Wi-Fi network blocks mobile devices

[adrayton]

Hi,

The Wi-Fi network at my workplace apparently blocks mobile devices somehow.

I can connect to the network fine but cannot load any webpages or connect through any apps on my Desire. It works fine however on my laptop.

Has anyone else encountered this and more importantly is there a way round it???

Thanks a lot!

Andy

 

[brad-short]

Hiya, and welcome to the forums.

I would guess that this is because the wireless network requires a proxy in order for you to get to webpages etc. (you can check on your laptop under the connection settings for your browser. Android 2.1 does not support wifi proxy at the moment afaik.

 

[adrayton]

Thanks for you reply.

How would I find out if I do require a proxy?

Is there anyway around this in Android.

Many thanks!!

 

[adrayton]

Just to fill this in with a bit more info... when I'm connected to the Wi-Fi network I don't receive emails through the gmail app and I can't update apps such as the weather widget or engadget.

Does this give anyone any clues as to whether or not this is a proxy problem?

Thanks a lot.

Andy

 

[DannyVandal]

I have a week old Desire, it's been connected to my home network via WiFi all that time, no problems at all. All of a sudden today - literally all of a sudden - it stopped working. Turn off WiFi and I can get on the web, collect email etc. Turn it on, nothing. Even though it has an IP, says it is connected and all other devices in my house (2 iPhones, two laptops and an iMac) are all happily connected to the web. I have tried forgetting the network and re-joining without any luck, rebooting the phone, nothing seems to work. Any ideas?

 

[adrayton]

Bump

 

[biscuitlad]

It's a proxy problem. When I'm at work I can't connect to the market to download apps or watch live tv. Soon as I get home, bingo. It all works again. Not something I can really complain about to tech support at work, but it is annoying!!

 

[adrayton]

Is this fixed in Froyo? Or are their any apps that fix it?

 

[DannyVandal]

Actually, I was messing around today, even though my Desire says it has an IP but i can't see the device on the router it IS on my network, I synced my Splash ID today. Something is blocking it from getting on the internet though.

 

[DannyVandal]

Factory reset the router, job done.

 

[adrayton]

Factory reset the router, job done.

Thanks but I don't think we're experiencing the same problem and as this is my work's network not my own I can't reset the router.

Anyone else have any solutions?

Thanks.

 

[DaddyCee]

i think that if you need to access the internet via a proxy, then your Desire will at the moment be out of luck. I think that proxy is added to the FroYo upgrade.

 

[nx1977]

Does your employer have MAC filtering enabled?

Do devices have to log onto your network first (as in windows) before they can access the net?

 

[adrayton]

When I access the network on my laptop I don't have to log on to anything or enter any information. Does that mean I'm not using a proxy?

As for MAC filtering I'm not sure.

 

[adrayton]

When I access the network on my laptop I don't have to log on to anything or enter any information. Does that mean I'm not using a proxy?

As for MAC filtering I'm not sure.

 

[nx1977]

Is it a company supplied laptop? You you not log into Windows?

 

[joll200x]

there are numerous ways your employer can stop any unauthorised devices from connecting to their network. If they've chosen to do this, there's very little you can do to get around it apart from asking your IT department to authorise your device. It's not something wrong with your Desire.

 

[biscuitlad]

Talk to your IT department - they might be more friendly than you think!

 

[adrayton]

It's my personal laptop not a company one.

My connection settings on my laptop in Firefox are set to "no proxy". Does this confirm it's not a proxy problem?

Thanks again.

 

[adrayton]

Bump

 

[joll200x]

It still doesnt mean there's no proxy. Of course, less likely however. Download the ipconfig app and then when your connected to the WLAN, check to see if you get an address for ip address, default gateway and DNS. If you don't get that far, try a wifi signal analyzer app to see if you've got a good enough signal. I think anything above -80dB should be ok? (dont quote that db tho)

 

[adrayton]

It still doesnt mean there's no proxy. Of course, less likely however. Download the ipconfig app and then when your connected to the WLAN, check to see if you get an address for ip address, default gateway and DNS. If you don't get that far, try a wifi signal analyzer app to see if you've got a good enough signal. I think anything above -80dB should be ok? (dont quote that db tho)

Thanks for that...

Downloaded the app and all sections are filled in so yes I have an ip address, default gateway and DNS servers (DHCP Server and Subnet Mask too).

What does that tell you?

Thanks again.

 

[adrayton]

Bump (sorry!)

 

[kboya]

Thanks but I don't think we're experiencing the same problem and as this is my work's network not my own I can't reset the router.

Anyone else have any solutions?

Thanks.

I think you either have a proxy problem with the wifi, or as others have pointed out you need to speak to IT and have your desire's mac address added to the list... however, a simple solution to the 'wifi knocking mobile off' is to disable the wifi on fone when at work, then you still have data from 3G/HSDPA, but you may not want this depending on your package.

 

[adrayton]

I've downloaded the 'proxysetting' app.

Is there a way (possibly through my laptop) I can find the proxy host and port to see if this helps?

Everyone else i speak to can connect through their phones (iPhones and Nokias) and this is really peeing me off!!

Thanks again.