Wifi proxy suddenly works on Android - General Questions and Answers

Okay folks got a bit of a strage development that I could use some help with.
As we all know, Android does not currently support Wifi proxy servers, at least it has no way to access the settings. I live on campus and the wifi is piped through a proxy server to the internet and I found the lack of wireless to be quite annoying (especially the hole it was burning in my pocket!)
Anyway, I had bought a wireless router to have internet all around my apartment. The network is hidden and my HTC Desire wasn't connecting to it. I eventually found out that this was because the network was braodcasting in mixed b/g/n mode. I changed it to b/g only and the phone connected.
I hadn't really expected it to connect to the internet because there was still no proxy set up but to my surprise it did! I checked my data counters and only the Wifi one was going up. The network my router is connected to uses the same proxy as the campus wireless so there is definately a proxy.
An even stranger development is the fact that since then, when I connect directly to the campus wireless network (not to my router) the internet still works. I keep checking the data counters and its not using up any 3G data. I checked my IP address online and it corresponds to the campus IP address. I also switched off the wifi and checked again and the IP changed to my cell provider.
I haven't tried connecting to a different wireless network since then and I didn't change any settings. I'm using an unrooted HTC Desire with stock ROMs. I had downloaded WifiAce but I since removed that and the proxy still works.
So what I'm wondering is, can anybody confirm this or give any thoughts on how this is working? Does anyone also know if the data counters available on the market acurately track data usage or do they simply assume that if the wifi is connected that the phone is downloading via wireless and not cell.
If anyone has any thoughts on this or could go out of their way to try and confirm it I'd be grateful.

(update) I found that it doesn't work on one of the networks, the oldest one on campus. Not sure why this is yet

You are correct. I found out this a long time ago. It also happens with some wireless MAC Laptops. You have to define the broadcasting channel.

Stupid Question, I'm Sure...
Omnichron said:
You are correct. I found out this a long time ago. It also happens with some wireless MAC Laptops. You have to define the broadcasting channel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wonder if you could explain what "defining the broadcasting channel" means...in case I occasion similar difficulties joining a public wifi network?
It's a dumb question, I'm sure...but I've never actually owned a router.
Between my dearly-departed, slightly hacked XV6800, followed by Tetherberry on my 9530...Wireless Tether on my CM7 Droid (only in a pinch) and the Clear Wireless dongle on my laptop (shared via Connectify), I think I'm missing several years of typical AP experience.

Related

Can't connect to wifi at home

Currently have the D-Link DI-824VUP. My G1 can detect my home network, I click, enter the password and select save. Then I click network and select connect. It gets to the authenticating with "my network name here" then it disconnects.
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Mr. Moe
yha, mine doesnt even see mine... and its not hidden... must be due to it being a wireless n , and its suposed to be backwards compatable....
I currently have a belkin n1 vision router that uses the n-draft spec. Make sure you're using a wpa/wpa2 key and not wep.
andonnguyen said:
I currently have a belkin n1 vision router that uses the n-draft spec. Make sure you're using a wpa/wpa2 key and not wep.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I put the WPA Key in the G1 and it got to authenticating and the disconnected....
t1h5ta3 said:
yha, mine doesnt even see mine... and its not hidden... must be due to it being a wireless n , and its suposed to be backwards compatable....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its a lynksys WRT160Nv2
Network Name (SSID): Pyeatt wireless net
Security: WPA2 Personal
Encryption: TKIP or AES
Passphrase: xxxxxxxxxx
ive entered it all into the phone, but it doesnt show it as being available
says not in range, remembered.
i do show every one else in the areas networks tho... so it is working, just not on mine.
t1h5ta3 said:
its a lynksys WRT160Nv2
Network Name (SSID): Pyeatt wireless net
Security: WPA2 Personal
Encryption: TKIP or AES
Passphrase: xxxxxxxxxx
ive entered it all into the phone, but it doesnt show it as being available
says not in range, remembered.
i do show every one else in the areas networks tho... so it is working, just not on mine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, i finaly got it to work.
aperently its an ongoing issue with almost all draft-n routers.
what you have to do is force it to stay in b/g mode, when in auto mixed mode the phone cant even see it....
kinda wierd tho, i do a speed test and can only hit 6 megs on the phone thru wireless even tho the laptop hits 30ish...
t1h5ta3 said:
well, i finaly got it to work.
aperently its an ongoing issue with almost all draft-n routers.
what you have to do is force it to stay in b/g mode, when in auto mixed mode the phone cant even see it....
kinda wierd tho, i do a speed test and can only hit 6 megs on the phone thru wireless even tho the laptop hits 30ish...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to remember that the CPU on the G1 is very limited. It can't handle very high speeds.
You also have to remember that your notebook seems to be connected via wireless N. If that is connected in G, that's kinda weird, as the theoretical cap for G is 25-27mb/s (you have to remember that although G is specced for 54 gb/s, half of that is reserved for upload.
Also, 30mb/s is one of Comcast's normal internet tiers, so I'm assuming you're using N on the notebook.
So it should work with any router, right
I'm planning on getting a router. Can anyone give me an exact name and model that works with the G1. I'm going to buy the cheapest available, like 35$-ish.
I was trying to connect to the laptop's wi-fi but it doesn't work.Noone wants to waste effort on making ad hoc connections work, as most G1-s are in the USA and they got unlimited 3g data.
axlastro said:
I'm planning on getting a router. Can anyone give me an exact name and model that works with the G1. I'm going to buy the cheapest available, like 35$-ish.
I was trying to connect to the laptop's wi-fi but it doesn't work.Noone wants to waste effort on making ad hoc connections work, as most G1-s are in the USA and they got unlimited 3g data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's no specific router that works with the G1. Practically any will. My favourite are Linksys, but only if it runs DD-WRT.
My DI-514 does not work with my G1. The phone is connecting without any problems, but nothing works after that, i.e. ping does not work, pages can not be open (even router configuration page), etc.
Exactly the same with my university network.
But with the others wifi networks it's fine.

