Two VERY common problems with home WiFi [ Edited ]

[Big_Dave_H]

SSID:  This is the identifier you connect to.  Home systems ship with a default name, typically the name of the company who made the wireless router or access point.  Example: linksys.  A lot of people never change their SSID.  If you use a computer program such as InSSIDer, you will probably see several SSIDs in your area broadcasting “linksys”, “netgear”, or “dlink”.  If more than one station is using the same SSID, then devices get confused as to which one to try to connect to.  Soooo….

RULE #1:  ALWAYS change your SSID from the default to some non-descriptive name.  DO NOT use your name, pet’s name, address, phone number, etc. which might identify you.  DO NOT use a name which will invite attack such as “GAMESYSTEM”.  Just use some gibberish.

CHANNELS:  For wireless “g”, most devices ship with a default setting of channel 6.  In the US there are 11 channels.  If everyone stays on channel 6, this creates interference and causes slow or intermittent connections.  Soooo….

RULE #2:  Again, using a program like InSSIDer (it is free), you should be able to scan your neighborhood and see what channels are least cluttered.  Use one of these other channels. 

If you do not know how to do these things, RTFM!  Most manufacturers have downloadable manuals on their websites.  Or, if you are one of those people whose clocks are off by an hour for half the year and microwave oven is always flashing 12:00, Ask A Teenager. 

These two simple steps can clear up a huge number of common WiFi issues. 

[RSC_Nook]

wow, awesome post.  I should check into mine more.

[MikeNC]

Along with rule 1, I would add, change the admin password.  Most routers ship with an an admin userid of "admin" and password "admin".  At the very least, figure out how to change that (so some nearby high school miscreant doesn't end up locking you out of your own network)

Most wifi routers can be set up via a web interface, something like:

http://192.168.1.1 (or, if it is a good model, https://...).

P.S. you can plug it into a computer via an ethernet cable, access that configuration site, and set the whole thing up, including security before you ever plug it into your cable modem, DSL or fiber connection and let it play in cyber space.

[Big_Dave_H]

Absolutely correct, Mike.  I used to have fun in Kabul hijacking people's WiFi connections because they never set any security and never changed the password. 

[gstone]

I'm not sure what benefit you derive from a cryptic network name (SSID) if you are broadcasting your SSID. It is still visible to anyone who cares to look at available connections.

[Big_Dave_H]

A cryptic name does not reveal any information about you.  It also does not reveal what your system might be used for or what might be on your system.  Imagine if someone used "MusicStorage" as their SSID.  Everyone and their brother would try to access it. 

Regardless, the major take-away is to change from the default. 

[Nom-de-Nook]

I would add that once you have all your devices connected, change the router setting not to broadcast the ssid.  No sense in advertising.  Yes, the real bad guys will still find it and get in but casual bad guys looking to download stuff quick won't bother.

[MikeNC]

I've always set my wifi routers up:

1. non-broadcast SSID

2. MAC address filtering (allowable units)

3. limited range of DHCP IPs allowed - enough for my devices, no more

4. WPA2/TKIP encryption (well, WEP before WPA2 was available but as soon as possible, I switched over to WPA, then WPA2)

Some of those things are of questionable value doing, but they are trivial to set up so I figure why not.

My linksys also allows admin connection only via https:// and I disallow access from other than my own home subnet.

I've never had a problem connecting things to my home network (printers are all wireless too) with that setup either, including my N1E when I had it, and now my NC and N2E.

As mentioned right in the OP, rtfm makes life simpler - there are also great 3rd party online guides (CNET and other tech sites often have guides, youtube even has many setup videos) for most of the popular router models out there.  Usually just google your make and model of router, and odds are a thorough step-by-step guide will popup on the first page of hits.

[gstone]

---

Big_Dave_H wrote:

A cryptic name does not reveal any information about you.  It also does not reveal what your system might be used for or what might be on your system.  Imagine if someone used "MusicStorage" as their SSID.  Everyone and their brother would try to access it. 

