Wi-Fi Not Connecting to Internet

[Dannyl]

So, I've ran into a strange problem with my wi-fi; mind you, this problem did not exist before last night. Until yesterday, my wifi has worked flawlessly, ever since I set it up. It comes from my Zyxel Router that I got from my internet provider, and I have not changed the settings since the wifi was setup.

Until last night when I was trying to figure out why my linux installation, on my lap top, could not detect the wi-fi. My iPhone can and so did my old lap top. Someone suggested that I change the mode from 802.11/b/g/n to 802.11/b/g.

Apparently the /n screws up linux in most cases. The problem seemed solved, since immediately my lap top detected the wi-fi network and was able to connect without problems.

Except afterwards, I noticed the wi-fi still did not let my lap top use the internet. On top of that, now neither can my iPhone. The iPhone connects to the network fine, but no internet service will work; either browsing or any app that uses the internet, like games, weather, etc.

I've tried since to switch it back to /b/g/n but that did not help either.

Anybody have any idea what is going on? I've not changed any other setting, and not that there even are that many.

The router model is Zyxel VMG3326-D20A.

[Geek-9pm]

It seems the Zyxel VMG3326-D20A does not have an English manual.
Have you contacted your local Internet service company? Maybe they know something odd about his modem.

From the information you give, it seems more likely the issue is with the modem, not your computers.

You might try to reduce the security level of the Wireless Password. Or even temporary disable it to prove that it is a security issue and not a hardware or Linux failure.

BTW: Does it work well with a direct cable?

[Dannyl]

No I haven't yet called my ISP, simply because I have a feeling they will simply tell me that they do not offer support for the modem and that I should instead be in contact with Zyxel's customer support.

If everything else fails, I'll still give it a go though.

It does indeed seem like the issue is the modem. At your suggestion I fiddled with it a bit...

The wireless has three security settings; No security, basic, and more security. The last is obviously recommended and what I've been using. When I turned it to Basic, it said WPS is enabled and thus I can only use More or No security.

No idea what WPS is but fair enough and turned it to No Security. Nothing meaningful change, until, on a whim, I left it on No Security and rebooted the modem by physically turning the power off. I left it like that for ~10 seconds and turned it back on, and voila, suddenly my iphone could browse the internet. I also tested some apps, like the Simcity game and they worked flawlessly.

I then changed the setting again to More Security and changed the password. Again, same problem; my iphone could connect to the Wifi just fine but again could not browse. I turned the model off and on again, and voila, worked. I changed the password again and had to repeat the on / off routine for it work.

Seems there is something about it that requires the modem to turn off and on before it will work properly again.

Any idea what that could be?

On another note, seems my lap top with linux mint 17.1 can no longer detect my wi fi network. I noticed it on the first reboot. It did show up for a very short period on the second reboot but now it is gone again. It can detect a lot of wi fi networks in the area, including my neighbor's but, for reason, again cannot detect my own, home wi fi.

Seems really bizarre. Got any ideas for that?

[Dannyl]

P.S And yes to your question, direct cable internet works the same as ever. No issues with that. The problem seems to be centered around wireless.

[Geek-9pm]

Good. That is, good work. What you have is not uncommon at all. The advanced security fortes are almost, but not quite, universal. In general, when the security fails, you  do not get any explanation. I have seen that happen over and over again.

The iPhone is a reliable product. Apple keeps the OS up to date. So it would seem the real problem is the modem/router security  program. Maybe the modem needs a firmware update. But without the manual for that modem, it is hard to tell you what do do.

It is a Zyxel VMG3326-D20A - right?
Here is a similar issue:

Finally, I came across a post [in Finnish] in Elisa forums which suggested changing the "channel" to anything in the range of 1-11. The default setting was "auto" and the modem took channel 13 by default. I now changed it to channel 1 and it works! To change the channel, I connected to the modem with the URL, 192.168.10.1 (when I was connected to the modem with the cable of course!). The user name and password by default were 'admin' and 1234. Then I navigated to 'network settings' and 'wireless'. The operating channel was 13 before I made any change. In the channel selection field I replaced 'auto' with 1 and applied the change!

ZyXEL  ADSL modem Linux wireless network problem
What part of the world do you live?

[Dannyl]

From Finland, and in fact the post you quoted is from my ISP's forums. Really nice digging that up, and even more so because it seems to have worked out. When I read it, I realized the modem was on "auto" as well and was using channel 12. The wireless interface has a channel scan which it uses to automatically detect the channel with the least amount of noise. I saw it yesterday but didn't realize to change it, since channel 12 was easily the one with least amount of noise.

Once I made the change, my laptop immediately detected the wifi network. It took another model reboot until either my phone of the lap top could browse, but after that it seems to be working.

Brilliant suggesting it. Thank you very much. The wi fi has been one of the last big problems I'm still having

You're probably right though, the modem could probably use a firmware upgrade. I'm just kind of ecstatic about getting it all to work now that I'm reluctant to mess with it again.

[Geek-9pm]

If it works, leave it alone.

Postscript. In USA and many nutrients only channels  1-11 are allowed for Wi-Fi in the low band. Other areas have different rules. Some devices expect the 'USA' rules to be in effect.

[Computer_Commando]

Wifi has 2 bands:  2.4 GHz (ch 1-11); 5.0GHz (channels above 100).
What the OP is experiencing is interference on the much used 2.4GHz band.
I had the same problem with a tablet that has both bands available, but the router only had the lower band.

A dual band router solved all the connection problems.  The only downside is that the less used 5.0GHz has less range & is unable to penetrate through more than 1 or 2 walls.