Home WiFi connection problems

Hey world,
I'm having trouble with my Roger's branded Samsung Captivate SGH i-896's wifi. The phone is completely stock. When I connect to my wireless AP at home it doesn't seem to always work on the captivate... I had a htc magic before running all sorts of different roms and never had a problem like this before.
What happens is that I would connect to wifi at home and it would work, but if I leave wifi on the phone for an extended period of time and go back to the phone, wifi stops working.
It would show that i've successfully connected to my AP but no data would pass through my phone.
Disconnecting and reconnecting to the AP doesn't seem to work, the only way to fix it is to restart the phone. I'm not experiencing this problem with any of my laptops, netbooks or cellphones at home.
Security type is WPA2.
Is anyone else experiencing this problem? Anyone have an idea what could be causing this problem?
I have had this problem intermittently, So has my wife on her Captivate. No idea what causes it though. It's a pain because if WiFi is on, but not working, 3G doesn't kick in so apps just don't work.
my wife's captivate has this issue as well (but I don't on my captivate). It will work for a short period and then stop. We have a fios wifi router, not sure if that matters at all.
restarting the router and/or phone usually fixes the problem
mine is a linksys... hrnnn
I'm having the same problem on my new Captivate. Tried it on several different networks with the same results (shows connected but no data will transmit) before I took it back to ATT. They scratched their collective heads and rebooted (powered down and removed battery), which is a temporary fix, but its been working for two days now and I turn off WiFi unless I know I'm in range of a working hot spot.
I was having this same problem until I set my wifi policy to never sleep, dont know if it is a fix for everyone but it definitely fixed my problem.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Glad to hear I'm not alone!
I've been fighting with this issue for over a week now, it suddenly started occurring. I wonder if it was an app we all loaded that suddenly made this condition occur? If you look the phone is requesting an IP and if the IP given back by the router is the same one it already has the phone doesn't acknowledge that command. If the router is rebooted then a new IP is given, or what is considers new. This is a HUGE problem and I've put in some time looking at it, but one of the problems is that is comes and goes. What your router log and you'll the phone request an IP over and over again, all the while the router saying "here, take the same one you already have back".
If you use the app "Network Info II" you'll see the problem when it displays a "Device IP" at the top of 192.168.1.254 and WiFi IP address will be the correct one, in my case 192.168.1.108. When we have these two IP numbers showing differently the device is hosed. Rebooting will put them back in sync, but that is not the proper solution, we need to get to the bottom of this! I understand the WiFi IP address showing at the bottom but the "Device IP" I do not, why the difference? How can we affect the "Device IP", where does the device get that IP address?
Try the app called WiFi Fixer. That did the trick for me. There seems to be a bug of some sort that causes the phone to not release the IP address. Or you could use static IP but that worked only for a while.
Cheers.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
the app doesn't seem to work for me.... =(
DKirk said:
How can we affect the "Device IP", where does the device get that IP address?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone gets the device IP from either the service provider (when using edge/3g), or from the router (when using wifi). If an IP address is not provided, it uses a default IP address, which is always outside of the standard private IP block.
There are two ways to assign an IP address: dynamically and via static IP address. Dynamic = assigned by the router, static = pre-programmed by you. I don't know if you can set a static IP address on a phone, as I've never tried it.
I had a zyxel wireless n router in my house and could never get the wifi to work on my captivate. If it did work it lasted 5 seconds... I was really pissed.
I was thrilled to see that buffalo is now back in the market and with dd-wrt firmwares... So I picked up the most expensive one they had for $89.99.
it has a dlna client built in as well as bit torrent, also lets you use a spare usb hard drive as a nas... things i don't know....
However loaded up the wireless settings in 2 minutes and voila... perfectly working on my captivate... I have also found that this router works flawlessly with G+N devices and it is gigabit. I was able to stream 1080p video from my synology 411+ to my ps3, download on the captivate and be on two other laptops at the same time without any issues... I am very very impressed with the buffalo.
