hidden ssid broadcast problem.

jhe

be grateful for any help please.i have a belgin g router and windows 7 on laptop. to improve security on my router i have hidden the broadcast.big mistake, i now cannot connect to internet via the router. i have tried manual connecting with passwords etc it still wont connect. i have installed an older router which worked for 5 mins then message flashed up telling me there was a problem with installation.
i have checked the obvious wlan is turned on .
followed the help in the computer, it says unable to conect to belkin g hidden broadcast.

lovinituk

Are you entering the SSID name correctly? It is case sensitive.

jhe

think so but will try again. thanks.
thought it would still auto connect!

victor2

If you switch broadcasting the SSID back on, does it work?
If so, get it all working with broadcasting on, then disable it, change nothing else, reboot and see what happens.

espresso

jhe wrote: »

be grateful for any help please.i have a belgin g router and windows 7 on laptop. to improve security on my router i have hidden the broadcast.big mistake...............

Yes it was a big mistake because it does not improve security!

Most other wireless router users will not know that your are using that channel, meaning that you will most likely suffer interference when they do.

jhe

victor2 wrote: »

If you switch broadcasting the SSID back on, does it work?
If so, get it all working with broadcasting on, then disable it, change nothing else, reboot and see what happens.

thanks. i couldnt switch broadcasting the ssid back on, whatever i tried i couldnt access anything to give me the option to do this.i have been trying for the last 4 days on and off!
think i have sorted it now by resetting the router, now i can access all the security settings so ssid broadcasting is now enabled so will leave it that way.

jhe

espresso wrote: »

Yes it was a big mistake because it does not improve security!

Most other wireless router users will not know that your are using that channel, meaning that you will most likely suffer interference when they do.

thanks espresso. i thought maybe someone was using my connections as internet was running really slow at times yet when i connected direct to the modem by ethernet cable had my normal fast connection back.

victor2

jhe wrote: »

thanks. i couldnt switch broadcasting the ssid back on, whatever i tried i couldnt access anything to give me the option to do this.i have been trying for the last 4 days on and off!
think i have sorted it now by resetting the router, now i can access all the security settings so ssid broadcasting is now enabled so will leave it that way.

So long as you've got WPA security (and not WEP or none), then it should be reasonably secure.

jhe

yes thanks victor i got wpa2, but i had set my own password.which probably wouldn't have been hard to crack for anyone that knows me! changed it now.

debitcardmayhem

Solution to problem of course would have been use Wired Ethernet to change the settings

espresso

jhe wrote: »

yes thanks victor i got wpa2, but i had set my own password.which probably wouldn't have been hard to crack for anyone that knows me! changed it now.

Just copy & paste a nice long random password from here.