WiFi / SSID / limited connection

seedee

New Member
Messages
8
Hi all.
I have a strange connection issue. My router (BT Home Hub 5) has two SSID's, one 2.4GHz and one 5GHz. I also have two WiFi extenders (Netgear N300) in the house, both of which are connected to the 2.4GHz SSID.

Up until a few days ago, my Win8.1 Pro laptop was comfortably connected to the 2.4GHz SSID and was solid for many months. Now, my laptop refuses to connect directly to that same SSID, but will connect quickly and easily to either of the Extenders.

When I attempt to connect to the problematic SSID (either by manually entering the security key or using WPS), it connects to the router, but states that the connection is limited (verified by no Internet connection). When I troubleshoot, the result is "WiFi doesn't have a valip IP configuration". The troubleshooter then supposedly fixes this error, but it in fact just connects to one of the extenders.

I've looked at the adapter (Broadcom 802.11n) settings and all seems to be as it should. DHCP is enabled and all other settings seem to be as they were previously.

I've tried turning off my firewall (Privatefirewall 7.0), anti-virus (AVG 2015 Free) and other security software (Peerblock 1.2 & SuperAntiSpyware 6.0.1200), then attempting to connect again, but the same connection issues happen so have to rule out any of those as the cause. Windows Firewall is disabled.

I want to use the problematic SSID as my extenders don't quite give me the same speeds as I was getting. Also, my laptop won't use the 5GHz SSID, as my Apple devices do.

Can anyone shed any light on what may be going wrong with this one SSID please?
Thank you in advance.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron N5010 (15R)
    Antivirus
    AVG 2015 Free
    Other Info
    PeerBlock 1.2
    Privatefirewall 7.0
    SuperAntiSpyware 6.0.1208 (Subscription)
    AVG Free 2016
    Bitdefender Anti-Ransomware
What IP address does the problematic AP give you?
Subnet and gateway as well.
Also include dns addresses it assigns you.

When the connection is limited, can you reach your local network?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Kernel 4.x
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i5 3570K
    Motherboard
    P8Z77-V LK
    Memory
    G.skill Ripjaw Z 2133MHz 9-11-10-28
    Graphics Card(s)
    GTX770 4GB Dual BIOS
    Sound Card
    Audigy 4 Pro
    Monitor(s) Displays
    32" SAMSUNG HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 progressive
    Hard Drives
    10TB total
    3 RAID arrays
    3 single disks
    PSU
    Corsair HX750
    Case
    Corsair R400
    Cooling
    Corsair H100
    Keyboard
    Logitech G510
    Mouse
    Logitech G5
    Internet Speed
    ~900mbps (~115MB/s) down, ~10mbps(~1.5MB/s) up
    Browser
    Firefox & Chromium
    Antivirus
    Common Sense
What IP address does the problematic AP give you?
Subnet and gateway as well.
Also include dns addresses it assigns you.

When the connection is limited, can you reach your local network?

Thanks for your reply. I've got some strange results from a CMD> ipconfig /all:

Problematic SSID:
Code:
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :                   ([COLOR=#ff0000][B][I]empty[/I][/B][/COLOR])
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom 802.11n Network Adapter
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 90-00-4E-24-E9-79
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::657e:f38:bd2b:9b51%6(Preferred)
   Autoconfiguration IPv4 Address. . : [COLOR=#ff0000][B]169.254.155.81[/B][/COLOR](Preferred)
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : [COLOR=#ff0000][B]255.255.0.0[/B][/COLOR]
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :                    ([COLOR=#ff0000][B][I]empty[/I][/B][/COLOR])
   DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 177209422
   DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-1A-7C-26-1D-78-2B-CB-C6-2E-E6

   DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : [COLOR=#ff0000][B]fec0:0:0:ffff::1%1
                                       fec0:0:0:ffff::2%1
                                       fec0:0:0:ffff::3%1[/B][/COLOR]
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Alternative SSID - working properly:
Code:
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : home
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom 802.11n Network Adapter
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 90-00-4E-24-E9-79
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::657e:f38:bd2b:9b51%6(Preferred)
   IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : [COLOR=#0000ff][B]192.168.1.188[/B][/COLOR](Preferred)
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : [COLOR=#0000ff][B]255.255.255.0[/B][/COLOR]
   Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : 13 July 2015 16:22:58
   Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : 03 August 2015 16:23:03
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : [COLOR=#0000ff][B]192.168.1.254[/B][/COLOR]
   DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.254
   DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 177209422
   DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-1A-7C-26-1D-78-2B-CB-C6-2E-E6

   DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : [COLOR=#0000ff][B]192.168.1.254[/B][/COLOR]
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

I do appear to have local network connection when the problematic SSID is connected but don't have any other devices connected currently so can't check conclusively.

Obtained this from the troubleshooter:
Code:
PrintWindows Network Diagnostics Publisher details 

Issues found 
"WiFi" doesn't have a valid IP configuration"WiFi" doesn't have a valid IP configuration Not fixed Not Fixed 
Investigate router or broadband modem issues Failed 
Reset the "WiFi" adapter Completed 

Issues found Detection details 
"WiFi" doesn't have a valid IP configuration Not fixed Not Fixed 
 
Investigate router or broadband modem issues Failed 
 
This can sometimes resolve an intermittent problem. 
InformationalNetwork Diagnostics Log 
File Name:  CA0CE45F-9769-42C4-BA11-F74BB79B3C37.Repair.1.etl 

InformationalDiagnostics Information (Network Adapter) 
Details about network adapter diagnosis: 

Network adapter WiFi driver information:

