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Connecting your Xoom to a wireless network with a hidden ssid?

Hi Guys,
I have searched, but did not find a working solution on how to connect the Xoom to a wireless network, which does not broadcast its ssid. My friend has an Acer Iconia and he can connect to hidden networks, so Android 3.0 must be able to.
Has anybody been able to get this to work on their Xoom?
Cheers,
Deputy
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App

You can type the name of the ssid in if you know it. And if you're in range, you'll connect.

Hi, yeah, that works on my phone (CM7) but not on the Xoom... It is disabled for an okish reason, but I was hoping someone would know how to enable it anyway.

The Android framework doesn't properly support hidden SSIDs, unfortunately.
There's a WifiManager setting for network entries, but it doesn't actually do anything.
IMO there's no good reason to use a hidden SSID. It really doesn't provide any additional security (A determined hacker can find your network anyway)
With the incompatibilities it causes with many devices, why do it?

Not sure where some people are having issues adding hidden SSIDs, I had no problem adding my network to the Xoom right out of the box a couple weeks ago. The wifi setup function under wireless settings actually prompts for your SSID when manually adding one. Perhaps I was lucky in getting a less-problematic Xoom, but it works just fine for me. The 3.1 update was pushed out to it automatically last Saturday and I still connect no problem.
Wifi is pretty quick, though it sucks to hear the info about it not utilizing the full potential of 802.11n.
Don't believe the hype that your system is not any more secure through SSID cloaking, doing so makes it is less of a target, unless it's the only AP around and someone knowledgeable enough is looking to get in. Don't use it as your only layer of security, but use it in conjunction with the strongest encryption your systems support.

I agree with both of you, there is no reason to use it, but my employer seems to have a different opinion, so I can't do much with it over there.
Thanks for your replies.

Have 3 Hidden-SSID networks configured in my Xoom; I bet your problem lies elsewhere (special chars, maybe? Misspelled SSID?)

kcrudup said:
Have 3 Hidden-SSID networks configured in my Xoom; I bet your problem lies elsewhere (special chars, maybe? Misspelled SSID?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried it many times. I am sure the spelling is ok. Mine uses no authentication. Is it the same for your networks?
Would be very interesting to find the difference. (but, then again, I can't change the network properties at my company)

deputynl said:
Mine uses no authentication
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WPA2-PSK for all of mine.
(But you've gotta wonder- what's the effin' point of having a hidden SSID for "security" but Open Authentication?!)

kcrudup said:
WPA2-PSK for all of mine.
(But you've gotta wonder- what's the effin' point of having a hidden SSID for "security" but Open Authentication?!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know! I think it is funny, but still I can't connect ;-)

kcrudup said:
Have 3 Hidden-SSID networks configured in my Xoom; I bet your problem lies elsewhere (special chars, maybe? Misspelled SSID?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just bought a second Xoom for my wife and ran into this same problem with hers. Mine connects to the network fine whether its broadcasting or not, I normally have it turned off. Hers will only connect when said broadcast is turned on.
it makes me think it has to be a setting somewhere that's off on hers, just have to find it.

[Q] Won't reconnect manual network without SSID broadcast?

So the S3 has known WiFi issues, but mine seems to have none of the issues I've read about thus far. It does have one irritating thing that has been driving me crazy for the longest time. If I ever move outside of the range of my network, reboot, or etc such that the WiFi has to be reestablished, it will decide that my network is "out of range" even though the signal is well within an acceptable minimum (it's a tad bit weak, but, once established it holds extremely steady pretty much no matter what I'm doing.) If I remove and re-add the network settings it works perfectly, again with a stable signal and perfect speeds until the next time I move out of range or reboot.
For now I've reenabled SSID broadcast, but I really liked the idea of having it off as it's a ridiculously simple yet strikingly effective security mechanism (I like the "security through obscurity" methods when I can -- especially since I'm having to use the old WEP encryption protocol to support some older devices, though I'm just about ready just to give up on them at this point. Even the best hacker in the world couldn't get into my network if (s)he never actually made any attempt to do so in the first place.) With SSID enabled, it has no troubles picking up my network every time, it just won't automatically pick it up without it.
Is this just an issue with the software itself or something? Anything that can be fixed from the user side, or is it something that can only be fixed by an update to the OS or related software itself? (But then with 4.1 coming soon supposedly I'm kind of hoping that if it is an issue with the software that would fix it. Still, that's a while away at least and this is assuming their plans aren't messed up with this whole lawsuit business causing them so many problems right now.)