Here is the product info.
buffalo nfiniti wireless n high power router and access point. WZR-HP-G300NH
ohh and my laptops are connected fully at 300 mbps with this router wirelessly...
very very happy with it.... Oh and forgot to mention... once this started working with the buffalo i noticed my batter was much better running on wifi all the time. Also wifi file explorer pro works flawlessly.. I was able to upload a 700 meg movie to my captivate wirelessly in about 2 minutes.
WiFi fixer did not fix my problem as well. After turning WiFi on the device IP remains 192.168.1.254 while the WiFi IP is correctly set at 192.168.1.108. When these two IPs are different WiFi does not work and WiFi Fixer doesn't appear to see any problems here.
The router here is an Asus RT-N16 running Tomato and I'm fairly confident that isn't the problem. This is more like an internal routing issue inside the phone.
I don't think it's brand of router that matters... maybe a setting on our routers can fix this...?
I've searched the internet to find a sol'n but it looks like this wifi problem is a widespread problem for almost all galaxy S devices... ppl have made temporary workarounds (ie. setting a static ip) but ultimately, there is no fix for this problem.... gg...
bigbrotherbear said:
I've searched the internet to find a sol'n but it looks like this wifi problem is a widespread problem for almost all galaxy S devices
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It appears to go beyond Samsung Galaxy, I've seen the same issue with Nexus and Motorola Droids. VERY frustrating!
tylerdurdin said:
I was having this same problem until I set my wifi policy to never sleep, dont know if it is a fix for everyone but it definitely fixed my problem.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont know why nobody even notice that answer !!!!
had same problem on my milestone .. it is not a bug , wifi goes to sleep , its the way your phone is set up ... as its quoted here set it to never sleep and make sure your not using soem kind of app that will overwrite that setting ( like battery manager that for example could turn off wifi to save battery)
very easy to double check once your wifi is not working , go in wifi settings scan and check the wifi access points you normally use you ll see its set to disabled ..
the bug is it doesnt resume like it should. or gets re-enabled however you wanna call it . just re-enable it voila ! no reboot needed .
I got it working!!
This may be my first post here, so be kind...
Running Cognition v2.3b3 and Linksys WRT54G router. WIFI was working fine until I flashed to Cog 2.2 Then I could only use WIFI tethering, no other WIFI connection would work.
I tried setting up static IP and setting sleep to never. Didn't work. Changed router security from WEP to WPA Personal and got it working.
Phone settings: Go to Wi-Fi Settings, click menu, and goto advanced. I don't know if all the settings here are necessary, but I'll post what I have.
Port = 80
Use statis IP = checked
IP address = 192.168.1.103 (check your router assignments for an open address)
Gateway = 192.168.1.1
Netmask = 255.255.255.0
DNS 1 = (check your router config. For my router it's located under the Status, then router tabs.)
Router settings: (Under the Wireless, Wireless Security tab)
Security Mode = WPA Personal
WPA Algorithms = TKIP
WPA Shared Key = (your access key used when you attempt to athenticate from your phone)
Group Key Renewal = 3600 seconds
Write the access key down so you can use it to reconfigure the other wireless devices on your home network.
Good luck,
Glen
changing my router fixed the issue.
I have wifi running on my captivate for 8 hours at a time at work now and at home. Not one hiccup or disconnect, works 100%.
99% of wireless routers are crap. I work in IT and have dealt with most major brands and had been running linksys wireless routers with dd-wrt on them...
if you got a spare 90 bucks.. go to your microcenter or place where they sell buffalo routers and pick one up. If it doesn't work.. you can return it.
This worked for me
Going to a static IP worked for a few hours and then it stopped working as before. WiFi is set to not sleep.
When I ran the router without security I did not have this problem and since adding WPA2 w/AES+TKIP the problem has developed. The iPod Touch doesn't have a problem with it, nor my laptop or wireless ipTV set-top box, only the Android. I'm leaning towards setting up another router without security, on a different channel, and see if the problem disappears again. Here in 2010 we shouldn't be having this issue, but look on other forums and you'll find similar complaints with other brands of Android phones, it's not a Samsung thing.

