Wireless Internet Access Help

What is the University's Wireless Internet Access (WiFi) service?

Troubleshooting WiFi

1. Have you ever used your WiFi connection?  If you have used it to connect to a home WiFi network, or another HotSpot - for example at an MSLN school - the problem is most likely with your WiFi configuration, not the WiFi card or driver. Check these common configuration issues.

• In Windows XP, look for the WiFi network icon in the systray (near the time display in the lower right-hand corner of your screen) .  If you pause your mouse pointer on the network icon, a balloon should pop-up reporting the network status.  If not "connected" then right-click the WiFi network icon and select "view available wireless networks"  The UMS's "tempest" network should be displayed.  You may need to check a box to allow connections even though "tempest" is not "secure"
• Leave your WiFi configuration "SSID" setting blank, or try entering the university's SSID, "tempest" (case-sensitive)
• Turn off WEP encryption in the Wireless settings
• In Network Connections, TCP/IP should be set to automatically retrieve an address, sometimes referred to as DHCP or Bootp service
• If your WiFi network icon reports that you are connected to "tempest" and you open a web browser and always get the same page telling you to "Register," then your computer is connected to the University wireless network, but you need to provide your UMS ID and Password before you may use the network.  After registering, you will be instructed to reboot your computer. 
• Some WiFi cards work better with their own configuration utility software and some WiFi cards prefer the wireless network configuration utility provided with Windows XP.  If you are having trouble, try the other one.
• In order to provide backwards compatbility between 802.11g and 802.11b standards, the University WiFi network is set to always use "long headers" or "long preamble"  If you WiFi card constantly connects and disconnects from the network, you may need to specify "long headers" or "long preamble" in your WiFi card driver or utility program settings.

2. If you have never used your WiFi connection and you don't see the WiFi network icon in your systray, then open the Windows Control Panel |Network settings and look for the wireless network connection icon.  If present, you may be able to click on "Properties" and then the "Configure" button to examine your WiFi network card's settings.

3. If you don't see a WiFi network connection in the Control Panel | Network settings area, go to the Control Panel | System | Hardware tab | Device Manager area and look for the "Network Adapters" section.  If you WiFi hardware is not listed, then the driver may not be installed properly.  If it is listed, but has a red or yellow circle around it, then the hardware has been detected by Windows, but Windows is having trouble using it.  In either situation, refer to the original installation instructions or manufacturer's website to repair the WiFi hardware installation. 

Note, if you computer has both Ethernet and WiFi network connections, you should see separate icons for each connection in the Network Adapters, Network Connections and Systray areas.