop is a Toshiba... thanks!


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    #2
    nava
    Registered Users Posts: 4,739 ✭✭✭nava


    pilot1087 wrote: »
    Hi Guys,

    I'm away from home at the moment and trying to connect my laptop to the wireless in the house I am staying in. The network I am trying to connect to appears with full bars when I do a search for networks in range but when I double click on it to connect I get a message saying.. "windows is unable to connect to the selected network. The network may no longer be in range. Please refresh the list of available networks, and try to connect again"

    This is the first time I have encountered a problem like this and have connected my laptop to several different wireless connections in the past. The laptop will however connect to the internet when I plug the ethernet cable into it.

    I'm using XP and the laptop is a Toshiba... thanks!


    It could be that router is configure to only allow connection so specific Mac addresses and your's not listed in the allow addresses.


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    #3
    pilot1087
    Registered Users Posts: 301 ✭✭pilot1087


    well the computers in the house are all mac's.. any idea how I can change this?


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    #4
    nava
    Registered Users Posts: 4,739 ✭✭✭nava


    pilot1087 wrote: »
    well the computers in the house are all mac's.. any idea how I can change this?

    Sorry, the Mac address is like a serial number for the wifi card (not the operating system), each PC and laptop has a unique address.

    To get your Mac address added to the router you will need to connect to the router, you can do it with 1 of the PC's with access or (I think) with a network cable connected directly to the router and add your address to the Mac address. Probably you will need a user name and password to access the admin page on the router.


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    #5
    pilot1087
    Registered Users Posts: 301 ✭✭pilot1087


    showing my lack of knowledge there.

    I'll give it a try and report back. Thanks


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    #6
    pilot1087
    Registered Users Posts: 301 ✭✭pilot1087


    Ok, I have the mac address for the laptop and I have the router configuration page open...

    Where should I be looking for the list of mac addresses that are allowed?

    I'm in the add new WAN connection page but its not asking for a MAC address


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    #7
    nava
    Registered Users Posts: 4,739 ✭✭✭nava


    pilot1087 wrote: »
    Ok, I have the mac address for the laptop and I have the router configuration page open...

    Where should I be looking for the list of mac addresses that are allowed?

    I'm in the add new WAN connection page but its not asking for a MAC address


    depends on the router, can you give make and model and can try help you.

    In the Netgear WPN824 is under "Wireless Settings", "Wireless Card Access List"


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    #8
    TeaServer
    Registered Users Posts: 157 ✭✭TeaServer


    "windows is unable to connect to the selected network. The network may no longer be in range. Please refresh the list of available networks, and try to connect again"
    I had this error message recently on XP. In my case the problem was that the wireless network was WPA2 protected (It was showing up as WEP protected in the wireless networks list) and I didn't have the latest drivers for my wireless card.

    I updated the wireless driver and then could connect no problem (with the network correctly showing as WPA2 protected this time).


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    #9
    Feelgood
    Registered Users Posts: 2,191 ✭✭✭Feelgood


    TeaServer wrote: »
    I had this error message recently on XP. In my case the problem was that the wireless network was WPA2 protected (It was showing up as WEP protected in the wireless networks list) and I didn't have the latest drivers for my wireless card.

    I updated the wireless driver and then could connect no problem (with the network correctly showing as WPA2 protected this time).

    Note Apple Macs have awful problems with WPA2 also. Try changing the authentication on the router to WEP.


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    #10
    dub45
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 12,448 Mod ✭✭✭✭dub45


    Feelgood wrote: »
    Note Apple Macs have awful problems with WPA2 also. Try changing the authentication on the router to WEP.

    WEP is definitely not recommended for security reasons and for ease of use either. The op does not own this network presumably and you should not be recommending him to change an other person's security.


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    #11
    pilot1087
    Registered Users Posts: 301 ✭✭pilot1087


    Hi Guys,

    Thanks for the help so far. I have updated the drivers but that hasn't changed anything.

    The router I'm using is and iconnectaccess621, I'm down in Sydney at the moment so it's the standard one the phone network gives here. When I do a search for the wifi's available the network I want to connect to "has security enabled wirless network" underneath it.. whereas the others have the same but with (WPA) at the end. Could this be anything to do with my problem.


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    #12
    nava
    Registered Users Posts: 4,739 ✭✭✭nava


    I searched in Google and downloaded the user guide for it from here looking at it and other forums looks like it's only a Modem, do they have attach to the modem a router? if they do can you give us the router make and model and will check it for you.


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