IP address when sharing internet with laptop

I use need to use my phone to get my laptop online a lot. I had the Epic for two years, and rooted that so I could use the wireless tether. I have not rooted my Q LTE yet. Most of the time I don't care how the connection sets up my IP. However, I do have times when I need my laptop to be online and on a wired network connection simultaneously. When I tried to do that recently using Easy Tether, I kicked my IP for the laptop out of the 192.168.1.X range that I needs for the wired network. Anyone have advice on an app that will not bump my IP outside that? I tried FoxFi and can't get that to even work right (heard something about a known bug).

[Q] Wifi Tether and DDWRT for a complete home network

OK, my wife and I each have Sprint Samsung Galaxy S3's. We both have Wifi Tether TrevE mod installed and working and we also have a linksys router running DD-WRT.
I have wanted for a long time to create a stable home network with the router using our phones for internet. Reason being, We both have laptops that need access to our WiFi networked printer. And I also wanted to create a networked storage.
I started out trying to use the Router as a repeater bridge. The problem here is that in that mode there is no DHCP server in the router, so when you turn off WiFi Tether in the phone, there is no IP assignment taking place since it is handled by the phone. This is ok for the printer because we can set a static IP, but not ok for the laptops because they need to have auto ip assignment for all the other networks they might encounter. Plus I'd like to be able to have a friend come over and use the printer if need be without having to change his IP address. So this setup is unstable.
Then I tried the Router in Repeater mode. In this mode IP addresses are being assigned and everyone can see everyone else on the network. The problem here though, is that the Router and all connecting devices have to be in a separate subnet than the WiFi Tethering phone, i.e, Tethered Phone on 192.168.1.x and Router on 192.168.2.x (as far as I can tell anyway, I've tried putting them on the same subnet but fail to get internet access.) It's a problem because I have Samba Filesharing installed on the phones and the tethered phone is in a different subnet and not visible on the network. I want all devices visible.
So that's kind of where I am now, Wifi Tether on both phones (each setup with same settings so either phone can be used as our internet gateway) but they are on a separate subnet from the rest of the network while tethering.
How do I get all of my devices to be visible on the network?
Do I need a different setup in DD-WRT?
Currently it is setup in Gateway mode with DHCP server and wireless is in repeater mode with a VLAN setup with a different SSID from the WiFi tethered phone.
Do I need to usb tether the phone to the router? I have a usb port on the router but I've not found good instructions for getting the phones internet through to the router that way and I'm not sure that I would want it that way since I wouldn't be able to walk around with my phone.
Is there a way to make devices in different subnets visible to each other? Some kind of bridging or static routing or something?
Is it possible to have the phone connect to the router in a normal manner and for the router to then share the phones internet connection with the rest of the network? Then at least the router could run DHCP and be stable even without the phones.
Again, just to clarify, I want a home network with devices connecting to my WiFi router running DD-WRT and internet being provided by one of our phones, but with the network remaining intact when the internet provided phone is removed. Thanks for your help.
Bonus questions:
Is it possible to harness the power of both of our phones internet connections into one network by any means possible?
