X51v WPA Wifi Problems

[Zoandar]

The 20 second thing is when the access point recalculates its encryption key.
Many versions of D-link/Linksys firmware's calculation is different then what the Axim expects and the connection is lost as a result.

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!

You have just provided the answer I could not find after DAYS of online searching!!

So, my next question is, of course, WHY does the D-Link "recalculate" the key? I use a pre-shared 63 character WPA key that is manually entered on the router and on each device. The router shouldn't have to be recalculating it, especially every 20 seconds! Is there a way to make the D-Link DIR655 Extreme N Wireless router NOT do that?

Understand that, in that 20 second recalculating scenario, the Axim DOES pick the connection back up every time. But it makes for frustrating access to the wifi when it suddenly hangs for 3 seconds every 20.

I had not thought about the Bluetooth route. How well does a Bluetooth dongle handle getting through room walls, floors, and ceilings?

Lastly, I did not know there was a Dell wireless patch. I have 2 patches from them that I always apply when I rebuild the Axim, but I don't think either of them deals with wi-fi. One is called the Colorado Adds Fix, and the other is the Notification Mgr. patch. I guess I need to go check out the current patch list. Their support had gotten so lousy for the Axim that I had not been bothering to check in.

Of course, the DST patch is a total nightmare, as is ActiveSync 4.5, so I don't use either. ASY 4.5 only crashes my Axim whenever I try to use it. I am STILL working out the hassles I encounter every 6 months when dealing with DST. I could write a mile-long post on how that mucks up the alarm handler. I usually have to create duplicates of all my daily repeating alarms, and then delete the originals, in order to get them not to sound an hour early/late after the time change.

[Zoandar]

Could you provide a URL to obtain the Dell wireless patch for the Axim X51v? I went there just now, to the support page, entered my Service Tag number, and only see the patches I already have, mentioned above. There was no reference to anything wireless.

[mbloof]

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!

You have just provided the answer I could not find after DAYS of online searching!!

So, my next question is, of course, WHY does the D-Link "recalculate" the key? I use a pre-shared 63 character WPA key that is manually entered on the router and on each device. The router shouldn't have to be recalculating it, especially every 20 seconds! Is there a way to make the D-Link DIR655 Extreme N Wireless router NOT do that?

Its part of the WPA spec. Depending on traffic, it could even be faster than that. All WPA compliant routers/access points/devices do it. You can't change it. :)

Now, before you go blaming Dlink goto wi-fi.org, there is a list of all tested and compliant Wifi Devices. See the Axim? Last I looked, its not there. Is there a listing for the DIR655? (note: the ax50v was tested in 2004)

If you already have all the Dell patches, then you likely have WiFi_A_ColAdds.CAB (Aug06).

Actually, having the patch or not should not matter. Its likely that the Dlink will never play nice with a Axim and WPA. I tested 4 routers, 12 different versions of firmware and finally got DD-WRT v23SP2 working with all my portable devices, including the Ax51v.

(Sorry, DD-WRT won't run on a DI655, but thanks for the information, I almost bought one at Costco this weekend because of the Gigabit routing. I could still use it, just disable the stupid pre-N-crap of a radio)

[Jack2007]

I was having problems connecting to my D-Link DI-724 with my newly purchased x51v. It simply wouldn’t connect using the WPA security. (I actually did not even try to connect without security enabled because I won’t use an open connection under any circumstances.) I could, however, connect to several other open routers in my condo complex, at least the Linksys ones. So I decided to check out this site and very soon found this highly informative post.

To make a long story short: Using the info in the excellent threads by ikehiker and Zoander, I purchased a WRT54G router and had it over-nighted from Amazon. (I’m a great believer in instant gratification!) I configured it as an access point per the instructions in the threads, and, lo and behold, in less than 30 minutes after it arrived my Axim was easily connecting with WPA enabled!

Now my laptops are happily chugging away on the D-Link while the Axim is using the Linksys. The signal strength is not very good in all rooms but when my longer patch cable arrives I’ll move the Linksys to a more central location.

Thanks to all those who contributed to this post. I don’t know where I would have so quickly found the answer to the connection problem without this post.