If you have SSID broadcast disabled, how do you expect your phone to recognize the network? I can see how it would work if you enable SSID, connect to your network then disable it again, but it's not going magically reconnect with SSID disabled, its not logical seeing your SSID is what makes it possible for your phone to find your network.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

Wep sucks ofcourse but how about just setting up a mac addy auth to give another layer of security and enable ur ssid
Sent from my SCH-I535

I do use MAC address filtering if that's what you mean. While it might stop a script kiddie, I don't have a huge amount of confidence in it. MAC address spoofing is so pitifully easy than with computer equipment at least you usually are even presented with a configuration option that lets you specifically change the MAC address to anything you want. I'm definitely sticking with it because, well, there's absolutely no reason not to, but I actually have less confidence in MAC address filtering to stop anyone than disabled SSID broadcasting because anyone actually actively trying to break in should pretty much immediately bypass that particular mechanism right off.
Shibby87 said:
If you have SSID broadcast disabled, how do you expect your phone to recognize the network? I can see how it would work if you enable SSID, connect to your network then disable it again, but it's not going magically reconnect with SSID disabled, its not logical seeing your SSID is what makes it possible for your phone to find your network.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ALL other devices are smart enough to search for a manually configured network if they actually know the SSID to search for. My Roku, my Android 2.2 "Internet Tablet" (basically a PDA) by Archos, my Nintendo DS (this is the main thing holding me back at WEP, and as ancient and pitiful as its networking is, even IT can connect on its own without making me manually recreate the settings every time!) and my EeePC running Windows XP without any software to manage the WiFi settings except the built-in Windows thing.

Nazo said:
So the S3 has known WiFi issues, but mine seems to have none of the issues I've read about thus far. It does have one irritating thing that has been driving me crazy for the longest time. If I ever move outside of the range of my network, reboot, or etc such that the WiFi has to be reestablished, it will decide that my network is "out of range" even though the signal is well within an acceptable minimum (it's a tad bit weak, but, once established it holds extremely steady pretty much no matter what I'm doing.) If I remove and re-add the network settings it works perfectly, again with a stable signal and perfect speeds until the next time I move out of range or reboot.
For now I've reenabled SSID broadcast, but I really liked the idea of having it off as it's a ridiculously simple yet strikingly effective security mechanism (I like the "security through obscurity" methods when I can -- especially since I'm having to use the old WEP encryption protocol to support some older devices, though I'm just about ready just to give up on them at this point. Even the best hacker in the world couldn't get into my network if (s)he never actually made any attempt to do so in the first place.) With SSID enabled, it has no troubles picking up my network every time, it just won't automatically pick it up without it.
Is this just an issue with the software itself or something? Anything that can be fixed from the user side, or is it something that can only be fixed by an update to the OS or related software itself? (But then with 4.1 coming soon supposedly I'm kind of hoping that if it is an issue with the software that would fix it. Still, that's a while away at least and this is assuming their plans aren't messed up with this whole lawsuit business causing them so many problems right now.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hidden ssid enabler will solve this problem. it works great for me. follow the directions in comments of play store though.

You know, I do believe that did actually solve the problem. I guess more testing is needed, but in my initial test it seems to have worked just fine with the SSID broadcast set to hidden again (I even rebooted the router and phone both just to be sure the settings fully took.)
It still strikes me as being a bit dumb that my ancient Nintendo DS that can't even handle WPA can handle a non-broadcast SSID and my previous Android PDA could as well, yet this Android phone couldn't out of the box...

