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frdmfghtr · Oct 9, 2006, 07:00 PM

I have a mid-2005 iBook running OS X 10.4.8 that connects to a Linksys WRT54G router.

Or I should say used to connect.

Whether it's through the Airport wireless connection or the built-in Ethernet, I can't get a configuration via DHCP. I clear the DHCP client table in the router, try to renew leases, and the router indicates that a new IP address was sent to the iBook (confirmed by looking at the MAC addresses in the table) but the iBook just doesn't do anythign with them.

If I set up the address manually I can connect to the router and the rest of the world fine. This is the case with either the Airport or Ethernet interfaces.

After I post this I'm going to disconnect and reconnect the Windows laptop I'm using to post this, but I believe that the Windows machine works fine with DHCP.

I've used DHCP on the iBook ever since I got it last year, and never had a DHCP issue like this. Usually I get home from campus, open the lid, and wham-connected to the wireless router near instantly.

Any ideas?

frdmfghtr · Oct 10, 2006, 08:22 AM

UPDATE: My Windows laptop can connect using DHCP just fine. The iBook can connect a different access point wirelessly just fine using DHCP as well; it appears to be limited to this particular router. I'll be able to confirm this when I get to campus and try connecting wirelessly there.

Has anybody else seen this happen before?

ghporter · Oct 10, 2006, 10:38 AM

Post the make and model of your wireless router, and if you can the make and model of the wireless access point that your iBook connects to properly. Interesting issue here...

frdmfghtr · Oct 10, 2006, 11:02 AM

My wireless router is a Linksys WRT54G v6 with v1.01.00 firmware. The problem initially cropped up with v1.00 firmware.

I don't know the type of wireless point that I was able to connect to as i don't know who owns it or where it is located

I connected to it long enough to see that it worked (wireless connection and IP address assigned; I could hit cnn.com so I was getting out to the world) and that was about it.

I can also connect automatically to the wireless points here on campus; they aren't labeled as to make and model, but I believe they may be Cisco hardware (big white boxes on the wall with two small black antennas.) Yeah, quite descriptive, I know...

This is a perplexing issue; connecting to the WRT54G was near flawless for nearly a month of use, then suddenly it "just stopped." One difficulty I noticed a couple weeks ago is that when connecting to a access point the network config would not detect the proper encryption (I use WAP2 Personal) but if I go through the "Other..." option when selecting a wireless network, I can enter all the information properly and establish the wireless connection, sans DHCP info. Again, a manual IP setup worked.

I contacted Linksys and the suggestion I got from them was to re-flash the firmware, unplug the router from the wall, do a hard reset (push reset button for >30 seconds while powered on) and reconfigure the whole thing. I'm going to try that when I get home tonight.

ghporter · Oct 10, 2006, 01:19 PM

The best thing to do whenever you suspect a router-client issue is to unplug or otherwise turn off both ends and then restart them. In many cases this "reboot" of the router will fix the problem. This is because consumer routers and their firmware aren't as well tested as commercial-level products, and they encounter memory leaks and such, thus losing functions. If a hard restart (unplug the router for at least two full (timed) minutes) doesn't help, then there's something else going on inside that box.

frdmfghtr · Oct 13, 2006, 11:59 AM

The hard reset directed by Linksys and a long power-off didn't help.

I'm half-tempted to get a new WRT54G and see if the problem repeats with a new unit; if it is fixed, I'll have to see if I can return the old one instead of the new one.

If the problem sticks with a new one, it could be *gasp* my lovely iBook having issues. How would I go about reinstalling the AirPort drivers if that were the case?

frdmfghtr · Oct 17, 2006, 03:51 PM

Now I grow more concerned...today, in the middle of a work session, I lost my wireless connection on campus...once again, DHCP will NOT assign an IP address! The Airport connects to the wireless access point, but I get stuck at the 169.254.xxx.xxx address.

This problem occurs now with two separate access points, at home and on campus. I'm going to go down the hall and try to connect to a different access point (same SSID name though) and see what happens. This is getting frustrating!!

hutchy · Oct 17, 2006, 05:22 PM

For some reason going to the location settings and using the assist me button seems to solve it... keeps happening in my uni since they updated the key...

frdmfghtr · Oct 17, 2006, 06:38 PM

Well, I left it alone for about 10-15 minutes and it eventually was assigned an IP address. I shut off Airport for a few seconds, turned it on again, and it came back as expected. I'll have to try the "wait and see" approach tonight when I get home.

