WRT54GL and Windows Vista connectivity problem using WEP (solved)

0ktolis • 14th Ιουν 2009 • main, Projects, Tips & Tricks

It appears that Windows Vista cannot connect to many WEP-enabled routers. There is MUCH talk on the internet regarding this problem but as much as I searched I couldn’t find a solution that works.

My configuration has a WiFi router (LinkSys WRT54GL) and at least one Vista laptop. There is much bull* regarding that WEP is broken in Vista or that it’s incompatible. The truth is that Vista changed the delay between negotiations to the wireless router and this creates some problems since it timeouts too soon.

The solution

This solution is for the WRT54GL router using Firmware: DD-WRT v23 SP2 (09/15/06) std but any other router with this option should do the trick.

Navigate through the web-based interface to Wireless -> Basic Settings -> Wireless -> Sensitivity Range (ACK Timing)

You should see an option of “2000″ and maybe an explanation of “2000 meters” lower this value to something more sensible like “50″ or “200″ and Vista WILL connect if this is the problem (99.9% of the cases).

The explanation again is that Vista timeouts too soon and the router doesn’t and so Vista hangs up on the router with a message “wireless association failed because windows did not receive any response from the wireless router or acess point”. Again, changing to 64-bit or 128-bit encryption is NOT the problem, neither is to change from passphrase to predefined passkey.

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