[Q] [Wifi Issue] Compatible routers?

All,
I am a new Note 10.1 Wifi(GT-N8013) owner and am struggling with an issue that seems to not be entirely isolated to me. Based on what I've read in this forum it seems to stem from router compatibility. The issue I'm having is that file transfers via wifi start out at full speed and after some random period of time between 1 and 60 seconds the speed degrades until the transfer stops completely.
I have tried transferring using ES File Explorer via FTP and LAN, I've also tried via LAN using Astro. When using the Play store to perform a large app update the transfer will just hang on updating, forcing me to ultimately kill it and restart it, however sometimes it will succeed. The youtube app will often not load the related content on the channels page i.e. comments, other video links, etc. instead just showing the 'loading circle' in it's the place where this content should show up. Usually if I navigate to another channel or video then go back to the one I wanted to watch, it will successfully load and play the video. I have several other networked devices in my house(GS3, Asus TF101, GN2, Laptops, etc.) that all have no issues.
I have two routers with one serving as the main internet connection and the secondary serving as a WDS extender. One is a Linksys brand, the other a Buffalo brand. Both are b/g routers. Both are running DD-WRT v24-SP2. All connected devices are given a specifically assigned(Via Mac Address) ip address via DHCP.
Things I have tried to resolve this:
Changed the channel on the router
Set the Note tablet to a static IP address
Connected to each router
Restarted the tablet
Sat right next to the router(To determine if it was a range issue)
Disabled power saving mode on the tablet
Interestingly I don't seem to have issues when performing a file transfer via Dolphin browser. I used it last night to install some of the Humble Bundle games. A couple of them were around 500MB and the download completed with no issues.
I also am able to run and complete several Speedtest.net speedtests in a row without a timeout or hiccup.
One thing to note in particuluar: I set up my Note 2 to as an access point and tethered my tablet to it. When using this configuration, I was then able to transfer the entire file via FTP this way, albiet slower than being on WiFi.
I should point out that when this is occurring, The Wifi icon is present and both the upload and download arrows are showing activity so it appears that my connection is good and solid.
As I said, I did search this forum and found a few threads that relate this same issue, however no apparent resolution was posted. Are any of you experiencing this and if so, did you solve it, and if so, how?
Could this be a router issue? And if so, what other brands are recommended? I've been wanting to upgrade to N, this might be a good opportunity to do so...
Thanks.

Correct me if I'm wrong but it sounds like you're experiencing more issues with Google services (play store, yahoo, docs). If that's the case, you're not alone and it's neither your tablet nor your router. Do a search for slow Google services and you'll find a bunch of speed fixes, some which work fine at times then become irrelevant. I haven't found a good solution myself.
Good luck.
Sent from my GT-N8013 using xda app-developers app

bsaman said:
Correct me if I'm wrong but it sounds like you're experiencing more issues with Google services (play store, yahoo, docs). If that's the case, you're not alone and it's neither your tablet nor your router. Do a search for slow Google services and you'll find a bunch of speed fixes, some which work fine at times then become irrelevant. I haven't found a good solution myself.
Good luck.
Sent from my GT-N8013 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't say it's with Google services specifically. As I said even using ES File explorer to try to copy files over wifi either via the LAN feature or the FTP feature will result in the transfer ultimately timing out. And the size of the file doesn't appear to be a factor as it does this whether the file is 50MB or 500MB. I am not sure why I'm able to transfer with no issues via a browser vs a network share or ftp browser. Maybe the http protocol is better at handling hiccups in the transfer process.
Very frustrating to say the least.

it is not the fw either.. I use dd wrt at both home and work with no issues
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

