MF 91 not connecting to internet on PC's

[Lawrence]

I have purchased a MF 91 it connects to my Samsung Galaxy 2 and Asus Infinty tablet with no problems

BUT I have an Acer Notebook Windows XP  with inbuilt Wi-Fi it sees and connects to the MF 91 but will not allow internet access

I have 2 other PC's connected to wireless via a USB adaptor and it also has the same problem as the Acer they connect to the MF 91 but no internet access

thanks for any assistence 

[Drat]

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BUT I have an Acer Notebook Windows XP  with inbuilt Wi-Fi it sees and connects to the MF 91 but will not allow internet access

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Firstly, Windows XP needs to be sufficiently patched to be able to connect to a Wi-Fi network using WPA2 security.

Secondly, if your end-user device (in this case, the computer running WinXP) is not asking the DHCP server running on the MF91 to assign it an IP address on the LAN and information on the default gateway and DNS servers, then it won't be able to access the Internet, so check those settings.

[Lawrence]

Thanks for your response Drat

I thought if you checked the box "Obtain an IP Address Automatically" and "Obtain DNS Server automatically" was sufficent y/n ?

My Asus tablet which is working reports these:

Gateway address:192.168.0.1

IP address:10.166.16,38

Primary DNS:10.4.81.103

Secondary DNS:10.4.182.20

So I entered these into my notebook and PC's manually and still no go

oh I forgot to say I am unable to connect to the MF 91 by typing 192.168.0.1 on the web browser URL even though it says connected

[Drat]

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I thought if you checked the box "Obtain an IP Address Automatically" and "Obtain DNS Server automatically" was sufficent y/n ?

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It should be sufficient, yes.

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My Asus tablet which is working reports these:

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What does the IPCONFIG /ALL command (executed in a Command Prompt window) tell you, with regard to the wireless network connection on your XP laptop?

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Gateway address:192.168.0.1

IP address:10.166.16,38

Primary DNS:10.4.81.103

Secondary DNS:10.4.182.20

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That's odd. I don't see how your tablet would try to route packets through the gateway at 192.168.0.1, if the device's IP address is 10.166.16.38; I'd expect that the tablet's IP address would be 192.168.0.nnn.

[Lawrence]

Ok Drat from my laptop:

DHCP Enabled

Autoconfig Enabled

IP address:192.168.0.100

Subnet mask:255.255.255.0

Default Gateway:192.168.0.1

DHCP Server:192.168.0.1

DNS Server:192.168.0.1

Thanks again Drat

[Drat]

Are you sure your Asus tablet and your Acer notebook are connected wirelessly to the same Wi-Fi network in range?

[Lawrence]

yes I even turned off my Technicolor Wirless Router Off which by the way my laptop works with and connects to the internet the reason I want the MF 91 to work with my PC's is to backup the Telstra Wirless Router as many times i loose the WAN connection or some other line fault e.g. council cut cable near pole while grass cutting leaving me without internet for 2 days

[Drat]

Unfortunately this week I'm not going to be anywhere near the ZTE MF91 that the CrowdSupport administration team gave me a few months back, so I cannot check for myself what the IP addresses should be on a device successfully connected to a factory-state ZTE MF91 for Internet access, sorry. I'm just completely stumped why your Asus tablet and your Acer laptop would get assigned default gateways and DNS server addresses on different networks, if they're requesting the information from the same DHCP server.

[Lawrence]

Its not lfe or death Drat your my only ray of hope so if I may ask you next week to check this out I really would appreciate it thanks for all of your replies

[Drat]

I'm posting on my iPad which has just connected itself to an ‘out-of-the-box’ MF91. The IP address assigned to the tablet by the router is 192.168.0.100, and the DNS server is 192.168.0.1 which is also the IP address itself on the local area network.

Also connected is a MacBook (assigned IP address of 192.168.0.102), and a Windows Phone handset (assigned IP address of 192.168.0.103) with its 3G/4G network radio disabled. Both devices are able to connect to sites on the Internet.

The IP address of the MF91 on the WAN side is 10.166.nnn.nnn.

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Lawrence wrote:

My Asus tablet which is working reports these:

Gateway address:192.168.0.1

IP address:10.166.16,38

Primary DNS:10.4.81.103

Secondary DNS:10.4.182.20

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My guess is that your MF91 unit is not acting as the DHCP server on your LAN, and your ASUS Infinity tablet somehow managed to get a DHCP address assigned by the server looking after the APN telstra.internet (for Telstra Mobile Broadband). Can you confirm whether the DHCP Server setting (under Settings in the top navigation bar and then DHCP Settings on the left navigation panel, in the MF91's configuration facility at http://telstra.wifi.4g/ in your browser) is enabled? If it isn't, try enabling it. If it's already enabled, I'd be inclined to suggest doing a Factory reset (under Settings in the top navigation bar and then Device Security on the left navigation panel) of your MF91.

[Lawrence]

Drat yes it was enabled done a factory reset to no avail My Asus still works as my Galaxy S2 both can access 192.168.0.1 but my Acer Notebook cannot access that address even though the network list shows it connected

Asus tablet IP address 192.168.0.100

Samsung S2 IP address 192.168.0.102

Acer IP address 192.168.0.101

from my limited IT knowledge it seems they look good y/n?

the assigned Acer address surley can only happen if indeed its connected!

mate I really appreciate your help 

[Drat]

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Asus tablet IP address 192.168.0.100

Samsung S2 IP address 192.168.0.102

Acer IP address 192.168.0.101

from my limited IT knowledge it seems they look good y/n?