Are there any other wifi/tethering apps or another version of WiFi Tether that offer more features or the functionality of DD-WRT?
did you see this?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1548844
pbmurdoc said:
did you see this?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1548844
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. Not much new there other than Barnacle. Didn't know about it, tried it, doesn't work on my phone. I would like to see a version of WiFi Tether with some more options though, why couldn't we have one with the same options as DD-WRT?
I did some more reading and I think what I need to do is link the subnet created by the router to the primary router (the phone serving Wifi Tether) through static routing. Unfortunately the static route needs to be done through the primary router and WiFi Tether doesn't include features like that.
I'll do some more experimenting and see what happens.
[A] Cellular Phone/USB Modem As WAN Connection
Answer is in the DD-WRT Wiki, here (http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Cellular_Phone/USB_Modem_as_WAN_connection).
Or just google "DD-WRT Cellular Phone/USB Modem As WAN Connection", it should be the #1 result.
Their WIKI is a great resource.
Good luck!
EDIT:
In retrospect, I am unsure about linking to the DD-WRT site... external and all. If this is a no-no just let me know and I will delete the link.
DD-WRT Client Bridge worked for me
I was able to do what you're trying to do by configuring my DD-WRT router as a Client Bridge.
I can't post the link, but there are directions I followed exactly on the DD-WRT wiki in the section:
DD-WRT wiki mainpage / Linking Routers / Client Bridged
I'm connecting my router to the tether via wifi, and connecting my wired devices to the router. I haven't had it working long, but so far it has been great.
Got it, sort of
Just to update this thread. The client bridge is a great way to connect a wired network to the bridge but loses out on creating a stable wi-fi network when the phone tether is turned off.
Anyway, the final setup I managed was having the DD-WRT router set as a wireless repeater with a computer connected to it running a DHCP server. The computer takes care of the IP addreses so that we have a stable wired/wi-fi intranet when the phone is not sharing it's internet connection.
Update: I founde another solution/project based on OpenWRT
http://ofmodemsandmen.com/
my exploits using a Linksys E3000 have been documented here:
http://tweakedrom.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7
I kind of like the USB tether thing. The E3000 Router USB power charges and maintains my SCH-i605 (Verizon Samsung GN2) running CM12.1. I use this as a backup connection or in the event of main cable modem service disruption at the house. It is also great for traveling (hotels) or camping (car 12v adapter for router, or power inverter)
I just bought a used Asus RT-N66U router. Out of the box it supports USB tethering with android phones and dual WANs for failover/load balancing. ROOter also works, tested the x86 build on an old PC. I'm looking to cut out my ISP completely and just use 4G from the phone for internet. The issue I have run into is that I can't appear to do DDNS or port forwarding. My wireless carrier (verizon) appears to be employing a double NAT. If I perform a speedtest on the ookla app, I get 2 IP addresses in the results, an "internal" and an "external". Both are in the public range but I can't DDNS in with either of the IPs, nor can I get any kind of service working.
Anyone have a solution for this? I'm not 100% sure but I wonder if using the SIM card in a dedicated USB 4G modem (not tethering via the phone) would get me a direct IP? I suppose I could also sign up for a VPN service and run OpenVPN on the router but that'd cut down on speeds I think. I've also heard about punching holes for ports but I'm not 100% sure how that works, I assume I still need some 3rd party public IP for relaying or something.

