Router not assigning network address
sch21236
Newbie

I have the Verizon FIOS Actiontec router.  The wired connection is great but the wireless connection is nothing but trouble. My wireless computers see the wireless network and say they "connect" to it, but then they have a problem getting a "network address" from the router - about half the time I get no network address and so can't access my network or the internet.  The actual message is "Getting network address" - this stays on for a minute or two and then I get the message that I have no or limited connectivity and I can't connect - even though the network signal I get is "very strong".  I try rebooting my wireless computers, re-booting my router and sometimes it connects and sometimes it doesn't - there is no pattern.  If I leave my computer alone it will re-try the connection every once and a while and may eventually connect - usually if I wait long enough, but this may be hours or a day latter before it will eventually connect.  It is not a password issue because about half the time I have no problem at all, the other half of the time it may be hours or a day before I can connect.

Verizon sent me a new router and I have the very same problem.  I never had this problem when I used my own wireless router with DSL (before FIOS).  The same problem is true for both a desktop with a wireless connection and a netbook I have (all systems are running xp).  I even re-set up my old wireless router in serial with my Verizon router and both computers picked up and connected to the old router right away - I even got internet using this serial set up - but I have other problems with this set up so it really is not a solution - but it was useful in letting me know it is not something with my wireless computers.  I even uninstalled and reinstalled the wireless adapter to my desktop and that did not help.

Has anyone else had this problem?  Why is this happening?  What can I do to fix this?  Please help.

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Re: Router not assigning network address
Hubrisnxs
Legend

How to improve wireless networking on Verizon MI424WR

follow this guide, but you're best bet is to change the wireless channel.  that is a relatively painless procedure.  There are only three channels in N.America that are useable.  Those are wireless channel 1,  wireless channel 6 and wireless channel 11. 

you probably have some heavy interference on whichever wireless channel you are currently on.   One of the three listed should provide good results for you, but you'll want to cycle through each of them to find which channel is the best.

Log into your router

http://192.168.1.1

Default user name is 'admin'

Default Password is 'password1'  other variants are 'password', or 'admin'

Once you're logged into the router, stay in the first column and look for change wireless settings.

When you click on that your wireless settings will come up, and you'll see the channels as your number 3 option.  simply use the drop down list to choose channel 1, place a check mark where it says something to the effect of "keep these changes even after a reboot"  and then hit apply. 

wait for it to lock in, try to reconnect to your wireless and try it out for however long it takes to drop off again.  if it does not drop off then you are good, if it does, then change it from 1 to 6, and then if that does not work change it to 11.  

also take a quick look at the actiontec link at the top.  It's very basic but it gives some food for though with regard to things that potentially can interfere with that wireless transmission.

Re: Router not assigning network address
sch21236
Newbie

It is not that the computer doesn't see the wireless network - the signal strength is listed as very good - it is just that it is not being given a network address and so can't get on the network.

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Re: Router not assigning network address
Hubrisnxs
Legend

the above will still apply -  even though it see's the network it can still have interference that would block or not allow access.

you have something that is interrupting your wifi signal.   you have to either find what that is, or ignore it and try to get on a channel that doesn't have that interference. 

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Re: Router not assigning network address
Mikhail
Enthusiast - Level 3

Did you enable any security? If you did then you have to be very careful with keys -- if you have mismatched keys then your computer will see networks but would not be able to connect and as a result to get an IP. All these are under assumption that router broadcasts SSID.

Re: Router not assigning network address
sch21236
Newbie

I don't believe it is a security thing because about 1/2 of the the time it connects no problem - and I don't change any security settings.

Also - this is an update - last night I was going to change the channels on the wireless router (per suggestion) from my wired computer next to the router but it could not connect - even though it is connected by wire so I couldn't log into the router.  I had never noticed this before (not being able to connect thru the wired connection).  From talking to my kids however, they say that they've also had this problem. 

One thing - I never noticed this before I starting using my linksys wireless router on the network (to create a second wireless signal that I can pick up and use).  But the error message is the same - it tires to aquire network address and can't and the problem for the wireless machines all started well before I hooked up the linksys.  I rebooted the router and computer a few times and it eventually did connect.  When I originally connected the linksys to my network all I did was plug an ethernet cable from the Verizon router into the main/in port on the linksys router - I did not change any settings or anything and I did not use one of the 1-2-3-4 ports. 

Is this just another part of my network address problem or is this due to the linksys?  If it is a part of the network address problem, then it can't be due to what wireless channel I use since this machine is wired.  I am stuck.

