Help needed with Wireless Internet Connection clash

sonic

I live in a block of flats and have a wireless router connected to an NTL Cable set top box. It works fine until someone else in my block starts up their PC and connects on their BT Voyager wireless connection, which then knocks mine out.
I cannot connect to theirs, but it prevents me from connecting to mine.

I posted this query somewhere else, and someone suggest that I change the channel (I'm currently on 11). Have changed this to various settings but does no good.
I was also advised to the change the SSID value, but mine is blank. Any ideas?? It's so frustrating.

deadi

HI Sonic

has anyone suggested installing your WEP keys on router and on the wireless adaptor in your PC? The other user whose network you can see must have WEP installed otherwise you would be able to connect using their ISP! Check your manual and use "automatic WEP key generation" if that option is available.

Regards

deadi

deadi

Hi Sonic forgot to say that the keys must match in all your devices, and you can usually also input them manually.

deadi

curfish

your probably using the same channel number, try changing it in the config of your router

sonic

deadi wrote:

HI Sonic

has anyone suggested installing your WEP keys on router and on the wireless adaptor in your PC? The other user whose network you can see must have WEP installed otherwise you would be able to connect using their ISP! Check your manual and use "automatic WEP key generation" if that option is available.

Regards

deadi

This sounds interesting - new advice! Unfortunately, I didn't get a manual, more of a pamphlet. I was left totally to my own devices when I originally set it up, and hit upon the correct settings more by luck than knowing what I was doing.
Any guidance on carrying out what you have suggested above would be greatly appreciated, as I'm stumbling around in the dark on this one.

Curfish - re changing channels - As stated in my original post, I have had this suggested already and tried it without success.

robnye

you need to logon to your router

start up your browser

enter 192.168.1.1 as the web site to access

you will be presented with a menu

there should be a security settings option

firstly set a password......

not sure of other options, as i dont have the same router, but colleague does


if you want any more info let me know and i will ask around, otherwise try searching the internet or bt websites

Housenet

I set up a wireless network at home using a Belkin G Wirless Router. I took some doing to get it right and even now I can't run Norton Live update automatically anymore. (Still waiting for a reply from both Symantec & Belkin on a resolution).

Something I found useful was using MAC Address. You type in your machine's IP address and your router will only accept access from those machines included. Perhaps someone whose a bit more techie can tell you if it's an appropriate bit of information.

Within 5 minutes of my router going live, my neighbour knocked on my door to tell me I was broadcasting to the world.. I'd kicked him off his regular connection but now I've stopped braodcasting and changed the security settings as mentioned in earlier messages and were all sorted now.

Good luck.

sonic

robnye wrote:

you need to logon to your router

start up your browser

enter 192.168.1.1 as the web site to access

you will be presented with a menu

there should be a security settings option

firstly set a password......

not sure of other options, as i dont have the same router, but colleague does


if you want any more info let me know and i will ask around, otherwise try searching the internet or bt websites

Tried this but it wouldn't connect to that website.

Also I'm still confused and may be wrong, but think that the advice being given is to stop someone else from connecting to my signal. I don't think this the problem though. It's just that someone else's signal is being detected by my PC, and is over-riding my own.

Still none the wiser and having the same problem. Additional help would be greatly appreciated.

Toxteth_OGrady

Long post (cut 'n paste from manual). First half is how to set up your security, second half is how to set up wireless channels and SSID.

---

Securing your network
See also Internet Security

1. Hide SSID (Recommended)
The Voyager 2100 provides an option to hide the broadcast of the Wireless Network Name (SSID). This offers an added level of protection, similar to a password, to prevent unwanted connection. Other users will not be able to connect to your Base Unit without knowing the SSID of your wireless network.

To hide the Wireless Network Name (SSID):

Click http://voyager.home to open the BT Voyager Configuration Manager. How to...
Select the Advanced | Wireless | Settings screen
If prompted, enter your Configuration Manager access password (factory default is admin for both user name and password)
Tick Hide Wireless Network option
Click Apply to save your changes
Note: Wireless adapters that were connected to the Voyager 2100 BEFORE the SSID was hidden will still display the wireless network as if the SSID was not hidden. This is normal.

2. Enable WEP or WPA encryption (Recommended)
Your Voyager 2100 supports basic WEP security and also the more advanced security offered by WPA. WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) is a powerful, standards-based, interoperable security technology for wireless networks that encrypts data sent over radio waves. WPA was developed to overcome the weaknesses of WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy).

Various options are available for enabling wireless security on your network. First you need to decide the type of wireless security you want to use.

WEP
WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) is the security used as standard in older 802.11b wireless networks.

Select 64-bit WEP or 128-bit WEP if:

You wish to connect older wireless adapters that do not support WPA (see opposite) such as the BT Voyager 1010/1020 to your wireless network now or in the future

WPA or WPA-PSK
WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) is the next generation of security for wireless networks. WPA-PSK is the version of WPA specific for the home or small office users because it does not require an authentication server. With WPA-PSK, your network key is regularly and automatically changed so hackers cannot decode the key by listening to your connection.