[smadoc]

I didn't take the time to read all the posts, but I had a similar problem with my X50v and linksys routers using WPA. I could connect, and it would stay connected for a few minutes. After that the connection would drop although the signal strength was still good. I upgraded the firmwire on the axim and that seemed to help for a little while, but the problem came back. I eventually updated the firmware for the router to the newest version and that seemed to take care of the problem. It stays connected all day now, as long as it has power :)

[mbloof]

"Your Mileage may vary"

Its good to hear that some off the shelf Linksys WRT54G's are working with the Axim.

I had a WRT54GS and tried 2-3 versions of Linksys firmware. There was a Netgear something or other that I tried connecting to and finally my Di624. I had it working with the Odsey client at one point, but I could not get it to work with the Ax51v AND all my other wireless devices. After 4-5 versions of firmware, I gave up on the D-Link.

The short answer it seems is "buy a WRT54G and cross your fingers".

[ksong12]

Oh, I forgot to mention. When connecting with Odyssey, it always stops at "waiting for keys". Under more information, it says "Authentication Failed: Unknown".

I think the Axim, as someone mentioned, simply doesn't meet all of the WiFi specs, which some routers need, and some do not.

I, unfortunately, do not have the option of using the WRT54G.

[Zoandar]

IIRC, I said that I had 2 patches for the Axim. I don't recall saying I had them all. The one I have with the word Colorado in it is the Colorado Adds Fix, so I guess that is not the same as this Wifi_A_ColAdds, is it? I don't remember why I downloaded it, but it seemed pertinent at the time. All I have by way of a description of it is the following line in a readme file "Axim X51/X51v Driver Rolling Patch A00 . Release on 12/5/'06 ". So I guess that is something different.

Apparently Dell has seen fit to remove the Wi-Fi patch from the current download list for the X51v. It is not there.

Its part of the WPA spec. Depending on traffic, it could even be faster than that. All WPA compliant routers/access points/devices do it. You can't change it.

Now, before you go blaming Dlink goto wi-fi.org, there is a list of all tested and compliant Wifi Devices. See the Axim? Last I looked, its not there. Is there a listing for the DIR655? (note: the ax50v was tested in 2004)

You don't suppose the Linksys is also doing that, but fast enough that the Axim never loses the connection? Because I sat and watched the Dell WLAN signal strength once I got the Axim on the Linksys with WPA for several minutes, and it never ONCE dropped the signal. Although I have had bushels of trouble with WRT54G routers ( this one is our THIRD in 5 years), and their Wireless Print Server just plain sucks (kept hanging and requiring restarts and re-installs every time I tried to print from the Axim - The D-Link Print Server just plain WORKS from the Axim) I have to give credit to the Linksys for providing my solution here. It also seems to be the most ubiquitous router out there. But once can also read a lot of customer complaints about it.

(I actually did not even try to connect without security enabled because I won’t use an open connection under any circumstances.) I could, however, connect to several other open routers in my condo complex

:-) I got a smile out of that. IIRC, it is a felony to tap someone's wifi without permission, secured or otherwise. But at least you are protecting YOURS. :-)

Now my laptops are happily chugging away on the D-Link while the Axim is using the Linksys. The signal strength is not very good in all rooms but when my longer patch cable arrives I’ll move the Linksys to a more central location.

We are kindred spirits in that regard. My Linksys serves only the Axim. Everything else uses the D-Link.

If you want to increase the signal strength on your WRT54G significantly, I can attest that their HGA7T High-Gain antennas really help a lot! Not the cheapest accessory, but when all we had was the WRT54G, it was either do something or have a poor signal in half the house. I had already placed the router in the center of the house, but still had signal problems until I upgraded to those antennas. Other than when the router has given us fits on the whole, I have never dropped a wi-fi connection to it since I installed them, on notebooks or the Axim. I bought them at Staples. $60, but well worth it. That was a in January 06. Maybe they have come down since then.

Also, speaking of moving the router, did you know that they now make FLAT Cat 5 cables, that can be run under carpeting? I use them, and they work great. I ran them along the edge under the carpeting, right beside the tack-less strip, so it is unlikely any weight will actually be put on them. But they do appear durable. They have been in operation since Jan 06 when I added the Hi-Gain antennas to the Linksys.

