Troubleshooting

51

Problem: The Easy Install Wizard completed, but my web browser

doesn't work.

- OR -

I am unable to connect to the Internet. The WAN light on my router is

blinking and the Connected light is solid.

Solution:

If the WAN light is blinking and the Connected light is solid, but you are unable to

access the Internet, there may be third-party firewall software installed on the computer

attempting to access the Internet. Examples of third-party firewall software are ZoneAlarm,

BlackICE PC Protection, McAfee Personal Firewall, and Norton Personal Firewall.

If you do have firewall software installed on your computer, please make sure that you

properly configure it. You can determine if the firewall software is preventing Internet access

by temporarily turning it off. If, while the firewall is disabled and Internet access works

properly, you will need to change the firewall settings to function properly when it is turned

on.

Refer to the instructions provided by the publisher of your firewall software for instructions

on configuring the firewall to allow Internet access.

Problem: I can't connect to the Internet wirelessly.

Solution:

If you are unable to connect to the Internet from a wireless computer, please do

the following:

1. Look at the lights on your router. They should be as follows:

•

The Power light should be on.

•

The Connected light should be on and not blinking.

•

The WAN light should be either on or blinking.

2. Open your wireless utility software by clicking on the icon in the system tray at the bottom,

right-hand corner of the screen. If you are also using a Dynex wireless card or adapter with

this router, the tray icon should look like this

(the

icon may be red or green):

3. The exact window that opens will vary depending on the model of wireless card you have;

however, any of the utilities should have a list of

Available Networks

-those wireless

networks it can connect to.

Does the name of your wireless network appear in the results?

Yes, my network name is listed-go to the troubleshooting solution titled “I can't connect to

the Internet wirelessly, but my network name is listed”.

No, my network name is not listed-go to the troubleshooting solution titled “I can't connect

to the Internet wirelessly, and my network name is not listed”.

52

Troubleshooting

Problem: I can't connect to the Internet wirelessly, but my network

name is listed.

Solution:

If the name of your network is listed in the

Available Networks

list, please

follow the steps below to connect wirelessly:

1. Click on the correct network name in the

Available Networks

list.

2. If the network has security (encryption) enabled, you will need to enter the network key.

For more information regarding security, see “Securing your Wi-Fi® Network” on page 25.

3. Within a few seconds, the tray icon in the lower, left corner of your screen should turn

green, indicating a successful connection to the network.

Problem: I can't connect to the Internet wirelessly, and my network

name is not listed.

Solution:

If the correct network name is not listed under

Available Networks

in the

wireless configuration utility, please attempt the following troubleshooting steps:

1. Temporarily move your computer, if possible, 5 to 10 feet away from the router. Close the

wireless configuration utility, and reopen it. If the correct network name now appears under

Available Networks

, you may have a range or interference problem. See the suggestions

discussed in “Product features” on page 3.

2. Using a computer that is connected to the router through a network cable (as opposed to

wirelessly), make sure that

Broadcast SSID

is enabled. This setting is found on the router's

wireless

Channel and SSID

configuration page.

Problem: My wireless network performance is inconsistent.

Data transfer is sometimes slow.

Signal strength is poor.

I am having difficulty establishing and/or maintaining a Virtual

Private Network (VPN) connection.

Solution:

Wireless technology is radio-based, which means connectivity and the

throughput performance between devices decreases when the distance between devices

increases. Other factors that will cause signal degradation (metal is generally the worst

culprit) are obstructions such as walls and metal appliances. As a result, the typical indoor

range of your wireless devices will be between 100 to 200 feet. Note also that connection

speed may decrease as you move farther away from the router or access point.

In order to determine if wireless issues are related to range, we suggest temporarily moving

the computer, if possible, five to 10 feet away from the router.

Changing the Wireless Channel

Depending on local wireless traffic and interference, switching the wireless channel of your

network can improve performance and reliability. The default channel the router is shipped

with is channel 11. You may choose from several other channels depending on your region

(see “Changing the Wireless Channel” on page 24 for instructions on how to choose other

channels).

Troubleshooting

53

Limiting the Wireless Transmit Rate

Limiting the wireless transmit rate can help improve the maximum wireless range, and

connection stability. Most wireless cards have the ability to limit the transmission rate. To

change this property, go to the

Windows Control Panel

, open

Network Connections

and

double-click on your wireless card's connection. In the

Properties

dialog box, select the

Configure

button on the

General

tab (Windows 98 users will have to select the wireless

card in the list box and then click

Properties

), then choose the

Advanced

tab and select the

rate property. Wireless client cards are usually set to automatically adjust the wireless

transmit rate for you, but doing so can cause periodic disconnects when the wireless signal is

too weak; as a rule, slower transmission rates are more stable. Experiment with different

connection rates until you find the best one for your environment; note that all available

transmission rates should be acceptable for browsing the Internet. For more assistance, see

your wireless card's user manual.

Problem: How do I extend the range of my wireless network?

Solution:

Dynex recommends using one of the following products to extend wireless

network coverage throughout large homes or offices:

•

Wireless Access Point: A wireless access point can effectively double the coverage area

of your wireless network. An access point is typically placed in the area not currently

covered by your wireless G router, and is connected to the router using either an

Ethernet cable or through your home's power lines using two Powerline ethernet

adapters.

Problem: I am having difficulty setting up Wired Equivalent Privacy

(WEP) security on a Dynex wireless router or Dynex access point.