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Yes, the range of local IP addresses that the DHCP server on an ‘out-of-the-box’ MF91 unit will assign begins at 192.168.0.100, so that looks right.

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the assigned Acer address surley can only happen if indeed its connected!

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Yes. What does your ASUS tablet now say is its default gateway and DNS server (as advised by the DHCP server)?

[Lawrence]

Drat

After I done a factory reset my Asus and phone no longer show  network settings only the IP address this is becoming a nightmare  

ok download an app that has fixed my problem

IP Address:192.168.0.100

Subnet Mask:255.255.255.0

Gateway:192.168.0.1

DHCP Server 192.168.0.1

[Drat]

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After I done a factory reset my Asus and phone no longer show  network settings only the IP address this is becoming a nightmare  

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I'm sorry to hear that.

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ok download an app that has fixed my problem

IP Address:192.168.0.100

Subnet Mask:255.255.255.0

Gateway:192.168.0.1

DHCP Server 192.168.0.1

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Great.

Is your Acer laptop able to access the router http://192.168.0.1/?

[Lawrence]

Drat

I thought I need an internet connection to access http://192.168.0.1/? which I don't have and no I cannot access that address

I used the cmd prompt and typed ipconfig /all

DNS Suffix................vic.bigpond.com

                                    vic.bigpond.net.au

IP Address................ 192.168.0.101

Subnet Mask............ 255.255.255.0

Defaut Gateway....... 192.168.0.1

DHCP Server............ 192.168.0.1

DNS Servers............. 192.168.0.1

Thanks

[Drat]

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I thought I need an internet connection to access http://192.168.0.1/? which I don't have and no I cannot access that address 

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No. 192.168.0.1 is an IP address on your local area network. The way it works is that the ZTE MF91 unit, serving as the Internet gateway on your LAN, has two IP addresses – one on the LAN side, and one on the Telstra Mobile Broadband (wide area network) side.

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IP Address................ 192.168.0.101

Subnet Mask............ 255.255.255.0

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When your end-user devices get assigned a 192.168.0.nnn IP address, by the DHCP server running on the MF91, they can connect directly with the MF91 (which has the iP address on 192.168.0.1) wirelessly, regardless of whether they are able to connect to the Internet. Any traffic for any other address on the 192.168.0.nnn network is switched by the MF91 without any processing and without requiring or attempting to send the traffic to the Internet.

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Defaut Gateway....... 192.168.0.1

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What allows the end-user devices to connect to the Internet is that all data traffic with a destination outside of the 192.168.0.nnn network needs to be sent to the default gateway (192.168.0.1, i.e. the MF91), which would then forward the traffic on behalf of the end-user device to the destination, if the gateway is itself connected to the WAN/Internet. However, first the end-user device has to know the IP address of the destination of the traffic it wants to send. That's where the DNS server comes in.

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DNS Servers............. 192.168.0.1

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For example, if your ASUS tablet wants to connect to crowdsupport.telstra.com.au, first it needs to consult a DNS server to translate the site name to the IP address 208.74.205.153. It then decides that, because the traffic destination is outside of the 192.168.0.nnn network, it needs to send it to the gateway at 192.168.0.1 to be forwarded; any reply traffic will in turn need to go through the gateway, which will then decide it is for the ASUS tablet (as opposed to any other connected end-user device) and send it through.

[Lawrence]

So my problem is not able to talk to the MF91 even though it says its connected? hmm sounds like the problem I have with my wife  

[Drat]

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I used the cmd prompt and typed ipconfig /all

DNS Suffix................vic.bigpond.com

                                    vic.bigpond.net.au

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So my problem is not able to talk to the MF91 even though it says its connected?

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Well, the thing is that the wireless network adaptor on your Acer laptop must have successfully communicated with the MF91 to get assigned an IP address of 192.168.0.nnn as well as the DNS Suffix information; otherwise, the operating system on your laptop would assign to it an IP address of 169.nnn.nnn.nnn by default.

I'm now inclined to think that there may be a firewall on your Acer laptop that is blocking HTTP traffic from getting anywhere, on the LAN (e.g. http://192.168.0.1/ where you access the configuration facility on the MF91) or outside of it.

[Lawrence]

But Drat it works at home on my  Technicolor TG587n v3 and at least two other places that have similar wireless routers I will disable Trend Micro and Windows XP firewall and see what happens may try to see if "Safe Mode" does anything thanks for sticking in there Drat many others just said must be the Acer faulty network card fmd its a notebook!!

[Lawrence]

Tried safe mode no go while in safe mode tried my home wireless router no problem connecting to internet presto as quick as a flash gee felt like smashing my fist through something    

[MHM2]

Not to necropost frivolously, but there are a few of these around.

The MF91 has serious issues with DHCP, particularly where common MAC addresses are involved along the way (subnets and bridging).  The one known good workaround is to use a static IP address on your PC.  Alternatively fit a redundant wifi card.

My setups sometimes involve an ethernet to wifi bridge (most often a DWL-G810). The MF91 seems confused by this and sees the ip address of the PC/Console/Whatever as tied to the (wifi side) MAC address of the bridge. It does not show the bridge as an attached device in it's own right (which is desirable to reach the admin web server on the bridge).

This may be by design to prevent hanging a swtch from such a bridge ?

I just pick an IP4 address out of the DHCP range, and nominate Google DNS.

192.168.0.10   (IP, say)

255.255.255.0 (mask)

192.168.0.1      (gateway) 
8.8.8.8;8.8.4.4  (DNS)