I've only had my 770 a few days and so far, I've only managed to connect to the internet once - at a friends house today

Basically, although I can see unsecure connections (including my own Netgear DG834G) I either can't connect to them (I get the "Network Connection Error") - or - if I do connect to a certain access point, the browser doesn't actually load any pages. I've driven to several free open-access hotspots, seen the connection and still not been able to connect to them.

On a couple of occasions I've had a "local link" (I can't remember the exact phrase) and had a question mark over the wifi icon, but still not managed to surf the net.

I've just been to a friends house and have been able to connect to his network and surf successfully - he has a secure network and after I entered his 29 digit WEP key, everything was fine.

So why can't I connect to unsecure networks???

Please Help

While those networks you're attempting to connect to may not have encryption (requirement of a password) enabled, they likely have another form of security set up. Filtering of incoming connection by the connecting device's "MAC address" is the one that comes immediately to mind.

Commercial Wi-Fi providers like T-Mobile and the like also often have what looks like an unsecure connection available, but upon connecting and trying to navigate via the Web, you are directed to a login page and cannot go further without identifying yourself as a subscriber to their service.

In short, those insecure networks likely actually have protection against random people connecting to them.

Hi Sully. I guess it will be hit & miss with hotspts, but I can't understand why I can't connect to my own unsecure network! I've tried various settings on the router...nothing

I have had this exact same problem with my n800! At home... no worries, can connect all day if I want (my home network is DSL served wirelessly thru my Linksys router).

But when I'm out and about, I have had almost NO success actually connecting to a network. I live in New York City and have been in Midtown, the upper west side, lower east side, Brooklyn, you name it. I can see open networks, but if I try to actually use them it's "network error" time.

Or at best I can load a page or two (really slowly) before the thing just hangs, or I get an error. Frustrating!

My friend with a Sony Clie PDA has been bonding it to his Motorola/Verizon cell phone via bluetooth and has no problems at all. But I can't seem to figure out how to bind my n800 to my own Verizon phone (a Motorola v815). Or rather, I can get the Bluetooth link to work, but I can't seem to get the networking to ... work.

Frustrating times.

- k

Hi Phase Pistol. Is it possible we both have defective units? How long have you had your N800? Are there any forum members who had similar problems and had their devices exchanged and this cured the connection problem? I can't even connect to my own unsecure network, let alone a public access hotspot! I've tried every setting on the 770, I've read the manual and I've used the search facility on this board and I still can't get a connection.

My first 4 days (= only several hours of using the 770) has not been a great experience so far

I've had mine since February!

- k

This thread might be of help to you - http://www.internettablettalk.com/fo...ead.php?t=2371

Post #67 by Ta-t3 summarises the main issues. It seems it still has users scratching their heads. I've my 770 for only a few days now and have run into intermittent problems with free wi-fi spots while out and about. I've been able to connect fine to others though so I'm still only investigating the problem .

If you can't link to your own router at home then it seems an incorrectly entered WEP key may be the most likely problem. Have you tried connecting to your own router by switching off encryption to test if the 770 will connect?

I have no security enabled on my router - no WEP or WPA. I don't know what to try next....

The fact that you can connect at your friend's house would suggest that the problem may be with your router rather than the 770.
What router does your friend have? Can other devices (laptops etc) connect to your own router? Do you have any other mobile wi-fi enabled device that you can bring with you to connect to the free wi-fi spots and do they connect when the 770 cannot connect?

I'd also try to systematically go through your router and try the different options - no encryption, WEP, WPA, Mac authorization etc to see if any of them have a positive effect.
If you're using WEP then maybe try a smaller key size i.e. 10 characters where it's easier to copy in and less likely to make a mistake.

Document everything you do step by step and post it here and it may be easier for others to spot any mistakes that you may have overlooked or been unaware of.

Basically the more you can do to narrow down the problem the easier it makes it to try and determine the exact cause although I realise how frustrating it must be if you can't get the device to connect sucessfully to the internet.

The problem is not specific to the 770. I am experiencing it with my new N800 as well. At home, I can connect fine to my access point that uses WSA-PSK. However, at work, connecting to the same model of access point that is open (no WEP/WPA), it fails. (The office WLAN is considered an unsecure external network, and needs to support some older devices that don't understand WPA. So the only thing the WLAN allows users to do is initiate a VPN connection into our network (DHCP is enabled, of course, though even DNS is blocked -- only IPSEC is allowed).)

In both cases, the access points are Proxim AP-2000s, an enterprise-class access point (now discontinued in favor of newer models, of course). I installed and configured both the ones at work, and the one at home. The only difference is that the ones at work are 'open'. Well, the other difference is that the ones at work are multiple APs all on the same SSID (but different channels, of course) to allow users to roam seamlessly throughout the office. Perhaps the N800 has trouble connecting to SSIDs with more than one AP visible on the SSID?