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Encryption incompatibility

Yes. However, Wi-Fi.org does not release information on who fails their compliance tests.

I like cheap. I guess cheap hardware doesn't have model numbers.

I'll assume you've checked for updated router firmware and Edimax client drivers.

Yep. The problem is that the WEP conversion from ASCII to Hex keys is different between different manufactories. There should be only one way, but since standards are such a great thing, every company wants to invent their own. Setup the unspecified model Actiontec ADSL (wireless?) router for 128bit WEP and use a Hex key, not an ASCII key. That always works. (Yeah, I know it's a big long key, but I can't do anything about that).

WPA should work without the same problem as the ASCII to Hex conversion has been standardized. If your unspecified Edimax card does not work with WPA, then something is wrong with the driver (WPA is usually in the driver, not the hardware). You might want to try an alternative WPA driver before you give up.

formatting link
's kinda worth it as WPA is much more secure than WEP.

Reply to
Jeff Liebermann
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Actually, now I'm home, it is:

Actiontec GT701-WG (Access point) Edimax EW-7128G

Yes. I updated the card drivers. The access point drivers on their website were an earlier version than that supplied on the CD!

I have only used hex keys throughout to avoid dictionary attack.

Unfortunately, the printer server doesn't support WPA, so even if I could get WPA to work, it wouldn't be ideal. I'm not too concerned about security. I have local firewalls on each computer. A complete total loss of my entire system would be only a minor inconvenience, so

128 bit WEP would be fine for me. My only real concern is getting charged for excess bandwidth on my ADSL, which has a cap.

Christian.

Reply to
cmcardle75

Does anyone maintain a list of incompatible wireless cards?

I have just bought a cheap Edimax PCI 54g card and a cheap Actiontec ADSL router.

Everything else I've got interfaces fine with the router, including a Linksys USB 11Mb, the built in 54g module in an Acer laptop, an old Buffalo

11Mb PC card and my printer server (also Edimax). They all work up to the level of security for which they were originally designed.

Unfortunately the Edimax PCI card will only talk unsecured (which works fine). It won't work with 64bit or 128bit WEP or WPA. They just say "Acquiring network address" for several minutes and end up with a crappy

169.x address.

Have I any chance of getting this card to work, or should I just send it back and try another make?

Christian.

Reply to
Christian McArdle

most likely you just have the key input in the wrong format. Some vendors use ASCII, some use hex, some use passphrases etc etc. Its a bit of a lottery getting it right,

Sure, it;ll work - if its wifi certified it more or less has to - but it might take a while to figure out the format.

Reply to
Mark McIntyre

Linux based router.

formatting link
nice.

formatting link
it claims to work with WEP and WPA. I don't have any experience with this product so I can't be sure if it really does.

Sigh. Welcome to cheap.

Yep. In a previous post, I mumbled something about a large company downlgrading from WPA to WEP because of one lousy Windoze 98SE client that couldn't seem to run WPA. Welcome to the club.

Well, you could sniff and graph the internet traffic and set alarms for when it exceeds your normal useage. Not exactly an intrusion detection system, but might be adequate.

Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

It certainly seems OK and is listed at WiFi.org.

The PCI card, on the other hand, is not listed.

I'm going to have one more try by seeing if the chipset reference drivers are better than the Edimax ones. If that fails, I'll have to send it back.

I'm currently running with security disabled, but MAC address filtering on and SSID broadcast off. Please don't tell anyone.

Christian.

Reply to
Christian McArdle

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