Here’s a tough one to sort out. I added a Netgear WGX 102 range extender to my home plug network a while back, but my N800/OS 2008 (pre Diablo) refuses to recognize it. Went over my Linksys router settings with a fine tooth comb, all is copacetic (Cable gateway WGC 200, ethernet/wifi combo, home plugged to two Dell XP boxes, with two top of the line extra high powered wireless antennae, brand new home wiring throughout). I’m running mac filtering for security, and all relevant devices, including all other Netgear home plugs, N800, laptop, pc’s etc. are all correctly entered in Mac addresses on the router. Open SSID broadcast, no PW security etc., no problems with the network of any kind on any other machines, in fact blistering LAN speeds even over wireless. Zone alarm has all relevant IP addresses listed as trusted (and the problem remains even when ZA firewall is disabled altogether).

Even though I can connect readily with the N800 when I am near the Linksys router (within 10-20 feet or so), as soon as I get half-a-house away I can no longer connect after a disconnect, though the N800 sees the wifi network and shows a very strong signal (full or nearly full bar). I get the can't retieve IP address error. I have to connect to wifi near the router, then when I carry the tablet to the other end of the house I have to deal with an ever weakening wifi signal. If I try to open a connection at the far end, where the range extender is located (long house) I get the IP address failed error, which I am assuming is due to a weak signal. If I connect to wifi when I am near the router I can carry the tablet some distance and keep what appears to be a strong signal. But if I go to the other end of the house, still connected, I get a server not found error when opening the browser (to any page).

With connection manager running in the background I see a very strong signal (full bar), I see some minimal recd/transfer activity, but can’t get anything from the browser except server not found and can’t disconnect/reconnect without getting the IP address error message. I have tried every conceivable combination of N800 wifi transmission settings, 10 vs. 100 ma, power saver on/off/intermediate, ad hoc vs. infrastructure, even set up a test connection with static IP, with public DNS and/or router DNS values, set DMZ on from the router for the static IP address etc., no dice. I know it is not the range extender per se, with my Sony Vista laptop I can move the extender from room to room and watch the (working) internet wifi connection jump up or down on the laptop from fair to excellent accordingly. Wifi connection through the laptop from the extender is lightning fast, Netgear’s diagnostic utility shows max theoretical strength signal coming from the extender. So why on Earth won’t my N800 see it?? It seems to only pick up the antennae transmission from the router itself. And before you ask, I googled everything on the forum addressing either set of IP or server error messages, and tried their various suggestions. Nothing useful for this problem.

Got it (finally)...I use mac address filtering on my linksys router, once I added the N800 to the list, no problem connecting near the router. But netgear range extenders require you to add a duplicate list of mac addresses via the web interface before those devices will access the web via the range extender. Now my Nokia can get a solid connection anywhere in the house or yard!

Not bashing your setup, but you know how much good MAC filtering does? Not much, since most WiFi cards are reconfigurable to clone any device on the net. Assuming you're running WPA anyway, anyone with the inclination to crack it can most definitely get around your mac block.

I didn't see any mention of encryption in your post, but if you're not using WPA, you're pretty much wide open, and if you are, you're decently setup. (WPA2, of course, is better still.) (But don't use a weak key!)