IsaacW · Oct 23, 2006, 07:55 PM

This morning, I woke up to find that I have the EXACT same problem. Here are the details:

Computer Specs

MacBook Pro 17inch
2.16 GHz Intel Core Duo
2 GB 667 MHz DDR2
OS 10.4.8

Router Specs

WRT54G v5.0
Firmware Version: 1.01.0

I have used my router with my new MacBook for a couple months now. The only problem that I'd experienced was an intermittent connection loss. Now, the MacBook Pro finds and connects to the router, but will not receive an IP address, though the router sees it.

I too did everything Linksys tech support instructed me to do, and still "no-go". XP on BootCamp has no problem connecting, as well as my other HP laptop.

After Googling the issue, I've found some other people with the same issue, but no solution. I have a feeling that a recent Mac OS update has something to do with this...

I'll keep you posted if I find anything out. Please do the same for us. Thanks!

besson3c · Oct 23, 2006, 09:00 PM

Does this problem persist under other OS X accounts? Are you getting a self assigned IP address, or literally no IP address at all?

frdmfghtr · Oct 23, 2006, 09:22 PM

Yes, I had the problem when logging in under the admin account too. The wireless connection would be established (full bars on the status icon) but literally no IP address assigned (self-assigned or therwise) when doing an ifconfig.

Here's a new twist; I can now get an IP address automatically again, regardless of location. I changed the IP address range on the WRT54G, rebooted it, cycled the AirPort card on and off, and wham-o, IP address is assigned. I did get a brief outage last night, solved by cycling the AirPort on and off.

(Now the iBook won't sleep when connected to a campus access point (but it does at home on the WRT54G--go figure) but I've posted about that elsewhere.)

dillbag · Oct 24, 2006, 12:22 AM

I'm having the exact same problem with my MBP & Linksys WRT54G v6 router, firmware 1.01.0 . Strange thing is, when I boot into XP with bootcamp I have no problem getting an IP address. It's gotta be something with the linksys routers & OSX.

ghporter · Oct 24, 2006, 08:31 AM

Did everything work BEFORE you installed Boot Camp? If so then that rules out the Linksys router (and by the way I'm using Linksys at home and it works fine for XP, OS X 10.3 and 10.4...). It's a settings problem with AirPort under OS X, and it may have something to do with AirPort firmware updates in the Boot Camp-provided XP driver.

frdmfghtr · Oct 24, 2006, 10:27 AM

Speaking of firmware updates... Are there any firmware updates for the iBook/AirPort? Would a firmware update for an iBook show up under Software Updates or would I have to manually seek it out on Apple's website?

IsaacW · Oct 24, 2006, 11:33 AM

"Are you getting a self assigned IP address, or literally no IP address at all"

At first, I literally get no IP address. After a few minutes, I eventually get a self assigned address that looks something like 169.xxx.xxx.xxx.

Here's the strange part about the problem: everything used to work just fine. I did not make any changes, updates, or software additions before everything goofed. It almost seems as if it degraded to this point...

IsaacW · Oct 24, 2006, 11:49 AM

Here's a few discussions about the topic on Apple's website. The culprit seems to be update 10.4.8:
Apple - Support - Discussions - Airport does not have an IP address?? ...
Apple - Support - Discussions - DHCP receives info; does not apply it ...
Apple - Support - Discussions - 10.4.8 update and AirPort connecting to ...

dillbag · Oct 25, 2006, 12:39 AM

Here's the strange part about the problem: everything used to work just fine.

EXACT SAME PROBLEM here too. Upgraded to 10.4.8 well before purchasing the Linksys router. Bought the router 2 weeks ago and my MBP worked fine in OSX until last week, now nothing. Wireless networks at work and at a client's have no problems whatsoever other than intermettant disconnects. Spent an hour on the phone with Apple and still no IP. XP in bootcamp works fine.

brodel · Oct 27, 2006, 08:41 PM

Same problem here with my macbook.

I recently upgraded my linksys firmware to the latest version "Firmware Version: v1.01.0"

I have used my macbook and this router for months before I did the update with no issues. XP in bootcamp has no problems nor does my GFs dell laptop.