Select WPA-PSK if:

All your wireless adapters support WPA. Check your wireless adapter's specification.
You wish to benefit from the additional security offered by WPA over standard WEP


For help on Enterprises security with WPA or 802.1x, please refer to your network administrator.

To setup WEP security:

Click http://voyager.home to open the BT Voyager Configuration Manager. How to...
Select the Advanced | Wireless | Encryption screen
If prompted, enter your Configuration Manager access password (factory default is admin for both user name and password)
Select 128-bit WEP.
Enter Key1. The key can be any string of 13 characters. All other options can be ignored unless you have specific security requirements.
Important: Make a note of the key somewhere safe: you will need it later to connect your wireless adapters.
Click Apply to save your changes
Your computer will lose its wireless connection with the Voyager 2100. You now need to configure your wireless adapters with matching security settings. Please refer to your wireless adapter's instructions.
To set-up WPA-PSK security:

Click http://voyager.home to open the BT Voyager Configuration Manager. How to...
Select the Advanced | Wireless | Encryption screen
If prompted, enter your Configuration Manager access password (factory default is admin for both user name and password)
Select WPA-PSK
Enter Pre-Shared Key. The key can be any string of between 8 and 64 characters. All other options can be ignored unless you have specific security requirements.
Important: Make a note of the key somewhere safe: you will need it later to connect your wireless adapters.
Click Apply to save your changes
Your computer will lose its wireless connection with the Voyager 2100. You now need to configure your wireless adapters with matching security settings. Please refer to your wireless adapter's instructions.
3. If using WEP: Regularly change Keys (Advanced)
WEP security offers effective protection against unwanted connections on a typical home/small office network. However, for added security, the WEP encryption Keys should be changed regularly. Depending on your data traffic, this can be from every month for a typical home user to every week with high traffic load.

Note
When you change security settings on your Voyager 2100, remember to also change settings on ALL devices on your wireless network

4. Association Control (Advanced)
Association control lets you specify exactly which wireless adapters are allowed to connect to your BT Voyager 2100 Wireless Network. Adapters not in the list will not be able to connect to the Network.

Wireless adapters are identified by their Physical/MAC address which is usually displayed on the label underneath the product.

Click http://voyager.home to open the BT Voyager Configuration Manager. How to...
Select the Advanced | Wireless | MAC Address Control screen
If prompted, enter your Configuration Manager access password (factory default is admin for both user name and password)
Set association control settings. How to...
Click Apply to save your changes
Back

---

Wireless Settings
Enable Wireless Network
Tick this box to enable your wireless network. When wireless is disabled, the Wireless light on the front of your Voyager Router will switch off.

Hide Wireless Network
The Voyager Router provides an option to hide the broadcast of the wireless network name (SSID). This offers an added level of protection, similar to a password, to prevent unwanted connection. Other users will not be able to connect to your base station without knowing the name of your wireless network.

This option is recommended as the most basic security measure to prevent unwanted connection to your wireless network. Note that hiding your SSID will not prevent computers which were connected BEFORE the change from connecting to the network. To stop such computers connecting, you should also change the SSID (see below).

Click here for more information about setting up wireless security.

Wireless Network Name (SSID)
This is the name that is transmitted to identify your wireless network. You can change this to anything you want or leave it unchanged. If there are other wireless networks operating in your area make sure that your SSID is unique (does not match any other wireless network in your area). The default SSID of your Voyager 2100 is BTVOYAGER2100-xx where 'xx' are the last 2 digits of the BSSID number printed on the label underneath the Voyager 2100.

Channel
Wireless networks operate in the 2.4GHz frequency band where 13 channels are available. Devices must operate on the same channel to be able to communicate. The base station controls the channel allocation. For best operation you should select a channel at least five away from any other wireless networks operating in your area.

Change the channel if you are experiencing interference from a neighbouring network or device such as a wireless video transmitter. You can also consider changing the channel used by the other device if it offers a selection of channels.

Transmission Mode
By default, your Voyager 2100 will accept connection from both 802.11g and 802.11b wireless computers ('Auto' mode). You may choose to allow access to your wireless network by computers using '802.11b only' or '802.11g only' depending on the type of wireless adapters you own. If you only own 802.11g wireless adapters, then setting the mode to '802.11g only' might result in a slight performance improvement.

Frame Bursting Mode
When enabled, this mode optimises the transfer speed with compatible wireless adapters such as the BT Voyager 802.11g wireless adapters.

---

HTH

:cool:

TOG

sonic

Cheers TOG - advice much appreciated but will this work for me? I'm on NTL, it's my neighbour who's on BT Voyager.

Toxteth_OGrady

OK - thought from your original post your WiFi router was a Voyager 2100. Notwithstanding, the principles of securing a wireless network and changing channel are pretty much the same irrespective of router brand. What router do you have??

:cool:

TOG