Database Users

new to wifi - quick question

sorry for the newb questions but couldn't find an answer searching and figured someone who knows would be able to give an answer easily
the question is, when in the office, sitting near my laptop (dell lat 620 w wifi) I connect my phone to the wifi network 'wfield1' and the display on the laptop turns green, and the phone shows the little antenna signifying wifi connectivity. ok- now does this mean
a) that all data sent/rec'd will not appear on cingulars bill?
b) will my works firewall (vpn) infringe upon my browsing (ie if I hit a blocked site will it say blocked on my phone?)
I originally thought it would but I turned wifi on and walked away from my laptop and realized that the wifi connection stayed on throughout the building so therefore it has nothing to do with my laptops connection to our vpn server then right?
if so, c) would I be able to use the phones wifi connection and then usb tether the phone to the laptop to browse on the laptop off the firewall and off cingulars rate charges? I have unlim anyway but keeping usage down seems worth the small step it takes to tether
hopefully I am at least a little accurate in my guesses and not way off wack. if anyone could drop some knowledge on me id appreciate it

Your phone's connection to WIFI has nothing to do with your laptop. It should connect to your WIFI router in your office. Your phone should display a different symbol on the top line of the LCD, rather than your regular "antenna" symbol.
You need to check the above before you can confirm if you are actually connected to your WIFI router.

When you are on WIFI, it is subjected to the same firewall regulations as your laptop

yes it changes from the normal "phone" antenna to the wifi icon, i do know that much.
however i'm still unsure of whether or not it is using routered data vs cingular data. i think it is using the wifi data because as i said it is showing the wifi symbol and not the E or G that shows up when connected to cingulars service
and i think i mispoke, i dont actually use the wifi on the laptop to connect to the internet. i need to dial up with a verizon card, and it connects that way, and also launches a VPN which i think is what regulates the internet usage.
i am less worried about the routers firewall than i am my (proxy?) servers abilty to record sights that i visit, ie the forums/ebay. if i visit those on wifi and my server could see that (not worried about the wifi router seeing it since i am in different offices a lot), i will just stick with using GPRS/EDGE. confusing? sorry

If it was using Cingular data, you would get a message that your phone is 'Connecting to Cingular GPRS' ..in which case you would be billed, you don't get billed for using wifi because you are NOT using cingulars network to connect to the internet, you are using your own.

after checking it again, it seems that i cannot get to the iinternet with the wifi alone. i turned off the phone and had wifi enabled and could not connet to the internet.
so normally, if it wasn't a work firewalled network, wifi will let you get to the internet without being charged via cingular. got it, thanks all

hey i was going to do wifi connection to my work laptop too till i decided its pointless cause im sitting right in front of the thing and if i actually walked away from it its going to be a decent distance and the wifi wouldnt connect anyway.
besides theres not a whole lot you can do with the connection other than read a web page or browse a network folder.

WiFi?

Hi, i recently bought and upgraded a 02 XDA Mini S to WM6 and the wifi seems bad like i have to go right next to the wireless point to get a good signal and even then its not at full bar can any1 help me with this or is it just the wifi is rubbish on the wizard?
thanks,
Kurt

Did you go to start-->settings-->connections tab-->wireless LAN-->power mode tab and set it on best performance? That should give you some more room to work with.

yep still is really bad though about 10 meters and 2 walls away from the router an i couldnt get a signal.

At "10 meters and 2 walls away from the router" I also get no connection -where my Wifi enabled laptop works fine at the same time. Seems like the Wifi on the HTC device is rather weak and operates from a small distance only. Anyways I've learned to live with it.

oh rite well annoying though considering my dell axim x51 can get a very good signal like 30 meters from the access point. is there anyway i can up the power on my wizard? ive got wireless G enabled aswell.

Ya, I have a 7db antennae on my router and I still seem to need to be inside of 20 or so feet, and no walls for my wizard to find the network. I think it's just a weak card.

I also noticed that.
Yes I also noticed that. I have a wifi hotspot subscription and with my old WM5 ROM i can connect and surf without any problem, however when useing any WM6 ROM i just connect poorly and the connection breaks everytime.
Even in my wireless home router i had turn on the name broadcast (enabling WEP of course) in order to connect properly at the first try.
Ive noted this with every WM6 Rom out there and since my device is a G4 i cant upgrade the radio rom. so... well i suffer from this issue also.

Using the HD2 as a 3G modem for laptop: use bluetooth or the new Wifi router ?

In one hand, using the Wifi router is simple. On the other hand, Wifi draws more battery power than bluetooth...

How long do you intend to use it for as, in my opinion, both are a poor long-term solution due to the power draw.
Also, bluetooth may use less power but it will also create a bottleneck that will mean that you have to use it longer.