I guess I'll just setup locations for home. I hope either apple or linksys (whoevers fault it is) addresses it soon. If it's on linksys' end I doubt it sine they deny the existence of any OS other than Windows.

frdmfghtr · Oct 27, 2006, 11:38 PM

Originally Posted by brodel

Same problem here with my macbook.

I recently upgraded my linksys firmware to the latest version "Firmware Version: v1.01.0"

I have used my macbook and this router for months before I did the update with no issues. XP in bootcamp has no problems nor does my GFs dell laptop.

I guess I'll just setup locations for home. I hope either apple or linksys (whoevers fault it is) addresses it soon. If it's on linksys' end I doubt it sine they deny the existence of any OS other than Windows.

IIRC, Linksys routers run a version of embedded Linux (source available on their website) , so they certainly don't deny the existence of any OS other than Windows.

It's hard to tell which side is the culprit; for a while, I couldn't get a DHCP address from the WRT54G but I could from campus; now I can get one from both, but on campus OS X won't sleep if the AirPort is turned on (it will sleep at home though). I get the periodic dropouts in either location too.

If I had to bet a dollar on it, I'd put it on the AirPort driver being somewhat screwy; when DHCP didn't work, the router was logging the request and assigning an IP address, but the AirPort card wasn't configuring, and in many cases wasn't even getting a self-assigned IP address.

ghporter · Oct 28, 2006, 06:44 AM

brodel, you should be able to downgrade to the previous version of the Linksys firmware from Linksys itself, or Linksysinfo.org. I can't point you any closer since you didn't specify the model and version of your specific device. There's no reason to change firmware versions if you're not having problems with your current version. The ONLY real reason to change router firmware is if it offers a fix to a problem that's really impacting you, or if it offers a feature you REALLY NEED.

lcody · Oct 28, 2006, 06:34 PM

I am having the same issue with my ibook and my WRT54G router. I can connect to my network with the ibook but can't get on the internet. I have worked with Linksys reports 5 times already to reset and download new firmware and they say my router is working fine. My ibook is picking up an IP address too but Linksys says it's not the right one. We disable WEP security and that didn't help, so they had me reactivate it. I am able to connect to other Linksys routers with the ibook outside my home. Sometimes I can even pick up another signal in my neighborhood and get online - but that's spotty at best.

Is it possible I need to do some type of update on Airport?

brodel · Oct 29, 2006, 09:48 AM

Originally Posted by ghporter

brodel, you should be able to downgrade to the previous version of the Linksys firmware from Linksys itself, or Linksysinfo.org. I can't point you any closer since you didn't specify the model and version of your specific device. There's no reason to change firmware versions if you're not having problems with your current version. The ONLY real reason to change router firmware is if it offers a fix to a problem that's really impacting you, or if it offers a feature you REALLY NEED.

Thanks. I quickly checked those sites and could only find the current firmware. I guess I could go back on version since I still have the old version on my hard drive, but I've been waiting for a new firmware version since the one I was on before stopped my ability to VPN to work from home. I was so glad when I updated to this version that the VPN issue was fixed until the DHCP issue on my macbook started happening. I guess I'll wait for another update to see what that fixes or brakes. I used to tell everyone to buy linksys since I used to have such a good experience with them. Oddly enough I only had problems with the routers they made after they became apart of cisco and I love cisco. Maybe I'll look around on ebay or something for some v1-4s.

Edit: Forgot to mention, mine is a V.5

ghporter · Oct 29, 2006, 12:48 PM

Of all the WRT54Gs, the V5 is the least robust. It has a different OS and less RAM than other versions, and the difference makes it much less effective and reliable. I don't think it's a worthwhile product, especially compared to the V1-V4, and the recently released V6. Further, one of the great things about the non-V5 models is that they ran a version of Linux that made third-party firmwares practical and realistic-and those firmwares gave users a lot of new and important features.