WiFi connectivity issues

Just received my Nexus 5 today and I'm noticing some strange connectivity issues while on WiFi. Some apps would complain network is unavailable, Facebook would load with no pictures, etc. This happens randomly, sometimes after few minutes others - an hour(s). Rebooting the phone or even cycling WiFi off/on usually recovers it, until it happens again. Cellular data works fine all the time. It can't be the WiFi network I'm connecting to as I have a myriad of devices that have worked and continue working without any problems.
I tried 3 other WiFi networks (different routers) with different configurations of encryption as well no encryption, switching between 5GHz, 2.4GHz, no matter what, problem occurs sooner or later.
Noticed on Google support forums few users describing exactly the same issue, surprised I didn't find reports here on XDA. Maybe not many people got their phones yet.
Anyone else getting the same "treatment" from their new Nexus 5?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

I am seeing exactly the same thing. Wifi will work great, then all of a sudden, nothing. Stays that way for a couple of minutes, then all of a sudden it works again.

How many bars does the sifi icon show ?

Number of bars doesn't matter. I can have full bars sitting a meter from the router and issue would happen anyways.
I tried playing with WiFi optimizations in advanced settings to no avail unfortunately. Hopefully this is a bug that Google can quickly fix with a software update
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Same here. Got my N5 yesterday and experienced the same at home. Same for my brother.
Hope that gets clarified soon. Not the nicest feeling having a new phone with that (or any) kind of issue...

Yes, my N5 started doing the same on my home wifi connections (using Apple's Airport Extreme 2.4/5GHz router).
The Playstore or Youtube apps would not display images or take forever. When I switched wifi off those apps worked fine.
I got it working again when I "forgot" my wifi setting for the 2.4 and 5Ghz channels then reconnected to the 2.4. I'll let that run for a day or so then try activating the 5Ghz.

Hmmm... This may have been what was going on here...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2516307

Is it similar to the issue I described?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2515635
I usually don't have connection issues outright, but do have issues reconnecting. However I did notice I list connection overnight after I went to bed.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app

Nah. Its no connection issue. We can connect easily and have full signal bars, but still no connection randomly for a couple of minutes.

Boonyard said:
Hmmm... This may have been what was going on here...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2516307
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sound like it - yes.
pinksoviet said:
Is it similar to the issue I described?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2515635
I usually don't have connection issues outright, but do have issues reconnecting. However I did notice I list connection overnight after I went to bed.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm - no I don't think that's the one. Phone connects fine, just over time randomly does this thing with the connectivity issues.

--EDIT
OOPs my mistake...
I looked in Setting/Wifi/Advanced ...
I turned OFF "Avoid Poor Connections"
and everything seems to work the way i want ( when i tell it to go to Wifi, it does that )
--EDIT end
i added star to this issue because of same problem . If enough stars get added Google may get on it.

(Didn't know if I should create a new thread for this as it is a wifi issue but seems to be soemthing different than what the OP decribed, my issues are related only to playstore app downloading)
I too am having terrible wifi issues on my new Nexus 5. But mine are different from those described here I think. Whenever I cycle through the wifi, turn it off and on again it doesn't fix the problem (not temporarily and ofc not permanently)
When browsing the web, the play store and mostly everything it works great and is very fast, BUT when downloading or updating an app the wifi speed is practically non-existant.
Sometimes showing that it will take 25 hours to download a 25mb app :S
This while my Galaxy Nexus on the same wifi network is as speedy as ever.
I have tried factory resetting my Nexus 5, I have cleared the cache and data of the play services app and of the play store app, I have tried changing the wifi bands (from auto, to 5 to 2.4 and back to auto), I have turned off the wifi optimization, but none of those things helped. I even tried some DNS HSPC wifi settings thingy I read here
That didn;t help either.
I have unplugged my router and replugged it in but that didn't help either.
I literally had to leave my brand new Nexus 5 downloading all night just so that it could install the apps I wanted on it. So far for playing around with the phone on day 1
What makes it even weirder is that occasionaly the wifi issues resolve itself and I can get good download speeds for several seconds or sometimes up to a few minutes, but then right after it is straight back to crap speeds. Some other reported that only while making a portion of the map available offline in Google Maps their app download speeds were great, but that didn't work for me either.
I don't know what to do and if it is a hardware issue or a software issue. Please help me.
Below some info that might be useful to helping me solve this.
White Nexus 5 32GB
Bought from US play store
Shipped to and using it in the Netherlands
Currently does not have a SIM card inside (that is still in my Galaxy Nexus till the wifi issues are resolved)
Unrooted, only installed the mandatory update during the setup
All apps downloaded are apps that are also on my Galaxy Nexus which works without a hitch
Any and all suggestions/ideas/help are welcome

