Wifi Question

[Dubbin1]

New guy to the Droid with a wifi question. I swear I did a search but that led me no where as there are a ton of different threads on "wifi".

Anyway, I don't seem to have a problem connecting to my wifi as it says connected but when I do it doesn't seem to work. I can't do anything as far as internet with the phone unless wifi is off. I get an excellent signal from the router so that cant be it.

 

[allanlaw]

Anyway, I don't seem to have a problem connecting to my wifi as it says connected but when I do it doesn't seem to work. I can't do anything as far as internet with the phone unless wifi is off. I get an excellent signal from the router so that cant be it.

Usually this is as simple as a password not being correct, or trying to run on an "N" router - or sometimes more subtle and hard to find. Try the obvious first, and then report back for more encouragement.

 

[Dubbin1]

No passwords are set on the router Like I said it connects, I don't know if I'm missing a setting or something on the phone other then turning wifi on to make it use the wifi.

 

[allanlaw]

No passwords are set on the router Like I said it connects, I don't know if I'm missing a setting or something on the phone other then turning wifi on to make it use the wifi.

Turn off the router and then turn it on again. On the Droid, go to Settings / Wireless & networks / Wi-Fi settings and see if your wireless network is listed. Long press on it, and then press "connect" if that shows as an option.

 

[Dubbin1]

Yes it shows my network and it shows as connected with an excellent signal.

 

[allanlaw]

Yes it shows my network and it shows as connected with an excellent signal.

What does it show for "Security" and "IP address"?

 

[Dubbin1]

Well maybe it does work but is VERY sloooooooooooow. It just loaded up a couple pages for me (msn and google). Is the wifi on these phones really that slow? Its a B router if that means anything.

 

[allanlaw]

Well maybe it does work but is VERY sloooooooooooow. It just loaded up a couple pages for me (msn and google). Is the wifi on these phones really that slow? Its a B router if that means anything.

A "B" router would be about as slow as you can get, so that's your problem. Get yourself a "G" router - they are cheaper than spit at this point - and have a good time.

 

[allanlaw]

BTW the Droid will load slower than a newer computer - the processor is not as fast and robust as a dual or quad core Pentium.

 

[Dubbin1]

Any reason why the router is fast with my laptop and not the phone? I'm talking it takes minutes to load a page on the phone. If I need a new router then I'll go the route.

BTW thanks a ton for answering these questions, as you can tell I'm not up on the whole wifi thing. I bought the router years ago, plugged it in and it worked without doing anything so I really have no idea what I'm doing with it.

 

[shizzy1427]

Any reason why the router is fast with my laptop and not the phone? I'm talking it takes minutes to load a page on the phone. If I need a new router then I'll go the route.

BTW thanks a ton for answering these questions, as you can tell I'm not up on the whole wifi thing. I bought the router years ago, plugged it in and it worked without doing anything so I really have no idea what I'm doing with it.

The proccesor in your computer is much faster than your droid. If its stock, the droid is only running at 550Mhz, where as your laptop is probably at least 2Ghz, so the proccesing power behind the laptop is much stronger. You could always root your Droid and clock it up to 1Ghz and speed that puppy up


And like he said a B router is the slowest. N is the fastest but the droid doesnt have n capabilities so the G is what you'll want to get. I have a G router and it only cost me like $35 new on amazon.

 

[Dubbin1]

Okay thanks!!! I'll look into getting a G router right now.

 

[allanlaw]

Just for giggles, use your browser to go to "m.cnn.com" and see how that loads. There are a lot of special mobile-optimized web pages that load way faster than full web pages.

 

[Dubbin1]

Just for giggles, use your browser to go to "m.cnn.com" and see how that loads. There are a lot of special mobile-optimized web pages that load way faster than full web pages.

I have tried a few mobile sites and they all take a long time to load too. Google loads up really fast though. Even my weather apps take forever to update if they even update at all. Every site and app works great when the wifi is turned off.

in the wifi settings it says
status connected
speed 11mbps
signal strength excellent
security open
ip address 192.168.1.102

 

[allanlaw]

in the wifi settings it says
status connected
speed 11mbps
signal strength excellent
security open
ip address 192.168.1.102

There you are - with an excellent signal, your speed is 11mbps - compared to "G" with 54mbps. You will enjoy your new router . . .

 

[Dubbin1]

There you are - with an excellent signal, your speed is 11mbps - compared to "G" with 54mbps. You will enjoy your new router . . .

Cool Thanks, I'll give a new router a shot.

 

[jjnbdal]

Hi.
My problem is that the droid seems connected, but does not go on the internet. What interesting is that my laptop connects and works when it runs WindowsXP, but not with Ubuntu. The latter shows connection but can get through the log in page (via web browser).
Because Android is linux, does it then explain why the it does not work with certain wifi set up?
By the way, this is a public access point, so I can't do any work on the router.

Thanks,
Jaran

 

[allanlaw]

Hi.
My problem is that the droid seems connected, but does not go on the internet. What interesting is that my laptop connects and works when it runs WindowsXP, but not with Ubuntu. The latter shows connection but can get through the log in page (via web browser).
Because Android is linux, does it then explain why the it does not work with certain wifi set up?
By the way, this is a public access point, so I can't do any work on the router.

Thanks,
Jaran

Not enough information - review the earlier posts in this thread and other than reseting the router, go through the steps I suggested and report back what information you see on the Droid.

 

[nateo200]

A "B" router would be about as slow as you can get, so that's your problem. Get yourself a "G" router - they are cheaper than spit at this point - and have a good time.

I don't think that's the dilemma per say. Even B is much faster than "really really slow", then again I can't measure that. Download the speed test app and do a test and report back with the speed.

 

[Dubbin1]

I don't think that's the dilemma per say. Even B is much faster than "really really slow", then again I can't measure that. Download the speed test app and do a test and report back with the speed.

I'm pretty convinced that you're right. I am trying the speed test right now but it has been hung up on retrieving server list for about 5 minutes now. There has to be something else going on here.

 

[nateo200]

I'm pretty convinced that you're right. I am trying the speed test right now but it has been hung up on retrieving server list for about 5 minutes now. There has to be something else going on here.

I've had that issue as well. Sometimes wifi isn't as perfect as one would like

 

[Dubbin1]

Got a new router on the way from Newegg, should have it in a couple of days. I sure hope it takes care of my problem.

 

[dmodert66]

Jeez. I wish I would have seen this post earlier. Really you should have purchased an N router (even though you won't be able to take advantage of N with your Droid). It would future proof you, and you can find them on sale for close to as cheap as wireless G routers...

**EDIT** For example, quick search on Newegg...A Wireless N Linksys Router...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...3124344&cm_re=n_router-_-33-124-344-_-Product

Have to click "See Price in Cart". It is $43.54 with free shipping and does B/G/N....

 

[Dubbin1]

Jeez. I wish I would have seen this post earlier. Really you should have purchased an N router (even though you won't be able to take advantage of N with your Droid). It would future proof you, and you can find them on sale for close to as cheap as wireless G routers...

I want it for use with the droid so N isn't the answer right now

 

[gnath9]

I want it for use with the droid so N isn't the answer right now

"N" is compatible with the Droid it will run at 54mbps and probally give you a longer range.