Wireless Netgear USB adapter not connecting
johnna01
Enthusiast - Level 2

I have 2 laptops already successfully connected wirelessly to Verizon MI424-WR router. However we just installed an older PC from recently moved in mother-in-law. Since she lost supplied USB adapter with her Dell, we bought a Netgear model WNA3100 USB adapter and installed as follows:

1. Loaded supplied software per Netgear instructions.

2. Installed USB adapter on the PC.

3. Netgear software indicated that my router SSID# as an available wireless connection.

4. I selected my router SSID form list and entered my WEP#.

After about one minute a connection failure message appeared. I have tried this several times with same results. So the USB adapter is seeing the router, but will not connect. The Netgear software is very minimal has no troubleshooting feature.

I have turned off other laptops to eliminate possible interference with existing wireless, but this did not help. 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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Re: Wireless Netgear USB adapter not connecting
johnna01
Enthusiast - Level 2

Dissapointing that there are no suggestions to this problem. Verizon phone support indicated this is a NetGear adapter problem, while NetGear claims it is a Verizon router issue.

And of course Verizon refuses to send a technician to help troubleshoot. So sad when technology companies are not capable or unwilling to provide adequate support. 😞

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Re: Wireless Netgear USB adapter not connecting
Hubrisnxs
Legend

When this happened to me (several devices connected, but one would not) - it turned out to be a wifi interference issue for the one machine.  

so that might be your case as well. 

you can change that in the router.   open a browser, and go to http://192.168.1.1

user name is admin.  and the password is most likely the serial number found on the service tag of your VZ router unless you changed it. Once you login succesfully, go to the top and hit wireless, then on the left basic security.   then go to option 3 which is channel  1, 6 and 11 and are the only channels you should try.

So it will likely be set to auto, change it to 11 and put the check for keep settings even after reboot (Directly under the channel) and then hit apply.  after you hit apply,  test your connection out, if you notice a difference, leave it like that until the problem happens again, and if it happens again, go back into the router, and try channel 6,     test it out.  and then finally 1 if the first two don't work.

Also take a look at page 2 of Actiontec's Wireless PDF File.  It gives you some idea's with regards to position and orientation of where the router sits and how it can best be positioned for maximum coverage.

  http://support.actiontec.com/doc_files/MI424WR_Rev(all)_Wireless_Networking_Guide.pdf

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Re: Wireless Netgear USB adapter not connecting
johnna01
Enthusiast - Level 2

Hubrisnxs, I have stepped through your suggestions and tried the recommedations in computer potsitioning document, but unfortunately get same results. The adapter indicated a stronger signal - all 5 bars - when computer was moved, however connection was still not made. Thanks for your help. It was 100% more support than I got from Verizon.

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Re: Wireless Netgear USB adapter not connecting
smith6612
Community Leader
Community Leader

With the WEP key are you entering it in all caps or all lowercase? You may wish to change the case of the letters in case Netgear's tool is trying to understand the WEP key as Hex rather than a passcode. That is, if you're actually using Netgear's tool.

If you opted to use the Netgear WLAN connection tool for the Wireless adapter, I would strongly suggest using Windows' built-in tool instead to see if that makes a difference. There shouldn't be a need for the Netgear tool anymore now that systems as of Windows XP (at least on the Windows end) now include the Windows Zero Configuruation service and a built-in tool, but it does sometimes come in handy for Wireless profiles (which Windows still isn't the greatest at) and makes up for the lack of config in the Device Manager for Netgear cards.

Also, as I see the WNA3100 is a Wireless N adapter, it may be a good consideration to move the Verizon router to use WPA2 encryption instead of WEP. If it is an ActionTec Rev. F or higher you definitely should do this as you'll get better speeds anyways off of the adapter. Plus, you're not dealing with the silly Hex vs. Passcode issue seen with WEP keys and some software. You're instead dealing with a case sensitive key you've created which is in my opinion, less confusing for users when something goes wrong. Be aware though that if the laptop is a Windows XP computer, it must have Windows XP Service Pack 2 installed for WPA2 support. If it's not updated you'll want to connect it hardwired and get it updated before trying to put it on the Wireless.

Oh and last tip, get the updated drivers from Netgear's site. The CDs often come with the drivers that were present during manufacturing. Most likely they are outdated by now.