Me, I'd take the V5 back and ask for a different version, but that's just me.

dillbag · Oct 29, 2006, 04:54 PM

Out of curiosity I hard-wired my WRT54Gv6 to my MBP in OSX and could not connect to the router. Connecting in XP via Bootcamp works. Can anyone point me to a link for the 1.09 or 1.08 firmware so I can try downgrading? I've tried searching the linksys FTP site to no avail. I'm pretty close to chucking the router out the window...

ghporter · Oct 29, 2006, 06:50 PM

dillbag, have you tried a nice LONG reset of your router? The XP instance in your computer may have a DHCP lease that has not yet expired, so it's possible that the router is confused and XP simply hasn't used up the time it has on the address it got. Further, since the router will assign an address to a NETWORK CARD not an operating system, you may simply have an issue with that one card already having an address as far as the router is concerned. A simple test is to go into the Network Preferences panel and click on "renew DHCP lease". That just might get you connected through OS X all by itself.

dillbag · Oct 29, 2006, 08:50 PM

Renewed, released, power cycled, multiple hard resets, firmware upgrades, firmware wipes, etc. I've tried everything. This is a multi-week issue, not something new that could be attributed to a DHCP lease. There seems to be alot of cases where OSX 10.4.8 & the WRT54G routers will just not work together. Thanks for the help, but I'm going to pick up a Trendnet router tomorrow. I don't think I'll be buying another Linksys again, especially with their "Oh, we don't support Macintosh" attitude.

SunburnMan · Oct 29, 2006, 09:08 PM

Hey, I started getting this issue last Friday, and I have been unable to resolve it (the only workaround right now is using Windows XP -_-).

I too have a V5 WRT54G linksys router. I had a bunch of issues with this router dropping connections, and upgraded to 1.01 firmware, which seemingly fixed the issue. Finally, everything was up to plan, and I would be able to make a final config for the router! I decided to do this friday.

I brought the router over to my iMac, as I wanted to configure it through ethernet. I could not acquire an IP address (it was telling me something like 'connected but can't acquire an ip address'). I decide to do it wirelessly, because it works just fine wirelessly. I did it without any hassle. I left for the weekend, and when I got back, I took it out of sleep mode, and there it is - my wireless gives me that exact same error 'Connected but can't get an IP Address'. I can't ping anything, not even the router.

So I decide to give it a shot in Windows. It works great! No problems whatsoever. My xbox360 is working great as well. So I'm starting to question if it may not be some sort of bug with OSX they might've introduced in the latest firmware over at linksys. So I plug my iMac straight in the modem. I still get, "Connected but can't acquire the IP address". This has also always worked... This really convinces me that the bug is in OSX or the drivers, and has absolutely nothing to do with my networking devices.

Anyways... I just felt like expressing my side of the story. I'm pretty mad about this... They better fix this ASAP.

I'll give those apple support links a shot. At this point in time, I'm very flexible (I've been using winxp more than in the last 6 months) in the last couple of hours.

ghporter · Oct 29, 2006, 09:26 PM

Originally Posted by dillbag

Renewed, released, power cycled, multiple hard resets, firmware upgrades, firmware wipes, etc. I've tried everything. This is a multi-week issue, not something new that could be attributed to a DHCP lease. There seems to be alot of cases where OSX 10.4.8 & the WRT54G routers will just not work together. Thanks for the help, but I'm going to pick up a Trendnet router tomorrow. I don't think I'll be buying another Linksys again, especially with their "Oh, we don't support Macintosh" attitude.

The "support" they provide for PCs isn't anything to write home about-it's on the order of "first you click the Start button...do you know how to do that?"

The thing is that DHCP is a STANDARD. If their server doesn't give a Mac an IP then it is not complying with the standard. I'd be interested to see if your router gave an IP to a Linux box...

I looked quite a lot, and did not find any new or old firmwares for the V6-I'd have suggested using a third party firmware if I had.

I should point out that Linksys has a fairly active support forum, and there seem to be LOTS of posts about OS X and DHCP...

mctucky · Oct 30, 2006, 08:56 AM

hey, i'm having the same problem.
my network is using a linksys wrt54gs (v.6) router. my windows based computers, one wired and one wireless, work fine. but my mac doesn't.
i was out of town this weekend and when i got back, all of a sudden i couldn't connect through airport. it gets a signal, but like already noted, no ip address. setting up a static address hasn't worked for me.
has anyone figured out the problem yet?
oh, and if i connect my mac directly to the ethernet cable, it works fine. go figure.

