Purhonen Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 Having trouble with my laptop (HP GT60-200) connecting to MY router (Linksys E1200v2), but NOT my neighbors WiFi network. I run Windows 7 SP1. My laptop's adapter is: Qualcomm Atheros AR5007 802.11b/g WiFi Adapter. SITUATION: - I can connect to MY router's network but there is NO Internet connection. - I can connect to several of my NEIGHBOR's networks (I live in a 40-unit condo complex) and THERE IS good internet. We are all connected to the same ISP because the entire complex is fed by the same Internet signal which is then distributed throughout the building. - I can connect to MY router's network with my iPhone 5S and there is good internet. QUESTIONS: - If it's my laptop's WiFi adapter, then why do I have no trouble connecting to the Internet with the other networks? - If it's my WiFi router, then how come I get a good Internet connection on my iPhone as well as other devices in our condo: Roku, Viszio smart HGTV, wife's iPad 2) Any ideas? Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 Just a stupid question here, but is your wifi transmitting g or n? If n, then your lappy won't be able to connect, but your newer devices running n could. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 OK, I looked it up. That Linksys is g and n wifi. You need to check to see that your g is enabled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purhonen Posted November 27, 2015 Author Share Posted November 27, 2015 Thanks, I'll check on the "G" being enabled. I'm pretty sure it is because in the past my laptop had no trouble connecting to my router. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 So, what have you changed since the last time your lappy talked to your router? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purhonen Posted November 28, 2015 Author Share Posted November 28, 2015 Nocturnal Slacker, PROBLEM GONE: I really can not think of anything that has changed since this cropped up. Anyway, just yesterday my laptop once again achieved Internet connectivity through my router. Who knows, maybe by simply posting my problem it solved itself. So thanks for you contributions. SHOULD I BE CONCERNED?: When I tried accessing my router's administrative page I was unable to log in. The default password "admin" (while leaving the User name blank) did not work. Unfortunately I have no record of whatever User name and Password I might have originally used. I tried the Linksys recommendation of re-setting the router (hold the reset button for 10 seconds) but no change. Anyway, as long as the router works as it should I'm not very concerned . . . BUT, what if I have cause to access the Administrative page in the future? Then what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebrke Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 (edited) Apparently with newer Linksys routers, both user name and password are set to admin after reset--did you try that? Some good info here: http://www.fixya.com...nksys_rv042_vpn Also, once you get this straightened out you might want to create a "regular user" account on the router that can just check settings but not change anything. You can use that if you just want to look, and the admin account (with a good, strong password) when you actually need to make a change. Edited November 28, 2015 by ebrke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 Hmm... POLTERGEIST? It's NEVER a good idea to leave your router with the default user/pw login, but what the heck... I'm sure about 90% of router users do just that. There are people around my house who aren't even running any encryption on their wifi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 (edited) Sometimes a simple reboot of the router and computer will fix Internet connectivity issues. On the other hand, I have a laptop with a Qualcomm Atheros adapter and it is constantly losing its connection to the router. Often I have to disconnect and reconnect to restore order. I got sick of this, disabled the internal adapter and I now use a tiny ASUS N10 USB adapter instead: https://www.asus.com...working/USBN10/ It's rock solid, but it does take up a USB port. Edited November 30, 2015 by raymac46 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 I've decided to experiment a bit with the internal Atheros adapter to see if I can get better results. The USB adapter is fine but it gets in the way if I have to take the laptop anywhere or pack it in a backpack. Most of the time I have the machine at home, and plugged into its power brick. I've downloaded the most recent Atheros Windows 10 compatible driver and installed it. Also I've disabled any aggressive attempts by the operating system to switch the adapter off or put the computer to sleep to save power. I won't be using the laptop for long periods away from a power source. I'll see how this goes for a while. I can always go back to the USB wifi adapter if all else fails. Atheros always works so great with Linux. It's really annoying to have problems with it in Windows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 Augh! Despite trying just abut every suggestion on the Web I am still getting dropouts and loss of wifi connectivity with this AR956X internal adapter. Nothing seems to work and it isn't clear if the problem is with the adapter hardware, the driver, or Windows itself. The Realtek chipset in the ASUS N10 USB adapter is a bit slower, but it works just fine. I guess I'll stick with it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 (edited) Just a heads up to Linux users. The N10 USB adapter from ASUS has two versions. The older one which I have uses a Realtek chipset which is supported in most mainline kernels and works right out of the box if you have the linux firmware package installed for it. Now ASUS has come out with a revised model which uses a Mediatek (ex Ralink) MT7601U chipset. This one is supported in kernels 4.2 and above but if you have an older kernel it probably won't work. Mediatek does supply the source code so you could try building the driver module and installing it but I don't know if the necessary firmware is available in older Linux distros. ASUS will probably tell you they only support Windows and Mac, not Linux. I've found out through bitter experience to buy what works when it comes to wifi and not try building wifi modules. https://askubuntu.co...er-installation . Edited December 1, 2015 by raymac46 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunrat Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 Firmware and drivers can be a royal PITA. There is a current thread at Debian User Forums about a guy having trouble with an older TP-Link TL-WN821N v2 802.11n [Atheros AR9170] . I posted it is the same as mine and should work fine with ath9k_htc. But it turned out mine is V3 and not V2 and his needs a totally different kernel module, carl9170. But he loaded what was meant to be the correct one and it still intermittently disconnects. Thread is not solved yet - http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=125923 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 Is it just me or has Atheros gone downhill since Qualcomm took them over? An Atheros chipset used to be the gold standard in wifi compatibility with Linux. Now there's trouble with Windows as well. A good reason to stick with old hardware as long as you can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zlim Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 Purchased my one netbook in August 2013. It has a Qualcomm Atheros wifi chip.(checked in Device Manager) I have no trouble running wireless in Win 7 at home or at hotspots. So different Qualcomm Atheros models might be more problematic than others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 I've had no trouble with Atheros in Linux. This is the first time I've had one in Windows though. Both Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 have given problems. This particular Atheros chipset seems to be a problematic one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 (edited) Just a followup. I got a tiny TP-Link nano adapter for around $10 recently and it works fine in my Lenovo laptop. It is far less obtrusive than the ASUS N10 dongle (which is better suited to go in the back of a desktop unit.) The nano adapter doesn't take up any more space than a wireless mouse antenna. You can leave it in place if you take the laptop on a trip. If you have a Toshiba, Acer or Lenovo laptop that has the Atheros AR956X wifi chip in it save yourself the aggravation and get one of these little TP-Link gadgets. Disable the old adapter and connect with the new one. Edited January 7, 2016 by raymac46 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crp Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 Just this past week i was having lots of problems with my router. After replacing the cable to the ISP with a shorter one and making sure the kinks in the wire were minimal and adjusting the router so that there was better airflow around the whole unit, the router connection stopped being wonky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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