I think the problem somehow related to DNS. I found that if I configure static IP settings and point DNS to Google's instead router's, things work normally. I reconfigured my router to advertise 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 as DNS servers for the DHCP and now for over 24 hours I haven't experienced the disconnection issue.
If your router cannot be reconfigured, try assigning static IP settings and Google's DNS to see if it helps.
I still believe that's a software bug on the phone, we can't blame a device (the router) that has worked for years and works fine with everything else but the Nexus 5, being at fault.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

I currently can't reconnect to my Wi-Fi at home as it's stuck showing the last scan I did some 40 miles away at a shopping centre earlier today.
Of course none of these networks are now present, yet all mine are shown as not found!
Guessing a reboot will fix it as toggling Wi-Fi didn't. Mobile data is working fine.

leobg said:
I think the problem somehow related to DNS. I found that if I configure static IP settings and point DNS to Google's instead router's, things work normally. I reconfigured my router to advertise 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 as DNS servers for the DHCP and now for over 24 hours I haven't experienced the disconnection issue.
If your router cannot be reconfigured, try assigning static IP settings and Google's DNS to see if it helps.
I still believe that's a software bug on the phone, we can't blame a device (the router) that has worked for years and works fine with everything else but the Nexus 5, being at fault.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not as tech as I want to be, so could you explain to me what the difference is in setting the DNS to Google's instead of routers? I have no idea what DNS is/does so what happens when you point it soemwhere else?

WORPspeed said:
Not as tech as I want to be, so could you explain to me what the difference is in setting the DNS to Google's instead of routers? I have no idea what DNS is/does so what happens when you point it soemwhere else?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DNS stands for Domain Name Service. What it basically does is to translate those easy to remember names such as www.Google.com to the actual numeric address (also called IP address) of the server that serves that site on the Internet. Home routers almost always sport built-in DNS service to speed up name translation requests from internal devices. What I figured is going on on the nexus 5 is it "doesn't seem to like" some DNS servers. Works fine with some, doesn't with others. What happens is at one point, for whatever reason, it stops being able to translate names to addresses and as result "decides" there is no working connection as it fails to connect to the corresponding servers. Google hosts publicly available DNS servers with the easy to remember IP addresses of 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 which apparently Nexus 5 doesn't have problem working with. Once it gets "instructed" to use them instead router's, everything works fine.
At least that's what I figured is going on so far.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

BTW, just found one small and very useful app that can display information about WiFi connection as well as DNS servers associated to it.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

leobg said:
DNS stands for Domain Name Service. What it basically does is to translate those easy to remember names such as www.Google.com to the actual numeric address (also called IP address) of the server that serves that site on the Internet. Home routers almost always sport built-in DNS service to speed up name translation requests from internal devices. What I figured is going on on the nexus 5 is it "doesn't seem to like" some DNS servers. Works fine with some, doesn't with others. What happens is at one point, for whatever reason, it stops being able to translate names to addresses and as result "decides" there is no working connection as it fails to connect to the corresponding servers. Google hosts publicly available DNS servers with the easy to remember IP addresses of 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 which apparently Nexus 5 doesn't have problem working with. Once it gets "instructed" to use them instead router's, everything works fine.
At least that's what I figured is going on so far.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, but that wouldn't fix my issue right, because it doesn't explain why only play store downloads are terribly slow while the rest works fine.
Gave it a shot and at first it seemed to work, but after a short while the problem re-arose

DNS has nothing to do with weak or lost WIFI connections...
You can be perfectly connected, at full n speed to a WIFI AP without getting proper acces to Internet : THIS can DNS isue.
But in no way a DNS isue can leads to lost or very weak WIFI signal.
2 solutions are possible with Nexus 5 :
- WIFI module has the same badly coded shape as camera one...
- its hardware related wich, no need to say, could be the worst case...