   Description . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom 802.11n Network Adapter
   Manufacturer  . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom
   Provider  . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft
   Version   . . . . . . . . . . . : 6.30.223.102
   Inf File Name . . . . . . . . . : C:\WINDOWS\INF\netbc64.inf
   Inf File Date . . . . . . . . . : 22 August 2013  07:01:07
   Section Name  . . . . . . . . . : BCM43XNG_NT63
   Hardware ID . . . . . . . . . . : pci\ven_14e4&dev_4727
   Instance Status Flags . . . . . : 0x180200a
   Device Manager Status Code  . . : 0
   IfType  . . . . . . . . . . . . : 71
   Physical Media Type . . . . . . : 9

 
InformationalDiagnostics Information (Wireless Connectivity) 
Details about wireless connectivity diagnosis: 

Information for connection being diagnosed
 Interface GUID: 1c824528-b26e-4b85-9527-b8cbc009bc8b
 Interface name: Broadcom 802.11n Network Adapter
 Interface type: Native WiFi

Connection incident diagnosed
 Auto Configuration ID: 2
 Connection ID: 2

Connection status summary
 Connection started at: 2015-07-13 16:55:21-276
 Profile match: Success
 Pre-Association: Success
 Association: Success
 Security and Authentication: Success

 Information for Connection ID 2
 Connection started at: 2015-07-13 16:55:21-276
  Auto Configuration ID: 2
  Profile: (Problematic SSID)
  SSID: (Problematic SSID)
  SSID length: 5
  Connection mode: Infra
  Security: Yes
  Pre-Association and Association
   Connectivity settings provided by hardware manufacturer (IHV): No
   Security settings provided by hardware manufacturer (IHV): No
   Profile matches network requirements: Success
   Pre-association status: Success
   Association status: Success
    Last AP:  00-8a-ae-d0-65-70
  Security and Authentication
   Configured security type: WPA2-PSK
   Configured encryption type: CCMP(AES)
   802.1X protocol: No
   Key exchange initiated: Yes
    Unicast key received: Yes
    Multicast key received: Yes
   Number of security packets received: 0
   Number of security packets sent: 0
   Security attempt status: Success
 Connectivity
   Packet statistics
    Ndis Rx: 0
    Ndis Tx: 0
    Unicast decrypt success: 8
    Multicast decrypt success: 0
    Unicast decrypt failure: 0
    Multicast decrypt failure: 0
    Rx success: 373
    Rx failure: 32
    Tx success: 140
    Tx failure: 0
    Tx retry: 0
    Tx multiple retry: 0
    Tx max lifetime exceeded: 0
    Tx ACK failure: 0
   Roaming history: 0 item(s)

 
InformationalDiagnostics Information (Wireless Connectivity) 
Details about wireless connectivity diagnosis: 

For complete information about this session see the wireless connectivity information event.

Helper Class: Auto Configuration
 Initialise status: Success

Information for connection being diagnosed
 Interface GUID: 1c824528-b26e-4b85-9527-b8cbc009bc8b
 Interface name: Broadcom 802.11n Network Adapter
 Interface type: Native WiFi

Result of diagnosis: There may be problem
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron N5010 (15R)
    Antivirus
    AVG 2015 Free
    Other Info
    PeerBlock 1.2
    Privatefirewall 7.0
    SuperAntiSpyware 6.0.1208 (Subscription)
    AVG Free 2016
    Bitdefender Anti-Ransomware
Ah, I see exactly what's wrong.

The top IP address you have there is within 169.254.0.0/16
That's the special range reserved for self assignment by devices that are unable to acquire a true ip address. (called "link-local")

The top AP either isn't receiving your DHCP request, or you're not receiving any DHCP response. (usually the latter)


Check the AP's settings to be sure that DHCP is still properly functioning. I also see that you use WPA encryption. Domyour range extenders operate under a different subnet than the AP?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Kernel 4.x
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i5 3570K
    Motherboard
    P8Z77-V LK
    Memory
    G.skill Ripjaw Z 2133MHz 9-11-10-28
    Graphics Card(s)
    GTX770 4GB Dual BIOS
    Sound Card
    Audigy 4 Pro
    Monitor(s) Displays
    32" SAMSUNG HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 progressive
    Hard Drives
    10TB total
    3 RAID arrays
    3 single disks
    PSU
    Corsair HX750
    Case
    Corsair R400
    Cooling
    Corsair H100
    Keyboard
    Logitech G510
    Mouse
    Logitech G5
    Internet Speed
    ~900mbps (~115MB/s) down, ~10mbps(~1.5MB/s) up
    Browser
    Firefox & Chromium
    Antivirus
    Common Sense
..//..
Check the AP's settings to be sure that DHCP is still properly functioning. I also see that you use WPA encryption. Domyour range extenders operate under a different subnet than the AP?
The router DHCP must be functioning correctly as I am able to connect with the other SSID and the extenders connect to it correctly.
My Apple devices (TV/iPhones/iPad) also correctly connect directly to its' 5GHz SSID. Yes, both SSID's use WPA2 and the same password.

The extenders use the same IP range and subnet as the AP:
Code:
Extender IP Info
MAC Address    A0:63:91:7F:A2:B0
IP Address    192.168.1.250
DHCP Client    ON
IP Subnet Mask    255.255.255.0
Gateway IP Address    192.168.1.254
Domain Name Server    192.168.1.254
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron N5010 (15R)
    Antivirus
    AVG 2015 Free
    Other Info
    PeerBlock 1.2
    Privatefirewall 7.0
    SuperAntiSpyware 6.0.1208 (Subscription)
    AVG Free 2016
    Bitdefender Anti-Ransomware
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