Linksys router incompatible with Vista?

Hey guys,

Okay, I have an exisiting wireless network that has been working fine for years. I'm using a Linksys BEFW11S4, which is an older wireless-B router, but my Internet connection has been more than adequate through this router.

I just purchased a new HP dv7, and I wanted to get Internet set up right away. This is my first Vista machine, but I'm familiar enough with setting up wireless connections that I didn't have any problems getting the dv7 onto my network, using my existing WEP key. The problem is that I noticed the connection status icon in the system tray would cycle between 'connected' to 'identifying' to 'limited or no connectivity'. I'm connected to my network the whole time, and if I actually do manage to get to a website, it takes minutes to load the page. And the connection will only last a minute or two anyway, on average. I had my 4-year old HP laptop next to my new one, and it never lost connection.

I first called HP to see if something might be going on with the wireless card, but after some very scripted troubleshooting, they conferenced me with Linksys support. Linksys only did some very basic troubleshooting, and informed me that I'd have to pay around $30 for more support since my router was out of warranty. Btw, the Linksys rep latched onto the fact that I'd mentioned "limited or no connectivity" as one of the symptoms, and would not stop insisting that I may have entered my WEP key incorrectly. It's like she heard a key phrase and started following a script that matched that symptom. Pretty frustrating....

Anyway, I then checked Linksys' site and my router (BEFW11S4) is not listed as one of Vista's supported routers. This is not to say that it's not compatible (which it may not be anyway), but rather that it hasn't been "rigorously tested" with Vista by Microsoft. My question to everyone is whether or not these symptoms may be due to my router's incompatibility with Vista (I have the 64-bit version), or if there may be some other problem here. I just don't know what aspect of the router (firmware, WEP key, etc) might be affecting the connection through Vista.

I had thought about buying a more updated router, but as I mentioned, my wireless connection has been pretty good (and fast with my cable modem). But if it's just not going to work with Vista, then of course I will do that.

One last thing, which is not directly related to the problem here: a few minutes after I connected to my network (it's named 'Olorin'), I noticed another wireless network pop up in my list called 'Olor'. Could someone be trying to do something with my network, or was it just a fluke?

Thanks for reading the lengthy post. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

* I would suggest to upgrade to the latest firmware for your router. Click<-- Choose your version and download and upgrade to latest firmware.

* Set the channel number on the router and the computer's Network Interface Card (NIC) via Device Manager to the same number.

*Set the NIC card to use Wireless B only in it's properties via Device Manager.

* Try using WPA2 instead of WEP...WEP is outdated, and weak in security. WPA replaced WEP....

 

I have the same router, and I'm seeing a similar problem with my new lenovo laptop (received it yesterday). It starts with 11 Mbps, then drops to 1 Mbps then looses the connection, and it keeps cylcing thru this again and again.

I have windows vista home basic, and intel 5100AGN wifi chips. I also have bluetooth.

I've never had any problems with my router before. My iPhone always connects without any issues, and I've previously had a brand new hp laptop with vista home and it didn't have any issues either, but it only had b/g wifi (don't remember the chipset)

Do you have an intel 5100AGN wireless? why do you think it's a vista issue ? (like i said, I've previously had an hp with vista and wireless b/g with no issues)

The best idea i have is to update both the router firmware and the laptop's wifi firmware and see what happens. If not, then I'll have to buy a new router.

l

 

I can only disble the N mode on my laptop's wifi (intel 5100AGN), I can't find a way to tell it to use wireless b only

 

one more thing, I was reliably able to connect to a clear (no encryption) wireless g router.

 

Thanks very much! I will try these suggestions once I get home tonight. I did want to switch to WPA, but I figured I'd just connect it quickly with my existing connection before I changed my network security.

Hmm, well I'm not sure if it's a Vista problem. The only reason I mentioned it was because our router is not listed here: http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_CASupport_C1&childpagename=US%2FLayout&cid=1169671929625&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper&lid=2962577881L11#Compatible .

I do have the 5100AGN, and I'm wondering if it's even fully compatible with wireless-B networks; although I assumed it is. Just trying to think of all possibilities before I switch out the router. I did download the lastest firmware (which btw, was dated sometime in 2005), but I haven't installed it yet. Will the upgrade erase my router settings?

 

yes it will. You need to save your settings to a file and then reload them after you burn the new firmware

 

Well, I picked up a new Linksys WRT54G2 last night. I wanted a newer wireless-G router anyway, and so far I'm really pleased with it. Although I haven't tested my connection speeds yet, it's definitely faster, and my computer had no trouble connecting to the wireless network, like it did with the old BEFW11S4. I like the new Linksys design, too.

Oh, and I am using WPA2 now.

 

Thanks for the feedback, I'm gone pick one from the strore today. While updating the 5100AGN firmware last night, I read the release notes and there was a section for known issues, which refers to connection problems with linksys routers due to association times or something like that. I was concerned it was with all linksys routes, but gladly you confirmed no issues with the .11g ones.

 

No problem at all. Oh, and I didn't even run that pesky Linksys software to set it up (although I've read it's better than it used to be). Just connected everything, went to the router web page and set everything up from there. Couldn't have been easier.

Maybe the connection problems you read about were regarding older Linksys routers?

 

Good job on setting up your new router Olorin2. Glad everything is working good now!