IsaacW · Oct 30, 2006, 11:56 AM

TEMPORARY FIX

For those of you with the wrt54g v5, downgrade your firmware from 1.01 to 1.00.9. The old firmware can be found at:
ftp://ftp.linksys.com/pub/network/

Look for wrt54gv5_v6_fw_1.00.9_US_code.zip

You can thank sensui who posted this information in this Linksys forum thread:
Re: WRT54G firmware Mac DHCP conflict - Wireless Routers - Linksys Community Forums

It's still not quite clear who's at fault, Apple or Linksys, but at least we can use our routers again for the time being. It's nice being wireless again...

If you have a router other than the v5, you may also want to try downgrading your firmware. Just make sure you've found the right one before you do it. Firmware mistakes can suck a lot!

brodel · Oct 30, 2006, 04:24 PM

Is there another version of the firmware out there somewhere? The 1.00.09 doesn't allow me to VPN and that's more important to me than having to change my IP manually or set locations depending on where I am.

ghporter · Oct 30, 2006, 08:02 PM

brodel, one of the Bad Things about the V5 is that it doesn't support third party firmwares, or I'd suggest going with one of them. I'd definitely see what's affordable in the "gently used" department to replace that V5.

For the record, my home network is based on a Linksys BEFSR41 wired router (which handles all my DHCP) and uses a WAP54G wireless access point for my laptops. While it's more expensive to go this way, I have yet to hear anyone report that they're having problems of this type while using a separate router and access point.

Finally, IsaacW, I'm pretty sure it's Linksys' fault. Apple has a history of being more standards-compliant than any other manufacturer in the networking game. And with Linksys playing 3-card-router with their very popular wireless router line, it's easy to see a few "complies with standards" balls getting dropped. As I said earlier, DHCP is a STANDARD, whether it's over wireless or through a cable, so since this seems to only be a problem with new Macs and Linksys routers, not new Macs and ALL routers, the evidence points to Linksys.

frdmfghtr · Oct 30, 2006, 09:09 PM

Originally Posted by ghporter

The "support" they provide for PCs isn't anything to write home about-it's on the order of "first you click the Start button...do you know how to do that?"

The thing is that DHCP is a STANDARD. If their server doesn't give a Mac an IP then it is not complying with the standard. I'd be interested to see if your router gave an IP to a Linux box...

I looked quite a lot, and did not find any new or old firmwares for the V6-I'd have suggested using a third party firmware if I had.

I should point out that Linksys has a fairly active support forum, and there seem to be LOTS of posts about OS X and DHCP...

You were curious about this problem and a Linux box? From the Linksys forums...

"I have run into this same problem with both of my Linux boxes running Slackware 11.0. Thankfully, one of them dual-boots with Windows, so I was able to downgrade to the 1.00.9 firmware."

The general feeling is that it is the new firmware, although my problem started with the 1.00.9 firmware (but the downgrade fixed it).

dillbag · Oct 31, 2006, 02:24 AM

Originally Posted by IsaacW

For those of you with the wrt54g v5, downgrade your firmware from 1.01 to 1.00.9. The old firmware can be found at:
ftp://ftp.linksys.com/pub/network/

Look for wrt54gv5_v6_fw_1.00.9_US_code.zip

Thanks, that's exactly what I was looking for. After downgrading the firmware the wireless works with OSX, happy days! Guess I won't be upgrading the router firmware again any time soon.

SunburnMan · Nov 1, 2006, 07:47 AM

Well I downgraded to 1.00.9 two days ago, it worked wonderfully. I started up my imac today to get my podcasts, and lo and behold, i can't get an IP address again in OSX.

IsaacW · Nov 1, 2006, 09:01 PM

Yikes. That hasn't happened to me yet. I'll let you know if anything happens.

gllghrs · 01:00 AM

I have been reading this forum for last couple of weeks. I was so glad I found this thread and forum knowing I am not the only one having this weird problem. It's been so frustrating I was about to explode. I joined the forums to share my solution.

I had a similar mysterious problem with WRT54GS v6 router. All client computers (three PCs and two Macs) had nice connection until one person brought his own MacBook from home. Resetting and power cycling the router, upgrading to the newest firmware, turning Bluetooth off, cleaning up network setting, changing the router settings of channel, MTU, beacon interval, having computer guy take a look our system, calling Linksys level 3 tech... none of them worked.

