iTouch keeps losing the wifi connection

Question

Level 1

4 points

iTouch keeps losing the wifi connection

I've seen several posts similar - but no answers. (one thread suggested the person should create a new post -- so I'm doing that here)

Re-entering all the information always fixes the problem - but this is a royal pain.

Background: Linksys 802.11g router WRT54GS (with latest firmware)
WEP 128 bit
iTouch has latest firmware (2.2.1)
several other devices using wireless without any issues (2 laptops, Wii)

Usually my network just disappears from the iTouch settings - like the iTouch just lost the network name and all its settings.

Today was a new symptom: The iTouch thought it was connected, but no applications could use the internet (mail, safari, etc...) When I took a look at the connection settings the IP address was totally bogus. I forced it to "renew lease" several times before it finally had a "good" address - and at that point everything worked.

I think Apple has some kind of bug. When the iTouch showed the bogus address, my DHCP clients table on the router showed the iTouch as connected, to a good IP address that didn't match the IP address showing on the iTouch.

Hey Apple - how about taking a look at this?

Dell XPS, Windows XP Pro

Posted on Jun 6, 2009 9:42 AM

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Answer 1

Jun 6, 2009 11:18 AM in response to Engineer Jay

The problem that occurs is when using the WEP encryption protocol. Being that it is not the most secure, the iPod touch does have issues connecting to those kinds of networks. I would recommend going to at least the WPA-Personal or WPA2-Personal, they are more robust encryption schemes.

Also, verify that your router's firmware and drivers are up to date, that some times can cause issues with the touch.

Superconductor

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Answer 2

Engineer Jay Author

Level 1

4 points

Jun 6, 2009 12:43 PM in response to Superconductor41

WEP may not be the most secure encryption protocol, but with its static encryption key it is certainly much simpler than WPA. The iTouch shouldn't lose connection with a network just because it is using a simpler encryption scheme.

If it is true that the iTouch's network connection is more reliable with WPA - that certainly indicates that Apple has some sort of bug they have not addressed with their WEP connection.

As I mentioned, I already did all the easy stuff (making sure all firmware revisions are the most recent).

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Answer 3

Jun 6, 2009 12:46 PM in response to Engineer Jay

But i have a simple question. What if yu dont have a wireless router like i do yet yu still get a very strong wifi connection. Why isnt it connection to de internet? It did it a few days ago & not it doesznt connecto to anytin pls help

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Answer 4

Engineer Jay Author

Level 1

4 points

Jun 6, 2009 1:04 PM in response to K-Star410

It sounds like you're "borrowing" wifi from a neighbor. (Yes?)

You can get a "strong signal", but if there is security encryption (WEP or WPA) you won't be able to use your neighbor's wifi. (unless you have the correct encryption key)

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Answer 5

luvlabs

Level 4

3,620 points

Jun 7, 2009 7:02 AM in response to Engineer Jay

The loss of connection or varying signal strength from your router is the symptom of a failing radio. The touch, as it turns out, is a pretty good "sniffer" for problems like this. If you reset your router and the connection returns this is a pretty good indication of a router that is slowly going south.

Do yourself a favor and make a trip to your local electronics retailer and get a new router. I'd go for one of the new N routers since they can still broadcast in a/b/g modes as well. Their encryption firmware is the latest as well.

Let's discuss WEP encryption and the touch. Besides being not nearly as secure as WPA-personnel or WPA2-personnel, it is a bit of a pain to implement. If you wish to use a password to log into your network with the 128 bit encryption you are using, it must be exactly 13 characters long. Your alternative is to enter the first hex key generated by the router in place of a password.

WPA/WPA2 personnel versions use a pre-shared key (PSK) that can be a relatively complex password of at least 8 characters. You can use capitals, special characters, and so on. If you want the ultimate in security, go to 16 characters and even the NSA won't be able to break your password in your lifetime.

Seriously, a new router will make your problems go away.

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Answer 6

luvlabs

Level 4

3,620 points

Jun 7, 2009 7:04 AM in response to Engineer Jay

The loss of connection or varying signal strength from your router is the symptom of a failing radio. The touch, as it turns out, is a pretty good "sniffer" for problems like this. If you reset your router and the connection returns this is a pretty good indication of a router that is slowly going south.

Do yourself a favor and make a trip to your local electronics retailer and get a new router. I'd go for one of the new N routers since they can still broadcast in a/b/g modes as well. Their encryption firmware is the latest as well.

Let's discuss WEP encryption and the touch. Besides being not nearly as secure as WPA-personnel or WPA2-personnel, it is a bit of a pain to implement. If you wish to use a password to log into your network with the 128 bit encryption you are using, it must be exactly 13 characters long. Your alternative is to enter the first hex key generated by the router in place of a password.

WPA/WPA2 personnel versions use a pre-shared key (PSK) that can be a relatively complex password of at least 8 characters. You can use capitals, special characters, and so on. If you want the ultimate in security, go to 16 characters and even the NSA won't be able to break your password in your lifetime.

Seriously, a new router will make your problems go away.

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Answer 7

Jun 7, 2009 2:00 PM in response to Engineer Jay

Dats da thing idk if my neigbor evn has wifi or not...

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Answer 8

Jul 1, 2009 2:34 PM in response to luvlabs

Seriously, I had the problem and bought a new router D-Link DIR-615

Laptop works OK
iTouch Gen 2 OS 3.0 will connect to the network but not the internet sometimes.
Sometimes it connects to the router but then drops the connections when I try to access the internet. Works OK at work with Firebox and security enabled.

I have neigbours with secured routers but I am not connected to them.

Laptop IP is 192.168.0.103

iTouch is 169.254.108.155 - that does not seem right

WPA2-PSK security

Cable modem

Any help is appreciated. I love the iPod but #@@##?!!!

Tks

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Answer 9

Jul 2, 2009 2:30 PM in response to iTouchCda

Since my post I went back and maually configured the router. As part of that, I cloned the MAC address. I did not have to do that to get my PCs or Mac to work.
My touch has been working. Hopefully this resolves it.

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Answer 10

F Shippey

Level 7

21,500 points

Jul 2, 2009 3:08 PM in response to iTouchCda

iTouch is 169.254.108.155 - that does not seem right

... and it's not right. IP addresses in th 169.xxx range are self-assigned meaning you were not actually connected to a network.

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