USB720 help! (Linksys WRT54GS and Nintendo Wii)

lygernight · EVDO Newbie Joined: 23 Oct 2007 Posts: 6

Hey guys, I'm looking for a bit of help as I have finally found your site after weeks of searching for help on networking wireless connections and getitn the wrong type of help.

Ok so here goes the problem...

I have a verizon wireless usb720, and I even have the connection manually dialing into verizons network. Supposedly I've read a couple places that networking this device works better if you have it setup manually instead of through VZAccess Manager.

Anyhow I've been trying to setup my network to share this connection and it hasn't worked yet, I'm so lost.

I have a linksys WRT54GS wireless router, which my laptop is hardwired directly to the 1st port (not the modem port on the router). My connections is "shared" by allowing other users on the network to use this connection and to connect when other computer on ym netwrok attempts to access the internet.

My nintendo wii, does see my network wirelessly, and seems to connect to the network, but does not seem to be able to find the internet connection available on my laptop.

I have a couple of questions and the more I've read on this site, the more I'm confused. First thing, in my dialup options for the USB720, this is no advanced setting for shared that says "wireless connection" in any drop-down menu on its settings.

I'm running Windows XP Media Center, Service Pack 2 (which I've been told is basically XP Home).

I've been trying to read through all the settings but something is not working right and I can't find any posts with the use of a linksys wrt54gs router. Am I supposed to get a router that I can actually hook the usb720 directly too?

please help, I'm a newbie and Im lost
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Vzw SCHi-760

lygernight · EVDO Newbie Joined: 23 Oct 2007 Posts: 6

ok so maybe I'm asking the wrong questions, I see a ton of you all looked at this post, but no response.

I guess I should ask, is sharing my verizon USB 720 possible with a Linksys WRT54GS (ver6) broadband router even possible?

I have seen the "EVDO" routers advertise from the company here who sells them, and if I haven't had already purchased this router a year ago I'd be all on board to order one. I'm big on "if I own it, I want to use it" kind of mentallity. I mean otherwise I would feel like I've wasted all that money for it, I don't have a big wallet to go out and buy alot of new tech for ease of fixing a problem, especially if I'm fairly confident the problem can be fixed for cheap, if not free.

I'm almost certain that someone on these boards has run into this problem given the popularity of the WRT54G series routers from linksys the last year or 2.

So does anyone have any ideas?
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Vzw SCHi-760

Hankinator · EVDO Newbie Joined: 10 Oct 2007 Posts: 7

Not sure I can help with your specific problem but I have been around the block when comes to "sharing" connections.

Are you using Microsofts internet connection sharing?
Have you tested internet access through a wired port on the router?
Have you tested internet access with another wireless device (Laptop)?

If using ICS have you shared the appropriate connection?
Also some devices need to have the same WORKGROUP to see and talk to each other....

AND...some routers need the DHCP server turned off when using ICS.

I know this didn't answer any specifics but it may get your troubleshooting going....

Later,
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Hankinator

lygernight · EVDO Newbie Joined: 23 Oct 2007 Posts: 6

I appreciate your reply, and yes I am using MS's ICS however I cannot test the connection. I only have one computer, and currently my usb 720 is connected directly to it. I can see the router from the computer no problem, I just wish the nintendo wii worked much like the xbox360 did when it came to networking.

I know nintendo has already said the wii will not be able to use slow connections like dialup which automatically disconnects. I just don't know if my wii is connecting temporarily and then disconnecting since the usb modem is considered a "dialup" connection by a technical classification from the way microsoft treats these devices.

Now when you mentioned DHCP being turned off, what exactly does that do? I could turn off the DHCP, but I don't know what all these options are in my router. There's stuff like PPPoE, gateway or router as well as some other options. I'm a fairly technical guy, but when it comes to Networking computers I'm slower then Forrest Gump.
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Vzw SCHi-760

Rangerw · Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 10:31 pm Post subject:

MS ICS uses by default a 192.168.0.1 static IP address. Your WRT54GS uses a 192.168.1.1 IP address . Thats problem #1. No way for two different subnets to 'communicate with each other without some static routing.

Probably easiest way to get you going is to set the WRT54GS to a LAN address of in the same subnet as the ICS bound interfaces (which in your case is a nic card and the dialup adapter/720) say set it to 192.168.0.3 and a subnetmask of 255.255.255.0 (not sure but may need to set gateway to 192.168.0.1)

Let ICS do the DHCP by disabling DHCP in the WRT54GS setup interface.