Regardless, the major take-away is to change from the default. 

---

I wouldn't use things like your social security number, credit card, etc for your ssid.

If you are broadcasting your ssid however and if I am looking to exploit a network, I am going to try them all regardless of the name.

I can see 6 available connections from this PC. What's funny is the one with the most cryptic name is unsecured.

If I lived in a high density area like a large large condo, downtown or within range of a public park, I would be reluctant to broadcast the ssid in the first place.

For suburban and rural areas, I've never seen these roaming bands of hackers (everybody and his brother) cruising around looking for wifi connections to break into, only Google.

Personally I don't broadcast my ssid, Mac filtering is enabled, guest access to the network is disabled and remote access to router settings is disabled. I'm just paranoid I guess.

[buckysrevenge]

This is irrelvant regarding whether or not to broadcast the SSID, but the length and complexity of the SSID does have an effect on the hash key for the encryption (at least for WPA-PSK stuff), making your network harder to break into. Wi-Fi hijackers might have a table of passwords to guess for a network whose name is "linksys", but not for 63 random characters like "T82kws$#ol..."

[Big_Dave_H]

The main gist of my original post was to help people troubleshoot by eliminating a couple very common, very basic mistakes.  Security tips like changing the password, using WPA2 instead of WEP or WPA, MAC filtering, etc. are all excellent suggestions, but not the cause of most people's problems. 

So, in keeping with the original premise, here are a couple other things to try if you are having a hard time getting your Nook to connect to your WiFi, but these are a little more advanced than the first two items I listed.

WMM:  WiFi Multi-Media is, in theory, supposed to give priority to streaming media so you can watch a video or stream music without a lot of buffering when someone else on your network is surfing the web.  In practice, it often does not work and many devices do not play well with WMM, causing huge network slow-downs.  The default for most devices is to enable WMM. 

My recommendation -- Disable WMM.  If you determine that it is making now difference, you can always turn it back on again. 

Wireless b/g/n:  Wireless n (802.11n) can operate on either the 2.4 GHz band or the 5 GHz band.  Unless your device specifically says it is "Dual Band", it operates on the 2.4 GHz band, which is also where the b & g wireless operates.  The Nook specs say it supports wireless n, but on the 2.4 GHz band only.  Many wireless n 2.4 GHz routers and access points will operate in a b/g/n or g/n mixed mode; however, there are often problems as the router and all other attached devices try to change modes.  Related to this is the auto selection of the 20/40 MHz bandwidth.  If the router or access point changes mode or bandwidth, all devices attached must renegotiate their connections. 

My recommendation -- Hard select either b/g mode or n mode.  If you go to b/g mode, chose 20 MHz.  If you go to n mode, go with 40 MHz.  If you live in a crowded area, your neighbors will greatly appreciate you using b/g and not n and you will probably get better reliablity from b/g. 

[keriflur]

---

Big_Dave_H wrote:

My recommendation -- Hard select either b/g mode or n mode.  If you go to b/g mode, chose 20 MHz.  If you go to n mode, go with 40 MHz.  If you live in a crowded area, your neighbors will greatly appreciate you using b/g and not n and you will probably get better reliablity from b/g. 

---

To add to the above - you only need to do this if you are actually having trouble.  Try out your router as it is first - not all 2.4ghz b/g/n routers will have issues with the nook when the router is in mixed mode.

[Big_Dave_H]

Correct, keriflur.  The latter two recommendations are for troubleshooting purposes.  The first two recommendations are universal and should always be done, without exception.

[tonyframe]

Thanks for your recommendations - including the earlier one. Finally, my Nook on browser runs fast.  It's another machine. You should post your suggestion to a prominent place in help section. -T

[tonyframe]

I appreciate your feedback; i made the changes. My Nook browser finally works (at home). Thanks, T.