encryption is not compatible RANT

I have all kinds of computers tablets and gadgets. I have had no problems connecting to my wireless network until the Microsoft Surface came along. My router is the Motorola NVG 510. It doesn't have many settings that can be changed. I am using WPA2 Personal AES and a password. The only way I can Connect My Surface to this network is to turn off encryption. l had the same problem with the Surface RT. .
Tried for 24 hours now to connect... AT & T Says the problem is Microsoft related and Microsoft blames AT & T . l GIVE UP!!. Returning the Surface and going to keep my Samsung Slate 7 . . . has Windows8- WiFi and 3G. . .
how the hell do AT&T come into your wireless settings?
SixSixSevenSeven said:
how the hell do AT&T come into your wireless settings?
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Click to collapse
It is AT&T's router. I have Uverse and this is the one they gave us.Motorola should be who i call if anyone but the problem is Microsoft's ..All others have no problem connecting
shEEEsh said:
I have all kinds of computers tablets and gadgets. I have had no problems connecting to my wireless network until the Microsoft Surface came along. My router is the Motorola NVG 510. It doesn't have many settings that can be changed. I am using WPA2 Personal AES and a password. The only way I can Connect My Surface to this network is to turn off encryption. l had the same problem with the Surface RT. .
Tried for 24 hours now to connect... AT & T Says the problem is Microsoft related and Microsoft blames AT & T . l GIVE UP!!. Returning the Surface and going to keep my Samsung Slate 7 . . . has Windows8- WiFi and 3G. . .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never had an issue with any form of encryption with the Surface RT - it's got the standard windows 8 wifi stack and connects to anything I throw at it, including WPA2/AES.
Not sure why you're having an issue, but you haven't given us much to go on for troubleshooting.
And getting a real router isn't possible?
Talon Pro said:
And getting a real router isn't possible?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apparently this (MOTOROLA NVG510) router is the only one I can use in my area with U-Verse.
Thats bull. Is it a combo router/modem? If so you should still be able to hook up a wireless router off of that if it has at least one ethernet port.
see thats what BT claimed when they installed BT infinity at my grandparents but we dont have the stock router running off of it
Thanks for the suggestions. I returned the Surface. I don't know enough about routers and modems to install anything else or even how to buy something else. On the other hand. Annoys me that every gadget I own (and there are many) connects with no problem EXCEPT the surface.
diane
Your router is old. Something is probably interfering with the Surface Pro's connectivity. Your SP's wifi card isn't busted if it can connect without encryption. It shouldn't have a problem. I'd suggest ditching the modem's wifi and buying a router and using that instead for wifi and leave the modem alone.
99% sure it's a setting in your router that's causing you to not be able to connect a new device through wifi.
First port of call when having wifi issues is to remove all encryption/security settings and have it as a fully open network, if that works then slowly add security/encryption until you find out where it falls over, worse case scenario is a network that appears to be open but uses MAC address filtering to keep people out.
Trig0r said:
First port of call when having wifi issues is to remove all encryption/security settings and have it as a fully open network, if that works then slowly add security/encryption until you find out where it falls over, worse case scenario is a network that appears to be open but uses MAC address filtering to keep people out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the problem was for sure the modem. There are no settings to tweak... It's gotta be the worst modem on the planet-but then U.verse doesn't feel any faster than my old ATT DSL connection. I asked to have my DSL back and ATT said that was not an option. ATT told me this modern is the only one for my area. Maybe it is time I looked into Brighthouse. I am sure there is a way around that modem but in my frustration I returned the Surface. Very sure I will buy another Surface . . I still have my Samsung Slate 7 with Windows 8... Another plus is it has a 3G connection. the more I use Windows 8 the more I like it, wish the Slate was a bit smaller.
Wireless encryption is done router side rather than modem side. You can use the ISP's modem and the connect it to an aftermarket router without issue. Its impossible for the ISP to prevent that. If its a combo modem and router then it is still possible to do.
All routers must have settings, unless you mean it has limited settings.
I've lucked out personally. My ISP's free router isn't the best on the planet but as a freeby is great. Full range of settings. Its a combo modem/router in one but I haven't had issues with that and it is perfectly happy for me to plug other routers into it (which I did once as an ethernet extension cable of sorts, otherwise my other routers are inferior) or according to a friend who used to be on the same ISP it quite happily connects to other modens and acts as a router perfectly fine still.
SixSixSevenSeven said:
Wireless encryption is done router side rather than modem side. You can use the ISP's modem and the connect it to an aftermarket router without issue. Its impossible for the ISP to prevent that. If its a combo modem and router then it is still possible to do.
All routers must have settings, unless you mean it has limited settings.
I've lucked out personally. My ISP's free router isn't the best on the planet but as a freeby is great. Full range of settings. Its a combo modem/router in one but I haven't had issues with that and it is perfectly happy for me to plug other routers into it (which I did once as an ethernet extension cable of sorts, otherwise my other routers are inferior) or according to a friend who used to be on the same ISP it quite happily connects to other modens and acts as a router perfectly fine still.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We already tried to tell him that and he wouldnt listen.
>We already tried to tell him that and he wouldnt listen.
OP's name is Diane.