Been a year since I had my network with a KPC-650 with a PCI slot adapter in a desktop so may be a bit off in a few areas but that is the jest of how I had to do mine.
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A simple man.

lygernight · EVDO Newbie Joined: 23 Oct 2007 Posts: 6

part of the problem for my situation is the USB Modem's subnet mask automatically sets to 255.255.255.255 which equals 1 in binary and that can't happen apparently in subnet addresses? I don't thats what a friend was telling me, however I don't think I can change all of that.
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Vzw SCHi-760

treeSkwerral · EVDO Newbie Joined: 12 Sep 2007 Posts: 6

Have you tried using the NDIS setting in options instead? I used that and then just use the manager to monitor my network usage. It works a LOT better than with the other. And the NDIS acts like a second NIC so that any connection won't see it as a dial up connection. Oh and if you want the subnet mask of the card look at the debug (hit ctrl+d with the manager open with password = diagvzw) that has the subnet mask in it and maybe you can just try that with your Wii it shouldn't work but hell who knows.

teamneon · EVDO Newbie Joined: 19 Nov 2007 Posts: 3

wow...i was going to try to use my router also, but i think ill just order the friggin KR1 lol
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TEAMNEON

teamneon · EVDO Newbie Joined: 19 Nov 2007 Posts: 3

oops...double post
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TEAMNEON

rwithers · Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2007 2:26 pm Post subject:

I had some trouble with this also on a friends setup. What I ended up doing at the end of the day was changing there wireless router to an IP in the same subnet range as the ICS connetion in XP 192.168.x.x and also statically assigning the IP and DNS information to the WII. That seemed to have fixed my problem. It looks like it was something going on with DHCP and the WII but without a packet capture I cannot confirm.

kowtow1 · EVDO Newbie Joined: 20 Jun 2007 Posts: 2

Lygernight,

Stepping back to your original problem, I may be able to offer a solution. Like you, I originally had a Linksys WRT54GS router and a USB720 modem that I wanted to get going wirelessly.

I originally had very limited success by trying to share a connection using windows shared networking features. It was far more frustrating than the success I was having. Additionally, I was never able to get my wii to connected to the Internet. The wii was able to see the network and join the network, and even dial up the connection, but it wouldn't go any further. I was suspecting it had something to do with my going through a "non-traditional" means to get the the Internet, or the connection being slower than optimum for the wii.

After reading through the forums, the EVDO router's seemed like the way to go. I purchased an EVDO router (KR1) and placed it in my attic with an Omni directional antenna and all my troubles were resolved. I was a bit timid at first to drop more than $300 bucks for the router and antenna combination, but looking back on it now it was the ultimate solution. I must stress make sure you do the KR1 firmware upgrade. I didn't do it at first and I was getting very slow connection speeds, but once I did the upgrade I was able to get Rev-A speeds again.

I now have my USB720 plugged into the KR1 up in the attic and this broacasts throughout the house and into the back yard providing me wireless connectivity just like when I used to have cable Internet. Even better, once I got the KR1 hooked up the wii has had no trouble accessing the Internet ever since. I use the wii to browse the Internet, get news and weather updates and it's never had trouble with the connection.

There have been instances where I've had to reboot the KR1 router because I've lost contact with the Internet, but this has not been a major issue in my mind.

Let us know how things go.

lygernight · EVDO Newbie Joined: 23 Oct 2007 Posts: 6

I know I'm rezzing an old topic but I just wanted to mention that as far as I went with this problem, it's just much much easier for an everyday joe to just by the Wireless routers from kyocera then to try and work around with the linksys one mentioned above. I was also told from an IT friend that the way the subnet address was reading meant that there could only be one connection to the modem and thus another reason ICS was not very easy to do. Instead of trying to figure it out (unless your an well versed IT guy) just do yourself a favor and by the evdo routers available on the market. It will save you hours of time.
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Nick_P · EVDO Newbie Joined: 23 Apr 2008 Posts: 2

All you have to do is turn DHCP off in the router and assign it an IP address in the same range as what windows ICS uses.

Im using a Netgear Broadband router with a U720 and ICS for 2 comps, 1 of them is wireless.

Search the Netgear forums they explain how to use a bradband router as a simple switch.