I have a Linksys WRT54G2 router and turned OFF the ‘Wi-Fi Protected Setup.’ I clicked on manual in the router configuration page and entered an SSID, like so.
I then went to security and added a WPA2-Personal key.
I can log in just fine, and so can two other people in the house…but something happens when a third roommate tries to log in. It seems that either Vista or the router “forget” that WPS is off, because the first thing it does when he tries to connect it ask for a PIN. He’s less tech-savvy than I, but still savvy enough to know this wasn’t the WPA key, so he went to the router and got the PIN from the bottom of it, and then at the next step he just clicked OK, and so his computer changed a new SSID and assigned a random WPA key that only his computer knew. I guess this is part of “WPS”?
All of yesterday I had no idea why my wireless SSID and key kept changing, because I had never heard of WPS till…well, just yesterday when I finally figured out what he was doing when MY computer tried to do it. After he changed the SSID, I tried to log in and got asked for the PIN, and I also put in the PIN and got the option to change the SSID and password.
So tonight we finally figured out that’s what he was doing, so I just said “well, after I reset the router and put back the SSID and key, don’t enter a PIN, just click where it says ‘I don’t want to configure this network, I just want to connect to it.’”
So he did, but then he immediately got an error saying he couldn’t connect because his computer wasn’t automatically configured to connect to this network…he was then in an endless loop of either putting in a PIN and changing everything, or not connecting at all.
So for some reason despite having WPS off, Vista still wants to try and use WPS?
I really hope someone has an answer to this. We routinely go through a ping pong of resetting the router between my XP laptop and my wife’s Vista desktop. We have the same router as the OP.
One person gathers all the computer ID information from every computer using the network, adds that info into the router, sets up the secure access and tests every computer to ensure each one works as expected. If the decision is made you will have a secure wireless network, then all computers connected must be set up the same way. If the decision is made to have an unsecure network, then so be it. Just be aware that with an unsecured network, anyone else can steal your access and use it for free. You may not care but the ISP terms of service probably state that any issues are the sole responsibility of the account holder. So if someone is stealing access and performing an illegal act, the account holder is going to be on the hook.
This is the only thing that’s worked for me–it seems like Vista machines in general have some weirdo problems dealing with just about anything in the WRTXXX series of routers.
This doesn’t exactly answer your question but this is one of the reasons I won’t buy a router I can’t put DD-WRT on.
The first thing I do when I configure any router is disable that stupid WPS button. The last Netgear I had, WNR3500, had an option to disable it, but lo and behold just like OP posts it still asks for a PIN (even though I disabled PIN also) when connecting from a newer Dell laptop. Well unlike OP I didn’t go look for the PIN I just cancel and added the wireless manually as other posters mention. This does work, unless the drivers are too old to support the WPA2 or whatever you may have configured on the router…
Anyway, with DD-WRT at least you can really and truly disable that stupid PIN crap (what good is a password you CAN’T CHANGE, seriously?). However that does limit the routers you can buy, and in some cases the Version/Revision of the same Model # of router. Thankfully, Buffalo is selling in the USA again, and the WZR-HP-G300NH works beautifully with DD-WRT. So you can have high power antennas, 802.11n, Gigabit Ethernet, and DD-WRT. It’s an all around WIN.
Make sure UPnP (universal plug and play) is off on the router. You might also get your roommate to stop UPnP in Vista too (Control Panel|Administrative Tools|Services, right click UPnP Device Host, select Stop) before he tries connecting to the wireless network.
