Good Afternoon / Evening -
I am on my last nerve regarding my situation and I am hoping someone on this board can help me in some way, some form. My Linksys WRT400N router is not under warranty anymore so I can't receive any assistance through Linksys.
I have a Dell Vostro 3400 running Windows 7 Professional 64-bit. The wireless card in the Vostro is a DW1520 Wireless-N Half-Mini Card. This card can operate in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz band spectrum. Obviously, the Linksys WRT400N is a dual-band router and broadcasts in the 2.4 GHZ and 5GHz band simultaneously.
I originally had a DW1501 Wireless-N Half-Mini Card. Apparently, there was a known issue with this card with regards to connecting to a 5GHz frequency. With the DW1501 I was never able to connect to the 5GHz band ,,, the card would "see" the 5GHz band but it would never be able to connect to it. While on a support call with Dell wireless, they admitted that the DW1501 has an issue with actually connecting ("seeing") to a 5GHz band.
Dell offered to replace the DW1501 card with the DW1520. So, now my Dell Vostro has a DW1520 and it is able to "see" the 2.4GHz and the 5GHz bands. I am actually able to connect at 130 Mbps on the 2.4GHz band which is better than what I was connecting at ... which had been 65 Mbps. Now, the DW1520 card can also "see" the 5GHz band AND it can actually "connect" to the 5GHz band. When I "connect", I connect anywhere between 170 and 243Mbps, or thereabouts. So all is good until I actually open a browser and try and surf the net. When I do this, nothing happens ... it's like I am connected to the Internet but not really. So then I have to disconnect from the 5GHz and connect back the the 2.4 GHz band.
I spent nearly 2 hrs. on the phone this afternoon with another Dell technician trying to find out why I could connect to the 5GHz band but not actually surf the Internet via a browser. After 2hrs, the Dell technician could not find a resolution. However, we have possibly narrowed it down to the Linksys WRT400N router. At this point, I no idea what the issue is. The Dell technician said that I may have to re-install Windows 7 Pro 64-bit. I totally disagree. I have downloaded all recent DW1520 drivers and the Linksys WRT400N has the one and only firmware version. The Dell tech also recommended "resetting" the Linksys WRT400N. I have not done this yet ... but will.
So ... I don't know what else to do or where to turn. Is there a setting in my Linksys WRT400N router that I am not aware of that will allow me to connect to the 5GHz band? I have disabled my MacAfee firewall ... nothing. I have checked over everything I can think of ... I have researched the Internet for the optimal settings for the Linksys WRT400N. I have made those changes. Nothing. I don't have any IP address populated within the Wireless MAC filter settings within the Linksys WRT400N. I have done the ipconfig steps and have "refreshed" and "renewed" the ip addresses.
What leads me to believe that there is something not set correctly with my Linksys WRT400N (or maybe it's my AT&T Siemens modem that provides the gateway to the Internet) is that I am seeing the EXACT same issue that a state above with my Dell Precision M4400 Mobile Workstation laptop. That has a Intel WiFi 5300 ABGN network card in it. Same thing ... it actually connects to the 5GHz band, but I can't surf the net.
Finally, when I go to the Linksys WRT400N setup page and I go to Wireless > Wireless Basic Setup and change the Network Mode for the 5GHz band from Mixed to Wireless-A Only, I can actually connect to the 5GHz band but only at 54Mbps.
So, I am at a loss. I am not sure what to do, where to look or turn, nor what to or what not to configure. Any advice on optimal network settings or anything regarding this post would be greatly appreciated. This is like buying a nice sports car and not being able to get out of second gear. What's the use?
Thank you in advance.
RPPont,
There are two versions of Internet Explorer on a 64-bit system. The Internet Explorer(64-bit) does NOT support Flash player.
Click start, in search type Internet. You want to use the Internet Explorer without the (64-bit) after it.
Open Internet Explorer. Click on tools, manage add-ons, enable/disable add-ons. Disable all the add-ons, then close Internet Explorer. Wait 30 seconds, then open Internet Explorer.
What happens? If it opens, then one of the add-ons is causing the problem.
Did you try a different browser, like Mozilla Firefox?
Rick
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Rick -
Thank you for your reply.
I don't think that is it ... I don't use IE. I am using Chrome. I have not tried FF but will give it a shot.
I don't see how add-ons would be the issue regarding not being able to connect to a 5GHz network band. I think this is really a router based issue at this point since my work laptop, a Dell Precision M4400, is having the same issue. On my work laptop I have Chrome, IE8, and FF. I am running Windows XP Pro (not 64-bit). I have tried all the browsers on my work laptop and I am not able to connect. Again, my laptops (both home and work) "see" the 5GHz connection and can actually "connect" but I can't actually "surf" the Internet using a browser.
Weird thing is that I am gettng very, very good connection speeds with the 2.4 GHz network. To me, it seems like 5GHz speeds. Right now my work laptop is connecting at 243 - 300Mbps and our home laptop at 168 - 216Mbps. I know these may not be true numbers / speeds, but they are fast and right now, stable.
Thanks again for the advice. I am going to try a "flash" the router again and reset it. Someone recommended I do that.
Below are my wireless basic and advanced settings. I am achieving the 2.4GHz throughput with these settings. I did some research on the Internet regarding optimal settings for my router. I found some consistent postings, but I didn't find that they made a real difference. I basically went back and set my basic wireless settings to "Auto" and my data throughput went up. I don't get it really ... maybe just trial and error to see what works and what does not work. For the Advanced Wireless Settings, I am using what others suggested for the Beacon Interval and the Thresholds.
Never had a dual band wireless router but interesting. On the wireless G, try channel 11? I prefer setting the channels and not allowing the router to change them. Wireles devices, like printers, usb adapters, etc..., like mixed mode and channels 1, 6 or 11. I would try setting the channel(the higher you go the smaller the antenna needed, meaning the signal should be better.
WPA2-AES is the fastest, if memory serves me correctly but many wireless devices can not connect to anything past WPA-PSK(TKIP) Security (Personal) so I stick with that.
WPA-AES is supposed to be faster than WPA-PSK.
Made a little Wiki up for another memnber to follow and my screenshots are there. Setting up/Troubleshooting a Wireless Network
I see your do have both networks setup so you can connect to either network. Some people put a G or N after their SSID so they know which network they're connecting to.