I just got my first smart phone. I got the LG Spectrum and my carrier is Verizon.
When I try to connect to wifi from home, I see scanning, authenticating, but then it shows as disabled. I’ve added both the regular connection info and the one for guests, but neither will work.
A poster on an LG forum I found said he was having this same problem and he solved it by inputting the network key instead of the password. I’m not very knowledgeable about this sort of thing and can’t figure out what that even means. I have asked him to elaborate, but it’s been several days so I don’t think he’s returning to the forum.
Anyone have any suggestions? By the way, I have had no problem connecting to my wifi at my business. I did reset the Belkin here at home, but that didn’t help either.
The network key he’s referring to is the router’s WEP or WPA encryption key. Note that this is NOT the password you use to open the router’s configuration screen. Once you’re into its configuration screen go to the wireless section and their should be an entry for network key or encryption key. It will be a string of letters & numbers like E01234FA. Once you have the key you’ll need to enter it into you smartphone’s WiFi settings.
I’ve also had issues with smartphones and WEP, which is a very old security protocol. If you can change your router settings to WPA-2, you’ll have a greater chance of success, I think.
If you can post the exact router model, I’m sure I or someone else can find a configuration guide online to guide you through finding your current wifi security settings.
Try unplugging the router itself for 20 seconds, then plugging it back in. I was having a hell of a time getting our new printer to connect to the wireless; it would see the SSID but failed to connect no matter what I did (including resetting the router, changing from WPA2 to WEP, etc.).
I stumbled across the “unplug it” suggestion on a Verizon message board, tried it, and the printer connected on the next try.
Whenever you have wireless networking problems, disable security (WEP, WPA and MAC access control) and make sure you have DHCP enabled, then see if you can connect (remember to put security back on afterwards)
I almost feel like I’m speaking a foreign language with this stuff. Thanks for the suggestions.
No luck so far. The network key is the same as the password and I was careful about caps.
I’ve tried everything. I’ll go back to Verizon. It’s probably something easy that I’m just not seeing.
You’ll need to go into the router settings (i.e., via a browser on your computer), but is it set so that new devices must be approved before connecting (such as via MAC address recognition)?
Also, does your ISP only allow a limited number of IP addresses to be assigned? If it only allows one (common, IME) or a few, and you already have that many devices connected, you’ll need to get them to authorize more.
You’re right, I should have said “devices to connect.” It’s the router that assigns the IP addresses, but the ISP can detect how many and what kinds of devices are transmitting through the router. Most don’t care, and don’t limit. Some do.
How do you connect to your wifi from home? Are you kidding me? It’s questions like yours that are making me feel incredibly old, stupid, and anti-social media technology prone. Ten years ago, I became technologically challenged; last year, I became t-moronic; and by year end, I have no doubt that I’ll be t-dead.
Now, can you humour me a bit by backtracking to"wifi"? Can I assume that at least it’s a word with a definition? In layman’s terms, what is it?? And oh yeah, when my daughter-in-law during a telephone conversation tells me to wait while she switches to bluetooth, what in hell is she talking about? I’ve lived x number of years and I’ve never done a bluetooth switcharoo in my life!! And I’m still breathing.
Okay, here’s a question for you, NWYE-----------Why do you pay good money for a “smart” phone when it obviously ain’t? For what I understand these thingys go for, they should bloody well run themselves. And that’s the truth!
This here is your best course of action, IMO. Change the wireless settings in your router to use WPA2 instead of WEP. It’s more secure and you can use a regular password without having to worry about encryption keys which are much harder to remember.
Of course, after making the change on your router, you’ll also have to make the change on all the wireless devices that connect to it, but after that, connecting new devices should be much easier. If you have a visitor to your house that needs to use the wifi, you just tell them the password and be done with it.
Some routers have a setting for the address range allowed when DHCP is used to assign IPs.
For instance, I have mine set up to assign a range between 192.168.0.2 through 192.168.0.50. (It’s the last number that matters). This is enough for the 10 or so devices I have set up to connect, plus many more. I think the highest I’ve seen assigned is 192.168.0.16.
If my range was 192.168.0.2 through 192.168.0.6, I’d imagine I’d have a similar problem to what you have.
Perhaps you can increase the range of available IP addresses your router can assign.
