SSID/WiFi issue

[ladeeda]

My D2G won't work on my home WiFi since because the SSID is hidden. If the SSID is placed in "discoverable" mode, it works.

Because of issues we've had in neighborhood with wireless router hacking, we were told to always use a security code and keep the router "undetectable".

Is there a way for the phone to access my home WiFi without compromising the security of my wireless router?

Thanks!

 

[cutiedroid]

Why do you need a router for your D2G? Isn't that what the 3G is for if you want to get online? The only time I've had the Wifi on was at therapy as they've installed a hotspot. Did you want to use the router so you wouldn't have to pay for a data plan?

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[jcl197]

My D2G won't work on my home WiFi since because the SSID is hidden. If the SSID is placed in "discoverable" mode, it works.

Because of issues we've had in neighborhood with wireless router hacking, we were told to always use a security code and keep the router "undetectable".

Is there a way for the phone to access my home WiFi without compromising the security of my wireless router?

Thanks!

Yes! You will first have to put your router into broadcast/visible/discoverable mode (just temporarily), then turn on wifi on your phone and try to connect to your router, input all the security information and allow it to connect. Once your phone has connected to your wifi router successfully you can then put your router back into non-broadcast/invisible. From now on your phone knows the network exists and will connect even when the SSID isnt broadcasting.

 

[silver6054]

Why do you need a router for your D2G? Isn't that what the 3G is for if you want to get online? The only time I've had the Wifi on was at therapy as they've installed a hotspot. Did you want to use the router so you wouldn't have to pay for a data plan?

Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using DroidForums

Depending on your (home/office) internet connection, using Wifi will be much faster than using 3G. I see about 10 times the speed on Wifi. Good when downloading lots of updates.

 

[eMWu]

Because of issues we've had in neighborhood with wireless router hacking, we were told to always use a security code and keep the router "undetectable".

Just use WPA2 with AES encryption, it's secure. Then you can leave your wifi network discoverable.

 

[draexo]

If you use a WPA2 key encryption and a decent password on your router you should be perfectly fine letting your router broadcast its SSID.

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[Backnblack]

If you use a WPA2 key encryption and a decent password on your router you should be perfectly fine letting your router broadcast its SSID.

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I agree ^^^^^

Not broadcasting the SSID will not stop anyone actually looking for a wireless network.

 

[Slipshod]

Because of issues we've had in neighborhood with wireless router hacking, we were told to always use a security code and keep the router "undetectable".

Just use WPA2 with AES encryption, it's secure. Then you can leave your wifi network discoverable.

Second that. I design enterprise WiFi products, and can vouch that hiding your SSID does _nothing_ to improve your security. The most important thing to do at home is use a loooooooong and non-word PSK with WPA2 CCMP.

 

[xan]

hiding your SSID to thwart hacking is like taking the street number off your house to avoid getting robbed.

 

[ladeeda]

Cutiedroid, I want to use WiFi at home since I can never get a decent 3G signal at home on my phone. A direct connection through my WiFi gives me super-fast speed and reliable connection.

As far as the other comments, why does the router have SSID/hidden as an option if it's useless? My router currently uses a WEP key. Can I still use WPA-2 + Password as an option without messiing things up?

I'm not very tech savvy compared to you guys, so please excuse any seemingly naive questions.

 

[Gasai Yuno]

WEP is considered very insecure, as bruteforcing it is a trivial task.

If your router supports WPA2 + PSK, you should switch to that, unless you have hardware that doesn't support WPA2 (an example would be Nintendo DS Lite).

 

[eMWu]

It's recommended that you switch your wifi protection to WPA2 AES. There will also be a password needed.
The only problem might be with some old devices or old drivers on a laptop, which might not support WPA2.

 

[ladeeda]

I did temporarily unhide the SSID, put it into discover mode, & enter the password key into my phone. It worked fine, but as soon as the SSID is hidden, the phone can't see it for some reason. Weird because my computers and TV can see it.

But as everyone mentioned, hiding the SSID doesn't add security so I will try and play with the router to see if I can switch it to WP2 + password.

If that doesn't work, i'll ask Verizon to send me a newer, more secure router...this one is about 5 years old. Thanks everyone for all your great suggestions, you guys are awesome!

Sabrina