I am having the same issue since day one. In fact it just occurred as I was replying to this thread. Mostly occurs when the phone comes out of sleep mode. However it will occur often and at random.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app

Question Family link [TB-J617F]

Hi all,
I've been trying to get family link working as my daughter uses this tablet. When trying to add her account the setup gets stuck in an endless loop never competing. Having read various threads from other devices, I think it's probably something to do with play services not having certain permissions. I would consider unlocking, installing twrp, magisk etc if required to fix, but I don't want to loose widevine.
The long and short is I can't use her account on the device at all as she's part of the family group - her account won't work at all without family link.
I wondered if anyone here had either tried this, or come across other odd behaviours relating to play services?
I'm running the Chinese ROM ziu 13.
Appreciate any thoughts.
Cheers Matt

Few things I have tried (and eventually got it to work) across 2x Lenovo P11 Plus (J616F)'s:
1st one was a factory reset and then instead of using my home WiFi, setup the device using a 4G hotspot from my phone. (Not a clue why, but my Home Wifi (Unifi Access Points) takes upwards of 2 minutes to get internet with the Lenovo's, even though all other devices are fine).
Second method:
factory reset and setup the device as "Offline" (i.e. dont input any WiFi details, button down bottom right saying "Setup as Offline")
Once gone through initial steps, connect to your WiFi, give it 10 minutes to update a few bits.
Open Play Store (DO NOT SIGN IN!), and press the three dots at the top right and goto updates
Let the device update all apps
When complete, try adding the childs Google Account (again, if this fails, try using a 4G hotspot from another device (disabling Wifi on that device first))
Hope that helps

Ok, that sounds pretty strange but I might give it a go. I just set her up a new Google account as nothing I could do could get the old one logged in. Thanks for your advice.
I suspect your unifi is running a shared ssid and your 5ghz is on an inaccessible band, are you always connecting at 2.4ghz? I had to change the 5g band on mine to even see it!

mdurkin said:
Ok, that sounds pretty strange but I might give it a go. I just set her up a new Google account as nothing I could do could get the old one logged in. Thanks for your advice.
I suspect your unifi is running a shared ssid and your 5ghz is on an inaccessible band, are you always connecting at 2.4ghz? I had to change the 5g band on mine to even see it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only have my 5Ghz on normal bands (i.e. non DFS), even tried a separate 2.4Ghz Guest network, disabled WPA3, all to no avail. Not got a clue what caused it, my ISP doesn't block anything either (Zen UK)
Any other device was fine over WiFi (have setup much older Samsung tablets, newer kids phones) all with Family Link, it was just the Lenovo's that was stuck in a loop saying I needed to remove and re-add the account.
Just couldn't figure it out, and had already spent a few hours trying. Hoped the newest firmware would fix, but that didn't help either.
Hope it helps and good luck

Just playing around on the tablet and it appears that it struggles with IPv6 - could be that my hotspot is IPv4 only. Could be related to the loop it gets stuck in?
Not sure why it doesn't like IPv6 though as all other devices are fine with it...

I've just gone through full reset, then tried using 4g hotspot as you suggested. I have to use Lenovo app centre to get play store, then use play store with no login to update. That all works fine. Then add my daughters account. Then I get stuck in the same loop of not being able to register the device with family link.
In my case, I don't think this relates to internet access, I think there's something going wrong with the software / permissions on the device. It's genuinely very frustrating as I imagine it's probably not terribly difficult for the Lenovo Devs to fix.