Secondly, as posted in the OP, the device is a Motorola NVG 510. A 10-second lookup would show that it's a combined ADSL2+router, and it's not a simple matter of swapping out a router. Combined-function devices are SOP for leased models, since it saves the company money over having two boxes.
http://google.com/search?q=Motorola+NVG+510
It's a Surface problem. The user shouldn't be expected to mess with things like router settings and learn to be a geek. The device in question is obviously in popular use, and it's up to MS to get it right. The OP did the correct thing in returning the Surface.
However, for those with more tech savvy, the above search produces this help page for the modem+router,
http://www.ron-berman.com/2011/11/24/motorola-nvg510-help-page-for-att-u-verse-users/
which has both the manual and more importantly, a FAQ to troubleshoot connection issues, and links to more appropriate forums to ask further questions on this particular topic.
As I said, even on a combo unit you can use a different router. As long as the new router can recieve internet from any other device via ethernet all you do is connect it to the ISPs router. It will then share that connection. Yes your ISP's router will still be broadcasting but so will the new 3rd party one, you just connect to that. This is a configuration I have tested with a BT homehub and some ****ty Netgear.
To access the new routers settings, unplug it from the ISPs router first and then access the settings in the normal way. or if you can find the new local IP for the additional router you can use that.
>As I said, even on a combo unit you can use a different router. As long as the new router can recieve internet from any other device via ethernet all you do is connect it to the ISPs router. It will then share that connection.
Either the new router has to be reconfig'ed into an AP, or the old router needs to be disabled. Can't have both routers active. Likewise, the old wifi needs to be disabled, or the new one reconfigured that they don't conflict. Regardless, it's not plug and play. Either or both units would need configuration.
The household Internet router is the single most critical piece of equipment there is, because if the user messes up, s/he loses Internet access ENTIRELY and access to any further help. Without local help, that may mean several days' downtime and an expensive bill for onsite repair. I would NEVER, EVER tell a non-tech user to reconfigure his/her router, especially when the person said "I don't know enough about routers and modems to install anything else or even how to buy something else."
Everyone here has good intentions and want to help. Then, the first thing to helping is to listen to what is said, and gauge the person's comfort level with tech. No one even bothered to check up on the OP's router model.
The OP has a stable, working setup. Anything that jeopardizes that setup is bad advice, not unless you are willing to foot the onsite service cost for the person. The preferred solution is to remove the known-problem component, which in this case is the Surface.
PS: A long shot is to go into the Surface's Device Manager, select the Properties tab of the wifi card, and muck around with the advanced settings (if there are any).
You can totally daisy-chain routers using their default settings. Not sure why you would think otherwise...
That said, if you wanted port forwarding and such to work smoothly, it *would* be best to turn off DHCP and NAT on the inner router. However, that's not necessary to simply get Internet access via the router.
GoodDayToDie said:
You can totally daisy-chain routers using their default settings. Not sure why you would think otherwise...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which is precisely what I originally said.
I have daisy chained a cheap as **** netgear router to my BT homehub without any setting changes at all. I was actually using it as an ethernet extension cable pretty much, I didnt have a single cable long enough so I plugged one between the homehub/main router and the netgear and one between the netgear and a raspberry pi. Would you look at that, my laptop can connect to the netgear and get internet access from it, the pi also connects via its ethernet port perfectly.
My grandparents use a set of homeplugs, how do they connect? daisy chaining.
One of my mates has 3 ethernet devices in one room but only one LAN port drilled into the wall (he had an electrician out once to actually have LAN sockets fitted in a few rooms). Solution: cheap wireless router connected to the LAN port in the wall. Other devices connected to the router. Router had 6 ports so he still has 2 left over. Devices connect to it fine. Originally it was default settings but he has since gone and disabled the routers wifi as he doesnt use it.
That said. I came across a linksys unit once which refused to be used as an access point of any kind. But that was only once.
>You can totally daisy-chain routers using their default settings. Not sure why you would think otherwise...
Having nested routers (ie segmenting the network) is a prescription for myriad network problems in the hands of a non-tech user. Again, listen to what the OP said, rather than assume everyone is a geek who knows what DHCP and NAT means, let alone how to change them.
Even if the OP can get the new router configured and running properly, the potential for problem remains. When ISP service goes down, the ISP tech will remote troubleshoot the leased equipment (the old router), since that's the ISP's responsibility. With user equipment attached, troubleshooting responsibility passes on to the user, which the OP has stated in no uncertain terms that she's not capable of.
The point isn't to get Internet access. The OP already has Internet access. The point is to get the Surface to connect to the network, but NOT AT THE EXPENSE of adding networking complications that the OP can't handle.
>I have daisy chained...
This suffices for simple Internet access, until you run into programs or devices that break because of the multiple redirections. I doubt UPNP/DLNA works on nested NATs. Ditto discovery. Devices/periphs on one network segment won't be able to connect to those on another segment.
The wifi will work, but given that most 2.4GHz wifi default to channel 1 or 6, it will likely conflict with the old wifi and work POORLY when both are active.

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