[Zoandar]

Kevin -

I had tired working with Odyssey too, before I finally got the intermittent connection on the D-Link. Did you use WPA-PSK? (Pre-shared key). There seems to be another method where keys are somehow "supplied" by the router. Maybe that was happening? But with PSK, you enter the key yourself in both the router and in each wifi device, so nothing gets asked for.

I also encountered issues wanting a "certificate" to identify the Axim. As much research as I did on that, there is supposedly a way to do a registry hack and copy the Axim's "root certificate" to some other location to make that be satisfied. I tried that, and it did not work. I was not able to "copy" any of the Axim's listed certificates. Further research led to the discovery that certificates are generally used in an enterprise environment with some kind of server that provides them. Since I don't have that option, I ended up with the WPA-PSK turning out to circumvent BOTH of those issues, so I stuck with that.

I probably should mention that after all the registry hack attempts and Odyssey attempts, once I found WPA-PSK to at least TRY to connect, I actually had to Hard Reset the Axim and rebuild it to make WPA-PSK work reliably.

Another important observation I think I haven't mentioned is that when I make any kind of changes to the WPA key, or changes from WEP to WPA, I can only get the Axim to connect AFTER a Soft Reset. Before that, the little radio tower and halo icon won't appear when I turn on the wifi, and it just remains as the "X" icon, even though the green LED in the upper right corner does flash. After the Soft Reset, the radio tower icon comes back and works, and then it connects.

Since you don't have the option to use a WRT54G (unless you want to buy one specifically for this, they ARE really cheap right now, like $42 ) you can still use WEP and hidden SSID encryption on a D-Link for the Axim. Not very strong security, but it might keep out a curious neighbor kid.

[ksong12]

Yes, I am using PSK. But with PSK, keys are STILL router generated. You only give the passphrase, and the router generates keys based on that (consistently).

Certificates are used for RADIUS servers and WPA Enterprise configurations (such as at my old school).

I really don't like hidden SSID (other reasons), and I don't like WEP either :) Basically, my philosophy is that if I have high level security, I am gonna use it.

I can't connect, soft resetted or not. Perhaps I'll try to hard reset, but I'm just a bit busy to reinstall all of my apps (I have too many :))

[Zoandar]

I know what you mean there! I have Hard Reset and rebuilt my Axim dozens of times since I got it in 1975, due to the totally lousy alarm handler's favorite trick of suddenly no longer sounding alarms. I use mine for medication reminders, so not a good thing when I miss a dose because I forgot and the Axim did too.

I have a "rebuild log" that I keep tweaking as needed, so I just follow it step by step so I remember what to do and which default settings to "fix" so I can use the Axim without certain headaches. It takes about 1 1/2 to 2 hours to complete if I stay at it non-stop and have no interruptions. I couldn't believe it when I first learned that MS said the WM5 "Backup" utility shouldn't be used to re-install applications. What's the point? If you sync regularly, all the content you created gets backed up automatically. What you NEED the Backup utility for is to restore the apps, not the data.

Why don't you like hidden SSID?

[Jack2007]

If you want to increase the signal strength on your WRT54G significantly, I can attest that their HGA7T High-Gain antennas really help a lot! Not the cheapest accessory, but when all we had was the WRT54G, it was either do something or have a poor signal in half the house. I had already placed the router in the center of the house, but still had signal problems until I upgraded to those antennas. Other than when the router has given us fits on the whole, I have never dropped a wi-fi connection to it since I installed them, on notebooks or the Axim. I bought them at Staples. $60, but well worth it. That was a in January 06. Maybe they have come down since then.

I looked into several High-Gain antennas but they all cost nearly as much as, or more than, I paid for the router!

At any rate, I did move the router to a more unobstructed location and I'm now able to connect with the Axim with a Normal to Good signal strength from any room in my house. So, for now I'm quite satisfied.

** I just realized that the attennae on my Linksys ver. 8.2 aren't removable. Good thing I didn't spend $20+ for add-ons. **