Troubleshoot your device issues
wickedmad3's profile

Teacher

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13 Messages

Monday, October 11th, 2010 4:20 AM

Captivate won't connect to my Home wifi

Connects at work, McieDs, school, but not my own house? Are you kidding me....this is my first smartphone and so far with the exception of this wifi issue its been great, so i would like for it to change. Whenever i try to connect it shows that it is "obtaining ip address" but 1-3mins later just comes up saying "unsuccessful" at first it striked me as wierd...now its pi$$ing me off. My wifi at home is a WEP security enabled(saved the correct password) set up if that matters.

 

Off topic:

Does Wifi count towards monthly data usage?

Why is it when i use the *3282# number to view data usage it replies with a text stating "Messaging: xxxx of Unlimited" ? Didn't ask for messages......

How would i connect to the net without going through wifi?

 

I know these questions might come off as annoying to some of you seasoned posters and phone fans but 1 iv'e never had a data plan and my last phone was the first blackjack. Plus i'm a "just knows how to set up a computer and download things" kinda guy.

 

Guru

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637 Messages

13 years ago

If neither the computer nor the phone is connecting now (but they were before), then there's some problem with the setup.  Perhaps your devices are remembering the old setup?  Try forgetting/removing the network and reconnecting.

 

You mentioned your ISP is AT&T.  Do you have a 2wire modem/router?  If so, and if you're using the default encryption key, I know that key is in very small print and can be hard to read.  Also, there are several numbers printed on the device.  The default key is the one in the middle surrounded by square brackets [].

Contributor

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1 Message

13 years ago

I have the same problem as well now, my Captivate has suddenly stopped connecting to my home wifi and I have not done anything to my router configurations. I'm assuming my router is already using WPA2 because when I try to connect on my phone it says "Security: WPA/WPA2". It has worked for the last month or so and now has suddenly stopped, every time I connect it gives me "obtaining ip address" and then says "unsuccessful".


Any other fixes/solutions?

Scholar

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216 Messages

13 years ago

Just to add my $0.02 worth, the problem is not with using WEP. I have had mine set for years with this, and have never once seen or read any reason to go with WPA. Those that do must be very paranoid, IMO. At any rate, to make mine worse, my SSID is hidden, and I use 128 bit encryption. This means any time some one wants to conenct, they need to know my 26 digit key. My works flawless on any WIFI device. Changing from WEP to WPA will only ask your phone to update the saved settings you may have. In essence, you are just removing the saved key, and changing settings by doing so. You would get the same result in going in reverse. What I would do first in any router connection problems, is leave it open, with no security. Once you can connect, then go and add your security. One step at a time, until it all works, or...you at least know what part starts to cause issues.

Tutor

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4 Messages

13 years ago

I agree with your suggestion to turn off security and make sure he can connect and then enable things one at a time. 

 

I will say that WEP is highly insecure.  For a long time technology has been available to monitor a WIFI network and eventually (within hours not years) deduce the key used to secure the network.  Once someone has the key they can see everything that is not over a secured connection (https, SSL, ssh, etc).  This is why most network devices have been moving to support WPA and WPA2.  Though I myself couldn't move off WEP until our wireless printer finally died.  It only supported WEP and the new one supported WPA2 so I moved our entire network to WPA2. 

Mentor

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72 Messages

13 years ago

Well I had a Captivate that would connect to the wifi until I upgraded to 2.2 and now mine does this.

 

I've tried everything listed and nothing works.  Not even opening up the router.  Any fresh ideas?

Teacher

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15 Messages

13 years ago

Possible solution! 

 

The exact same thing happened to me after the Froyo upgrade and switching over to Verizon FIOS internet - the two occurred right about the same time, so I don't know which caused what.  After searching the various support forums, it seems that Froyo upgrade is tempermental with some routers.  Funny part is that Captivate's  Wifi connection worked in other locations, but not at home. On the other hand, my wife's iPhone had no issues connecting to the home Wifi.

 

I tried all the suggested fixes on changing out WEP/WPA AES TKS, router firmware upgrade etc.  Nothing worked until I finally relented and did a factory reset on thew Captivate.  Worked like a charm, and now I have a wifi connection again.

 

That's my recommendation to all who haven't done it.  The minor downside is that you'll have to reinstall all the apps again.  Too bad that Fast Web Installer doesn't work with Android now, so the reinstall is kind of manual - app by app.  Still, now I have a working Wifi connection  and in any event it's probably good practice for the phone to do a hard reset after the Froyo upgrade (for battery & performance issues, as well.)

Mentor

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72 Messages

13 years ago

I absolutely refuse to wipe out everything on my phone just for a factory reset.  My reason... If I run the Allshare app it connects to my WIFI immediately. 

 

I think rather they should have a flash update to fix this instead of us all having to reinstall everything.

 

Do these guys not ever test anything first?  CRAZY

Master

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4.1K Messages

13 years ago

When OS updates are tested, they are tested on CLEAN phones. No apps from the Market, emails accounts not added, stock message app, etc. I have seen it for quite a few android phone models now that had a major OS update. A factory reset will clear most if not all issues people experience after an OS update.

Mentor

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72 Messages

13 years ago

Thanks does anyone know other than copying my contacts off the phone and onto the sim card and taking out my sd card should or can I do anything else to backup *stuff* on the phone?

 

What about apps your purchased?  After it's wiped off do you have to buy it again or just go to the market to download it and it won't charge again?  Thanks

Master

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4.1K Messages

13 years ago

Contacts are better off if they are synced with the gmail account. Copying to sd card or SIM will work too. The sd card is not touched by the factory reset. You can take it out (properly) for extra protection.

Purchased apps are tied to your gmail account. They will available to download after you open the Market application.

I'm going to grab a link from an older post here with more details. Really don't feel like typing them out again.
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