Yes both will eat power. Cable is much better, however if you have no choice then I'd use bluetooth it consumes a bit less power than wifi.
That said if you use Linux, as I do on some laptops, (and maybe Mac? I dont use.) you might have some trouble getting internet to flow through bluetooth, in which case wifi is better.

I would use WiFi, much easier to setup and use on the fly just as any wireless router is. In either case, I believe your best bet is to have it plugged in during use as power usage will be high either way!

The Wifi router of the HD2 only supports WEP.
That's a "no go" for me...

Jack Daniel's said:
The Wifi router of the HD2 only supports WEP.
That's a "no go" for me...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why not? What secrets do you have on your pc....and do you live in an apartment block surrounded by hackers?

I can plug my hd2 into my laptop and surf the net via mobile web. But how do i set it up so I can use the hd2 as a WiFi modem ?. Even with WiFi on, it still uses mobile web. Updating my laptop via my hd2 takes hours lol.
BTW I have WiFi router in my home.

fallenmonk said:
I can plug my hd2 into my laptop and surf the net via mobile web. But how do i set it up so I can use the hd2 as a WiFi modem ?. Even with WiFi on, it still uses mobile web. Updating my laptop via my hd2 takes hours lol.
BTW I have WiFi router in my home.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to have the WiFi router app. Google XDA WiFi router for Windows Mobile you will find it. Oh and by the way just because it is WiFi does not mean it will increase the speed. The speed is dependant on your cellular data signal you know Edge or 3G.

I have never used the wi-fi app, and have had no need to do so so far. Bluetooth works two different ways--through DUN or PAN.
However, I could see certain situations where that could come in handy. FOr instance, with a device that cannot BT tether, but can access wi-fi--for instance if one has an Ipad

Sharing a WM ICS connection in a Wifi (adhoc) network

I figured out that using my Imagio as a WiFi Router drains the battery faster than it can charge. This is bad for a sometimes day-long connection using low bandwidth sites (live blogging for hours on CoverItLive.com).
Typically, I use the Imagio when WiFi isn't available, or is flat out ridiculously priced ($thousands in some convention centers).
I have to work with my partner, who also needs a connection, and sharing it would be oh so convenient using WiFi. So I thought, why not share my Imagio's connection by using Internet Connection Sharing on my computer through the WiFi. Not so fast: all ICS uses a fixed IP of 192.168.0.1. Conflict city when you try to use ICS twice in the same daisy chain.
"So", says I, "why not use Network Bridging to accomplish the same thing?". Well, this works in getting the signal to my partner's machine. She can internet beautifully. But, it turns out, my machine can't access the Internet anymore so long as the Imagio's ICS is bridged to the machine's built in WiFi. Take it out of the bridge, it works on my machine but not my partner's. Put it in the bridge, it doesn't on my machine, but it does on my partner's.
Anyone have any insight as to how this can be accomplished. Imagio ICS via USB to computer A, computer A's Wifi set in ad-hoc mode to be used as a router to get Internet to computer B, both machines being able to access the Internet.
Also, USB-Modem works with ICS on the laptop, but it uses dial-up, and the problem with that is that if you stop using it for a certain period of time, it loses the connection, which can screw up things royally. ICS is much more consistent.
There has to be a way that bridging can be used without taking the Imagio's ICS out of that computer's universe.
None of this would be a problem if she got a WM phone instead of the LG Touch (which requires a hefty monthly plan to use it as a modem).
Thanks to any who know more about this than me or have some other ideas.
--
FB

You can configure ICS on the phone to use a different IP range (probably also possible on the PC but don't know how).
So then you can use Phone->ICS->USB->ComputerA->ICS->Wi-Fi->ComputerB
WMWifiRouter uses 192.168.3.x instead of .0.x by default. I think this can also be configured using ICS Control.

frankenbike said:
I figured out that using my Imagio as a WiFi Router drains the battery faster than it can charge. This is bad for a sometimes day-long connection using low bandwidth sites (live blogging for hours on CoverItLive.com).
Typically, I use the Imagio when WiFi isn't available, or is flat out ridiculously priced ($thousands in some convention centers).
I have to work with my partner, who also needs a connection, and sharing it would be oh so convenient using WiFi. So I thought, why not share my Imagio's connection by using Internet Connection Sharing on my computer through the WiFi. Not so fast: all ICS uses a fixed IP of 192.168.0.1. Conflict city when you try to use ICS twice in the same daisy chain.
"So", says I, "why not use Network Bridging to accomplish the same thing?". Well, this works in getting the signal to my partner's machine. She can internet beautifully. But, it turns out, my machine can't access the Internet anymore so long as the Imagio's ICS is bridged to the machine's built in WiFi. Take it out of the bridge, it works on my machine but not my partner's. Put it in the bridge, it doesn't on my machine, but it does on my partner's.
Anyone have any insight as to how this can be accomplished. Imagio ICS via USB to computer A, computer A's Wifi set in ad-hoc mode to be used as a router to get Internet to computer B, both machines being able to access the Internet.
Also, USB-Modem works with ICS on the laptop, but it uses dial-up, and the problem with that is that if you stop using it for a certain period of time, it loses the connection, which can screw up things royally. ICS is much more consistent.
There has to be a way that bridging can be used without taking the Imagio's ICS out of that computer's universe.
None of this would be a problem if she got a WM phone instead of the LG Touch (which requires a hefty monthly plan to use it as a modem).
Thanks to any who know more about this than me or have some other ideas.
--
FB
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use WM WiFirouter, it is a great program with multiple different configurations. I use it at home on an old IPAQ hooked to my PC as a wireless router so my kids can use the internet on their laptops.