What worked for me was also downgrading the firmware from version 1.50.9 to 1.50.8. Now all computers including MacBook has stable connection. Since Linksys has removed old version of firmware from ftp site, I uploaded what I used for sharing. Though I checked this is virus free and it worked nicely to our settings, please use at your own risk.

QuickSharing.com - Files Shared Quick! Up to 500MB!
(Click "Download File")

Hope this helps!

menezes · Nov 4, 2006, 02:34 PM

Hi,

I'm having EXACTLY the same issue. It will only work with manual IP address. No DHCP working over wireless network (in both routers: at home and at mother in law's home):

MacBook Pro 17" 1 GB Ram Intel Mac OS X 10.4.8

Wi-fi router: Linksys WRT54G V.5 with 1.01.00 firmware.

I'll try to downgrade firmware versions from the routers.

Thank you for the tip!

Sergio Menezes

johnt519 · Nov 8, 2006, 02:46 AM

I'm having the same problem with a brand new WRT54G v6 router.

1.00.9 firmware causes the connection to just up and die, whether I'm connected or if I come back.

1.01.0 won't get an IP address. Oddly, looking at the router from another machine that works, the router's DHCP table shows that, as far as the router's concerned, it gave out an address. It's OS X (10.4.8) that isn't accepting it for whatever reason.

The workaround I'm using for now is to plug in static IP's - though that's going to be a pain when I take my laptop someplace else

C'Mon Linksys (and maybe Apple too)... get this fixed!

ghporter · Nov 8, 2006, 08:46 AM

Originally Posted by johnt519

I'm having the same problem with a brand new WRT54G v6 router.

1.00.9 firmware causes the connection to just up and die, whether I'm connected or if I come back.

1.01.0 won't get an IP address. Oddly, looking at the router from another machine that works, the router's DHCP table shows that, as far as the router's concerned, it gave out an address. It's OS X (10.4.8) that isn't accepting it for whatever reason.

The workaround I'm using for now is to plug in static IP's - though that's going to be a pain when I take my laptop someplace else

C'Mon Linksys (and maybe Apple too)... get this fixed!

This is interesting-what is the router's setting for DHCP lease length? It's possible that the lease is being interpreted differently by the Mac than by the PCs. That's a minor coding issue in the firmware, but more importantly, it's something that can be worked around pretty easily by just changing the setting from the default to something like 12 hours instead of 24 hours (you get the picture).

frdmfghtr · Nov 11, 2006, 01:22 AM

Out of curiousity: are you using Norton Antivirus?

The reason I ask, is that NAV was keeping my iBook from going to sleep when on my campus network (possibly because there is a NAV central server that pushes updates and schedules scans on all the Windows PCs on the academic network). If the Airport card was turned off, then the machine owuld sleep.

The reason I mention it is because something that you wouldn't normally associate with network issues was causing one in my case.

jrwings · Nov 12, 2006, 03:47 PM

Originally Posted by IsaacW

TEMPORARY FIX

For those of you with the wrt54g v5, downgrade your firmware from 1.01 to 1.00.9. The old firmware can be found at:
ftp://ftp.linksys.com/pub/network/

Look for wrt54gv5_v6_fw_1.00.9_US_code.zip

You can thank sensui who posted this information in this Linksys forum thread:
Re: WRT54G firmware Mac DHCP conflict - Wireless Routers - Linksys Community Forums

It's still not quite clear who's at fault, Apple or Linksys, but at least we can use our routers again for the time being. It's nice being wireless again...

If you have a router other than the v5, you may also want to try downgrading your firmware. Just make sure you've found the right one before you do it. Firmware mistakes can suck a lot!

Thanks for posting this link to the previous version of firmware. I've spent hours trying to make the latest firmware work. Spent time in the local Apple store - a real headbanger http://forums.macnn.com/images/smilies/bang.gif

Thanks - problem seems to be solved!!!

ghporter · Nov 12, 2006, 06:17 PM

Originally Posted by frdmfghtr

Out of curiousity: are you using Norton Antivirus?

The reason I ask, is that NAV was keeping my iBook from going to sleep when on my campus network (possibly because there is a NAV central server that pushes updates and schedules scans on all the Windows PCs on the academic network). If the Airport card was turned off, then the machine owuld sleep.