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Re: Router not assigning network address
jumpin68ny
Master - Level 2

Oddly enough I just started having the same issue with a Windows Vista Laptop.  I have many wireless devices in my home including:

2 other latops (XP,Win7) , Wii, I-touch, Samsung TV and they all connect to the wireless without issue.  

Right now I'm pointing my issues to the Vista laptop.  No idea why but for now I've hard coded an Ip address until I have time to look at this.

What OS is your laptop?

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Re: Router not assigning network address
Mikhail
Enthusiast - Level 3

@sch21236 wrote:

I don't believe it is a security thing because about 1/2 of the the time it connects no problem - and I don't change any security settings.


OK, we can rule it out.


@sch21236 wrote:

Also - this is an update - last night I was going to change the channels on the wireless router (per suggestion) from my wired computer next to the router but it could not connect - even though it is connected by wire so I couldn't log into the router.  I had never noticed this before (not being able to connect thru the wired connection).  From talking to my kids however, they say that they've also had this problem. 



Could you take a look at the status of your IP connection ath this very moment? Just open  Command Prompt and type in "ipconfig /all" and cut&paste results here. There are two possible scenatios:
1. You have the second DHCP running on your home network and any time any of your computer need to renew IP address whatever server answers first has a precedence. In this case you will lose connection to the Internet if another server (not connected to VZ) answer first.
2. Your router connected to VZ is either too busy (happens when you exceed capacity of NAT table, or you have too many rules for firewall, or you are close to up link capacity, etc.) or router received reset signal from VZ (in this case you should be able to see it in your log file).

@sch21236 wrote:

One thing - I never noticed this before I starting using my linksys wireless router on the network (to create a second wireless signal that I can pick up and use).  But the error message is the same - it tires to aquire network address and can't and the problem for the wireless machines all started well before I hooked up the linksys.  I rebooted the router and computer a few times and it eventually did connect.  When I originally connected the linksys to my network all I did was plug an ethernet cable from the Verizon router into the main/in port on the linksys router - I did not change any settings or anything and I did not use one of the 1-2-3-4 ports. 

Is this just another part of my network address problem or is this due to the linksys?  If it is a part of the network address problem, then it can't be due to what wireless channel I use since this machine is wired.  I am stuck.


Well, how did you connect and configure your both routers to work together?  Second router could have the second DHCP server enabled by default.

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Re: Router not assigning network address
sch21236
Newbie

That is the strange thing about the second router - I first plugged it LAN to LAN from the Verizon router and it didn't work.  I then went from a Verizon LAN jack to my router's WAN connection and it worked (at least at the time - both a wired Xbox 360 connection to it and any wireless connections I tried to my personal router - and then from my router to the Verizon router and then to the internet)  I did NOT change any settings anywhere - I've read numerous posts abou how you have to turn off DHCP in the second router and have to set the address manually - I didn't do any of this and it worked.  I don't know how.  - so maybe that is causing a conflict for the wired computer connected to the Verizon router, but this wouldn't have caused the wireless problems because they all happened well before I connected my router.  I am soooooo lost. 

Also, I checked and I have a "rev E" Actiontec/Verizon router so the NAT problem probably isn't causing my problem - also because even when I reboot (and even when I reset it) I still had the problem and wouldn't the NAT table be cleared on re-boot and/or reset?

I am not at my computer now but will check the connection when I get home.  Thanks

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Re: Router not assigning network address
Mikhail
Enthusiast - Level 3

@sch21236 wrote:

That is the strange thing about the second router - I first plugged it LAN to LAN from the Verizon router and it didn't work.  I then went from a Verizon LAN jack to my router's WAN connection and it worked (at least at the time - both a wired Xbox 360 connection to it and any wireless connections I tried to my personal router - and then from my router to the Verizon router and then to the internet)  I did NOT change any settings anywhere - I've read numerous posts abou how you have to turn off DHCP in the second router and have to set the address manually - I didn't do any of this and it worked.  I don't know how.  - so maybe that is causing a conflict for the wired computer connected to the Verizon router, but this wouldn't have caused the wireless problems because they all happened well before I connected my router.  I am soooooo lost. 


Well, if you connect LAN to LAN then you have to disable secondary DHCP. If you connect WAN port of your second router to Actiontec LAN then you need it since it's double NAT schema with two different subnets. You have to make them different subnets.

What was a reason to buy the second router? We can start go step by step.

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