WM WiFi Router was my first choice. Note the point I made that the battery drains faster than it can recharge. This becomes something of a problem after an hour or so.
Sadly, I got the connection sharing option to work now on the laptop using ICS control, but it seems to disconnect the WiFi ad-hoc network. And doesn't actually share through the WiFi. I suspect this is a problem with the way the WiFi on the laptop works, since I had the same problem with Network Bridging, and had to run a Dos script to enable the WiFi. It only works when bridging is being used, so I have to find the equivalent for when bridging isn't being used but ICS is.
I don't suppose anyone knows anything about *that*?
EDIT: I just downloaded the latest version of WMWifiRouter, which has USB connection support and seems to be a whole lot more reliable in general. AND IT WORKS with connection sharing, the laptop WiFi works as a router, and it DOES solve my problems. Thanks for the suggestion that made me reconsider it again.
EDIT +1: Still uses up the battery faster than it charges. Not as fast as WiFi though. WMWifiRouter is a pretty amazing connection sharing tool kit with USB, BT and WiFi connectivity and lots of control without the weird IP address pathologies. Amazing that it also gets around my laptop's weird connection sharing WiFi pathology as well. Another nice thing is the "keep connection alive" ping feature, and the real time power status and information. They really try to pack a lot of useful stuff for your $20.

Looking for a way to block specific WiFi signals.

I live very close to a hotel which has multiple SSID's that keep interfering with my ability to stay connected to my router.
I've tried hard coding a static ip on the phone, adding the mac address to router, even went as far as creating a separate unhidden network just for the phone. So far, nothing has worked.
So i was thinking that maybe there's a way to have the phone ignore certain signals, lock on to a preferred one or use WiFi but turn off the scanning feature. The only problem is that I haven't been able to find any settings or Apps that will allow me to do it.
So, if anyone has any ideas or suggestions as how, or if, I can make this work, I would greatly appreciate it.
I'm using a Droid 2 Rooted with 2.3.3 and have a Netgear N750 router.
BTW - none of the computers in the house are having this issue.
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App

So, are you saying the phone constantly tries to leave your home wifi in favor of attempting to connect to the hotel's?

Yes, unless I'm within about 5 feet of my router, the hotel's signal makes the phone keep dropping and reconnecting over and over again.
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App

Are the hotel's hotspots not WEP secured? That is so odd. If they're unsecured hotspots go over to the hotel and tell them to get their sh*t in order. Otherwise I'm out of ideas, sorry.

No, they are secure. WPA2 as is mine. I don't connect to them. My phone just detects them, drops my connection and tries to connect to them. So that leaves me with no connection and having to use 3G.
But there may be an easier solution to this. After spending a few hours on the Netgear site, it turns out that there is a bug in their firmware that causes signal strength fluctuations. They said a new release should be available in a few weeks.
In the meantime I've changed the channel on the router to auto select which seems to be helping.
I do appreciate you taking the time to assist.
Thanks!
Scott
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App

Glad there's at least some kind of work around, wish I was of more assistance.

Having a similar problem with a samsung galaxy sii - current internet configuration is through AT&T U-Verse with built in Wireless G router in there Gateway. tried adding a Netgear dual band N router to my network and with the netgear's 2 wifi signals on then my phone just constantly goes into scanning mode and keeps trying to connect between the 3 - things work fine with the wifi turned off in the new netgear kind of defeating the purpose of me installing it - was hoping to have the phone use one of the N signals..

Block bt openzone connection pleaseee!
Desperately need an app for this? Is it not going to be possible for a way to block certain wifi signals because I'm actually going to rip next doors BT openzone router out of the wall and get a hammer to it! My HTC desire hd is insistent on connecting to its poor signal over our excellent one and the worst part is that you can't actually access the network unless you pay BT for a user account! Grrrr.... Please help

Try to connect the network you dont want, then go to wifi management in settings. Long press on the network you dont want and hit forget network. Then your phone shouldnt automatically connect to it unless you tell it to.