I have a 5 year old wireless AP that is starting to have some problems, so I'm thinking about getting a new one. But one thing I would really like is to be able to set multiple keys that can be used at the same time. It would be nice to use one key for my own computers, and another key for anyone who comes over and visits. With my current AP, I set a key for my computers and then I forget what the key is. Then if someone comes over with a laptop and wants to use the wireless, it's a pain because I have to go back into the AP and configure a new key, and then enter that new key back into my computers. If I could just enter a second key into my AP, and have it allow that key in addition to the first key, that would be great. I could even delete the second key after the visitor leaves. Are there any APs that let you do that?
Ummm.... deteriorating performance might be an indication of interference from other wireless systems. Try changing channels (1,
6, or 11) and see if it helps.
Yep. One $40 cheapy that I sorta like is the MyEssentials ME1004-R.
It has two WPA keys. One give you access to the LAN and the various desktops. The other WPA key give you access only to the internet. See the user manual for details. The nice part is that a "blank" key will not work. It has to be a real WPA key (8 char minimum).
Note that the router itself is nothing wonderful or miraculous. It has a non-removable antenna, fairly low power output (about 25mw), and a modest mix of features. It also has a really irritating delay of about 30 seconds every time you save your settings.
The problem isn't deteriorating performance. The AP doesn't have a power button, it just turns on whenever you plug it in. But the last couple times we've had a power outage, it has not turned back on when the power comes back on. Both times, I had to plug and unplug it at least 50 times before it finally turned on. But once it's on, it works fine.
Looks like that is sold as a Belkin. I just looked around, and it appears that Belkin is the only company that offers APs/routers with a "guest password" feature. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Belkin APs/routers get very good reviews. I've seen quite a few reviews where people say they drop connections frequently, and even stop working after a couple months.
That doesn't seem like a big deal to me - how often do you change settings?
Your unspecified wireless router or access point certainly has a problem. My guess(tm) is a failing clock oscillator. In effect, you're "kick" starting it. Also, check the voltage from the wall wart under load to see if it's close to the specified voltage.
Yep. Belkin owns the company.
I think Sonicwall also has this feature, but I'm not sure and can't easily browse right now (slow packet radio link).
Yeah, that's about it. Belkin is about as bad as it gets. However, those are complaints about routers made by Belkin, not about the ones where Belkin bought the whole company. Also, every router manufacturer has its winner and losers. You can't just generalize that some vendors products are good or bad. It varies. For example, the various mutations of the Linksys WRT54G vary from excellent to dismal disaster.
I'm not sure how many of these I've sold, given away, used as a loaner, or armtwisted the customer into trying. My guess is about 30 routers in the last year or so. No failures, no returns, no hangs, no complaints, and no problems. Also no firmware updates, so it's not going to keep up to date with the latest acronyms. I also haven't beaten it to death running benchmarks:
I probably should, but haven't found a good reason to do it. Anyway, $30 is cheap enough to try and toss if it doesn't meet your expectations.
With my own routers (office and home) running DD-WRT firmware, I tweak the settings about once per week. It's mostly to simulate customer problems and issues. For my customers, I usually change the WPA key erratically, and backup the config files when convenient. That's usually about 4 times during the typical 4-6 year router life.
It is an Orinoco BG-2000. It's actually plugged in to a voltage regulating UPS, so it probably is something going bad in the AP.
I went to their web site and didn't see any wireless routers/APs. Their products also seem to be targeted towards businesses.
I noticed that the Belkins only allow a guest WPA password. Do you know if you can use WPA and WEP at the same time? Because I do have one computer that is using a wireless adapter that only supports WEP.
That's usually quite good hardware. I have some experience with the AP-1000 series. Some had been running 10 years without problems. Sorry, but I don't have a clue what's failing.
TZ150, TZ180, and TZ190 are all wireless routers. You're correct that they're aimed at businesses. Probably overkill for you.
As far as I can tell, only the MyEssentials has a guest feature.
Multiple encryption schemes are easily handled by using a router that supports multiple SSID's. I'm currently logged into my Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 with DD-WRT v24 firmware. I have two SSID's configured, each with their own encryption method. I have one router setup with 6 different SSID's, one each for various types of encryption, for testing buggy client software. There are a substantial number of routers that support multiple SSID's, but I don't have a list. You can also use the multiple SSID feature for your guest login where the guest has their own SSID.
I think I'll try a different AC adapter to see if that's the problem.
I didn't know about this multiple SSID concept. That would definitely be a way to implement a guest password, and to use WPA and WEP for different clients. Thanks for mentioning that, Jeff, I'll look into it.
One other item. Some of the Lucent/Orinoco/Airport wireless routers had defective capacitors that caused problems. See photos near the bottom of:
Open the box, and look at the tops of the electrolytic capacitors. If they're bulging, even slightly, they're dead. If you can solder, it's an easy replacment.
Yep. Sorry I didn't think of it earlier. I don't usually use multiple SSID's for guest logins and I consider WEP a security problem, so I have little ocassion to use it in the manner your suggesting.
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