Disappearing WiFi at home?

[boeingbus2002]

I have had a wireless setup at home for the past few months without any major glitches.
Recently my laptop has failed to find the network. It does list other wireless ones (neighbours ones etc). My original one Say "BBHomeNetwork" is still listed in the preferred networks section but cannot be found physically when i choose "View other networks".
When I have no problems connecting to broadband viathe cable direct to modem.

Will I have to reset and set everything up again?
Cheers


System: Win XP, Wireless Laptop, Belkin ADSL Wireless G Router

[rotorcraig]

When you set your wireless router up did you disable broadcasting of the SSID (network name) in the interests of increased security?

That would explain why it is not seen when you search for networks - in which case enable broadcasting SSID until you get everything working and then disable again.

RC

[BLUE SKY THINKER]

boeingbus2002 . . . . .

I don't know if this is any help, but I have a similar setup and find that my Belkin router disconnects now and then after the laptop has been turned off. ...Have you been back to your Belkin browser based Wireless Control Panel and checked if you are disconnected? ...If so, log on to the router, "connect" and then log off.

If it transpires that it is connected, I have found in this situation that pressing Connect in "View Other Networks" on the Window's interface sometimes requires more than one attempt to achieve success.

[Conan the Librarian]

Odd to say, but BT and its' many, many resellers, have had a major outage from Friday night (app 1730GMT) and if your particular ISP ( or reseller) has been affected, then wait until tomorrow before slinging sh*te - but there again if it is playing up, how do you post, or receive?

Mine was up sh*t creek until last night, but my neighbours' net was open and that is how I got to bore the pants off you all on Saturday.

Totsiens!


Conan.

[Keef]

Did I see the word "Belkin" in there? I've bought two Belkin modem/routers for non-resident daughters (aaah ;) ) - one 18 months ago and one 6 months ago - and had awful problems with both, mostly dropping the line or disconnecting for no reason.

Both were sent back whence they came and replaced by other brands, since which time the only problems have been of my own making.

The brand is now banned round here...

[boeingbus2002]

Cheers for all the replies,
Rotorcraig:
I have always had SSID disabled but it worked fine before!
Im sure having it disabled only hides it from other users, but keeps it visible to you??

BST:
Going to the web config page shows the status as connected. Ive forgotten my router password etc. so might have to do a complete re setup tomorrow!
Normally refreshing to view other networks is the solution, not today!

Conan:
I am able to connect to the net when i connect to the router via a cable. Its just obtaining the wireless network im having issues with.

Cheers!

[go_edw]

Keef,

dito, I had a belkin wifi router and that also gave me the same grief.

Don't buy BELKIN!

[Tosh McCaber]

Bought Belkin- No problems!!

[rotorcraig]

Rotorcraig:
I have always had SSID disabled but it worked fine before!
Im sure having it disabled only hides it from other users, but keeps it visible to you??
Agreed - but on previous occasions when a wireless laptop appears to have "lost" the connection and cannot be reconnected, re-enabling the SSID broadcast until the problem is fixed then hiding again seems to have helped for me :confused:

Not particularly scientific, but when confused I usually try to eliminate as much as I can and see what's left!

RC

[swordfling]

You mention that you can see neighbour's networks... make sure that your network is at least four channels away from theirs or they could interfere, possibly causing the problem you describe. More details here (http://www.ja.net/services/publications/factsheets/063-overlapping-channel-problem-v2.pdf).

Also, if you haven't already, make sure you enable security features (e.g. WEP/WPA, MAC filtering etc) so that they can't access your network!

[BahrainLad]

Yep, this used to happen to me loads (must live on a very techy street). I kept finding that I couldn't connect to the router over Wi-Fi.

Downloaded Macstumbler, and lo-and-behold, all the local networks are on Channel 6. Obviously a manufacturer default. So changed it tout-suite and haven't had a problem since.

[boeingbus2002]

all sorted!
Dont know what was the cause but as a master reset using my magic tool (paper clip) and setting it all up from scratch did the trick.

I have SSID disabled, and this is fine as long as your computer is set up to receive it.

Thanks to all who tried to help!

[boeingbus2002]

Ok looks like I jumped the gun a bit!
It works fine if I set the router to display the SSID.
However I have read that setting this to be "invisible" is more secure and safer.
Previously, it was set invisible and worked fine. However recently it will only work when "visible". Is this normal or is there something I need to do so it can be both invisible and still by detected by the laptop?
Cheers

[Gouabafla]

If you hide your SSID no computer, your own included will normally be able to see the network. However, that isn't a problem as long as your network name is easy for you to remember.

Rather than trying to connect through the 'show visible wireless networks' screen, you need to tick on the 'set up a wireless network for a home or small office' button. Once you do that, a wizard starts up and you can enter your SSID and security key (as long as you can remember them both) and you will connect quite cheerfully.

It's a little more complex than doing it straight from the networks screen, but not much and it gives you more security.

If you are not sure why you should hide your SSID this quote from this month's PC Pro might help:
By default all access points come pre-configured with a standard name known as an SSID wich the access point merrily broadcasts to all and sundry, allowing clients to see that there's an access point to connet to This is very usful in Starbucks, but the last thing you want in your home setup. So you should do two things; first change the default SSID; and second, hide it by instructing the router not to broadcast its presence.
This makes it much more dificult for anyone to find and start attacking your setup. It's as easy as pie and simply requires that you think of a name and check the 'hide SSID' option which your router will have in its web-based configuration.