Solution:

1. Log into your wireless router or access point.

Open your web browser and type in the IP address of the wireless router or access point. (The

router's default is 192.168.2.1, the access point's default is 192.168.2.254.) Log into your

router by clicking on

Login

button in the top, right-hand corner of the screen. You will be

asked to enter your password. If you never set a password, leave the password field blank,

then click

Submit

.

Click the

Wireless

tab on the left of your screen. Select the

Encryption

or

Security

tab to

get to the security settings page.

2. Select

128-bit WEP

from the list.

3. After selecting your WEP encryption mode, you can type in your hex WEP key manually, or

you can type in a passphrase in the

Passphrase

field, then click

Generate

to create a WEP

key from the passphrase. Click

Apply Changes

to finish. You must now set all of your clients

to match these settings. A hex (hexadecimal) key is a combination of numbers and letters

from A-F and 0-9. For 128-bit WEP, you need to enter 26 hex keys.

For example: C3 03 0F AF 4B B2 C3 D4 4B C3 D4 E7 E4 = 128-bit key

54

Troubleshooting

4. Click

Apply Changes

to finish. Encryption in the wireless router is now set. Each of your

computers on your wireless network will now need to be configured with the same security

settings.

Caution

: If you are configuring the wireless router or Access Point from a computer with a

wireless client, you will need to ensure that security is turned on for this wireless client. If

this is not done, you will lose your wireless connection.

Note to Mac users

: Original Apple AirPort products support 64-bit encryption only. Apple

AirPort 2 products can support 64-bit or 128-bit encryption. Check your Apple AirPort

product to see which version you are using. If you cannot configure your network with

128-bit encryption, try 64-bit encryption.

Problem: I am having difficulty setting up Wired Equivalent Privacy

(WEP) security on a Dynex client card (wireless network card or

adapter).

Solution:

The client card must use the same key as the wireless G router or access point. For

instance, if your wireless router or access point uses the key

00112233445566778899AABBCC, then the client card must be set to the exact same key.

1. Double-click the

Signal Indicator

icon to bring up the

Wireless Network Utility

screen.

Click the

Advanced

button to view and configure more options of your client card. The

Wireless LAN Utility opens. This utility lets you manage all the advanced features of the client

card.

2. Click the

Wireless Network Properties

tab, then select a network name from the

Available Networks

list and click the

Properties

button.

3. Select

WEP

, on the

Data Encryption

list.

5. Make sure that the

The key is provided for me automatically

box at the bottom is

unchecked. If you are using this computer to connect to a corporate network, consult your

network administrator if this box needs to be checked.

6. Type your WEP key in the

Network key

box.

Important

: A WEP key is a combination of numbers and letters from A-F and 0-7. For

128-bit WEP, you need to enter 26 keys. This network key needs to match the key you

assign to your wireless G router or access point.

For example: C3030FAF4BB2C3D44BC3D4E7E4 = 128-bit key

8. Click

OK

, then click

Apply

to save the settings.

If you are NOT using a Dynex wireless client card, please consult the manufacturer's user

manual for that wireless client card.

Problem: Do Dynex products support WPA?

Solution:

Note

: To use WPA security, all your clients must be upgraded to drivers and software that

support it. At the time of this publication, a security patch download is available, for free,

from Microsoft. This patch works only with the Windows XP operating system.

Download the patch here:

details.aspx?FamilyID=009d8425-ce2b-47a4-abec-274845dc9e91&displaylang=en

Troubleshooting

55

You also need to download the latest driver for your Dynex wireless 802.11g desktop or

notebook network card from the Dynex support site. Other operating systems are not

supported at this time. Microsoft's patch only supports devices with WPA-enabled drivers

such as Dynex 802.11g products.

Download the latest driver at http://www.dynexproducts.com.

Problem: I am having difficulty setting up Wi-Fi Protected Access

(WPA) security on a Dynex wireless router or Dynex access point for a

home network.

Solution:

1. Select

WPA-PSK (no server)

from the

Security Mode

list.

2. Select

TKIP

or

AES

for

Encryption Technique

. This setting will have to be identical on

the clients that you set up.

3. Enter your pre-shared key. This can be from eight to 63 characters and can be letters,

numbers, symbols, or spaces. This same key must be used on all of the clients that you set up.

For example, your PSK might be something like: “Smith family network key”.

4. Click

Apply Changes

to finish. You must now set all clients to match these settings.

Problem: I am having difficulty setting up Wi-Fi Protected Access

(WPA) security on a Dynex client card (wireless network card or

adapter) for a home network.

Solution:

Clients must use the same key that the wireless G router or access point uses. For

instance, if the key is “Smith Family Network Key” in the wireless G router or access point, the

clients must also use that same key.

1. Double-click the

Signal Indicator

icon to bring up the

Wireless Network Utility

screen.

2. Click the

Advanced

button, the Dynex Wireless LAN Utility will open. This Utility lets you

manage all the advanced features of the Dynex client card.

3. Click the

Wireless Network Properties

tab, then select a network name from the

Available Networks

list, then click the

Properties

button. The

Properties

page opens.

4. Select

WPA-PSK (no server)

from the

Network Authentication

list.

5. Type your WPA key in the

Network key

box.

Important

: WPA-PSK is a combination of numbers and letters from A-Z and 0-9. For

WPA-PSK, you can enter eight to 63 characters. This network key needs to match the key

you assign to your wireless G router or access point.

6. Click

OK

, then

Apply

to save the settings.