The reason I mention it is because something that you wouldn't normally associate with network issues was causing one in my case.

I can almost guarantee that it was the NAV server keeping your iBook awake. And I'll also bet that the server is incorrectly configured because it shouldn't be poking things out to clients very often-more than once an hour is pretty extreme.

IsaacW · Nov 14, 2006, 02:31 AM

dillbag, jrwings,

Glad I could be of service. Happy wireless surfing!

strontium · Nov 17, 2006, 11:46 PM

Originally Posted by IsaacW

TEMPORARY FIX

For those of you with the wrt54g v5, downgrade your firmware from 1.01 to 1.00.9. The old firmware can be found at:
ftp://ftp.linksys.com/pub/network/

Look for wrt54gv5_v6_fw_1.00.9_US_code.zip

THANK YOU!

Does Linksys QA any of their firmware updates before releasing?!! This is the second linksys product I have had that broke Macintosh support with a firmware update. I mean, come on... the update BREAKS DHCP on OS X. It would take 1 minute to determine there is a problem.

tfrysinger · Nov 24, 2006, 02:11 PM

All -

I've read this thread with interest. Same story here. WRT54G router, version 5, firmware 1.00.9. I have a 15" MBP, 2.16Ghz, OSX 10.4.8. Comcast cable modem (scientific atlanta)

I am able to connect, and get an IP address via wireless. Here is my wrinkle: after some period of time (sometimes it can be 30 minutes, sometimes 2 hours), the connection will just "go away". There is no IP address listed in Networking preferences at this point.

Hard boot of the cable modem and router and everything comes back up again for a little while.

Extremely maddening.

The rest of my network has XP, Fedora 5 Linux, a dual-proc G5 running osx 10.4.8 over ethernet.

The other OSX box also exhibits connection problems, so it isn't just a wireless thing.

I am about to pitch this router and go purchase something else. Anyone have recommendations?

Tad

ghporter · Nov 24, 2006, 02:13 PM

Have I mentioned that the hardware version 5 of the WRT54G is poo? Whatever firmware version it's running it's still going to be poo. ANY other hardware version (with a preference for the v3 and v4) is better.

tfrysinger · Nov 25, 2006, 12:37 PM

Originally Posted by ghporter

Have I mentioned that the hardware version 5 of the WRT54G is poo? Whatever firmware version it's running it's still going to be poo. ANY other hardware version (with a preference for the v3 and v4) is better.

Well, other than eBay I'm not sure where I can find previous versions of this router. I'm not all that anxious to try, actually.

I wouldn't mind spending more money than I really ought to, as long as I know it will absolutely fix the problem.

Does the Apple Airport "really really work"? Here is what I need the router to be able to do:

(1) support wireless and 4 dedicated connections
(2) offer DHCP support
(3) offer port forwarding (I am redirecting port 22 on the router to an internal box for ssh access)
(4) work with known dynamic dns providers (such as DYNDns.org) to automatically detect changes in my external IP address assigned by my ISP and update DNS settings accordingly
(5) work with Windows XP, Red Hat Fedora Linux (5), and OSX

Thx

Tad

ghporter · Nov 25, 2006, 05:47 PM

Every consumer router offers DHCP support. AFAIK, DynDNS uses a client that emails (or otherwise messages) their servers to keep them updated, so the router choice here isn't a big deal either. Most routers also offer port forwarding-check online reviews for which ones work better than others.

Your item 5 is something I'm really working hard at addressing. As long as the router complies with the IEEE standards for ethernet and WiFi, then it WILL WORK WITH ALL BRANDS of compliant equipment. Specifically, from a networking standpoint, XP, Fedora, and OS X are all compliant so they should all work fine with any compliant router.

Now for the "which version" WRT54G issue. I've seen retailers with three or four different versions of the same hardware on the shelf, all mixed together. Linksys never pulls a model off the shelf, they just ship newer models. It's up to the retailer to rotate stock or otherwise get rid of older models. If you look around you're likely to find a v4 without too much trouble. I personally use a BEFSR41 wired router and a WAP54G access point in my network-separating the functions means that I'm not going to have too much fail if one box decides to quit (which has not happened in a LONG time).