Trouble getting IP address from DHCP-enabled router

It's the Linksys firmware! The new version 1.01.0 causes the problem with Macs (but not Windows PC's) To cure the problem, go to http://www.linksys.com choose downloads from the support pulldown menu. Choose WRT54G V5.0 -- Wireless-G Broadband router, click on Downloads for this product, click firmware and click download firmware. You will download a folder that will contain version 1.00.9 firmware (you must choose the version 5 model, not V6 to get this firmware version). Then connect by ethernet to the router and change the ethernet network settings to manual, 192.168.1.50, subnet 255.255.255.0, router 192.168.1.1 and apply. Then open a browser and enter http://192.168.1.1 to access the router. Go to the admin tab and choose subtab update and the update with the downloaded firmware. When it completes, reset the router, restart the computer, restart the modem, set your ethernet network to DCHP and apply. You may have to reset/restart everything again, but you should eventually get assigned a proper IP number and be able to connect. NOTE: THIS CURE WAS NOT SUGGESTED BY LINKSYS - use at your own risk. (But, I am posting this from the iMac that wouldn't connect an hour ago.) Note also that the release notes for the latest software (the version that doesn't properly set the IP using DHCP) say:
"Firmware 1.01.0
- Update Broadcom ethernet driver.
- Resolves DHCP server issue...."
Oops - maybe "Creates" would have been a better word than resolves.

I hope you only went down to 1.00.9. Please say more about what happens when the computer internet connection stops. Can you still reach the router by entering 192.168.1.1 in your browser? What does your Network preferences network status and either show ethernet or show airport pages say? At least you can reach the router. If it is possible, can you bypass the router and connect direct to the modem by ethernet? Is that stable?

You might try flashing back to 1.01.0. My router worked with that firmware for several days before locking out the Macs. If it does that again, at least you will know the cure - flash down to 1.00.9 and back to 1.01.0 If the upgraded firmware solved the network stability problem that may be the best thing to do. If you immediately lose the Macs I'm afraid the only other thing I can suggest is running either as a wired only (disable wireless on the basic wireless settings page) or wireless only to see if that isolates the problem.

thanks for the fix. will try, and advise of success.

It's the Linksys firmware! The new version 1.01.0
causes the problem with Macs (but not Windows PC's)
To cure the problem, go to http://www.linksys.com
choose downloads from the support pulldown menu.
Choose WRT54G V5.0 -- Wireless-G Broadband router,
click on Downloads for this product, click firmware
and click download firmware.

Hi Lawrence,
I am having the same problem that you and several others have mentioned -- MacBook Pro with AirPort Express finds and joins the network, but won't "take" the IP address it's being assigned by the WRT54Gv6. A wired desktop Mac and a wireless desktop XP are unaffected and working normally. Suspiciously, my problem started about the time I upgraded the Linksys firmware to 1.01.0, and I was very excited to hear your solution. However, as of October 13, they have removed the 1.00.9 firmware, even if you choose the v.5 router portal. In fact, the filename for both is now "WRT54G v5_v6_v1010000.bin". Do you by any chance have a copy of the 1.00.9 firmware you could email me? If so, I'd really appreciate it. My email address is mehrtens at uiuc dot edu. Thanks.

You have email. Good luck.

It's the Linksys firmware! The new version 1.01.0
causes the problem with Macs (but not Windows PC's) <snip>

Hi Lawrence,
I am having the same problem that you and several
others have mentioned -- MacBook Pro with AirPort
Extreme finds and joins the network, but won't "take"
the IP address it's being assigned by the WRT54Gv6.<snip>

Hi all,
Here's a follow-up to my message last night. Mr. Kahan graciously sent me a copy of the previous firmware version, since it has been removed from the Linksys web site. I applied it and the problem instantly went away. My MacBook Pro is now receiving the IP address that the DHCP server in the WRT54G says it's assigning, and my 3-machine network is now functioning the way it was prior to the "upgrade." I had been working on something else new (and more complicated than just a firmware upgrade) at just about the same time, and attributed my lost network to the other thing. I hadn't even remembered that I had also upgraded the firmware until reading this board. Thanks, Lawrence, for putting two and two together, and more importantly, for sending me a solution.

The earlier firmware version (1.00.9) can still be found on Linksys's site by visiting their FTP server.

ftp://ftp.linksys.com/pub/network/wrt54gv5v6_fw_1.00.9_UScode.zip

If you log into the network folder itself you will find other older firmware versions for the various router models.

It's hard to eat crow when you have your foot shoved so far inside your mouth (or, in my case, up the "other" orifice) but here goes...

In other threads I took Mr. Kahan to task for making the statement that the new firmware version (1.01.0) was defective. How could he make such a statement when "I" had been using the new firmware for some time without issues? Because he was, in fact, right all the long. I too have now been bitten by the new firmware bug and my v6 router became a boat anchor.

My sincerest apologies to Mr. Kahan for my know-it-all responses. It will not happen again.



Dual 2.5GHz G5 Power Macintosh Mac OS X (10.4.8) 1.5GB RAM 20" Apple Cinema Display

Your apology is accepted - and thanks for having the guts to post it! No offense taken and glad to help out.

I'm having this same problem. 1.01.0 firmware on my new WRT54G v.6 router does not properly give out IP addresses via DHCP to my systems, both wired and wireless.

I downgraded to 1.09.0, and while DHCP worked, the connection was far from stable. The connection would pretty much die either from initial connection or sometime in the middle of surfing - I couldn't connect anywhere and I noticed the IP address that I had was gone and I could not renew. So 1.09.0 firmware really isn't a solution.

I'm now trying back to 1.01.0 and giving my systems static IP's... at least until Linksys gets a fix out for their DHCP fix....

I'm havin g the same problem connecting my MacBook Pro's wireless to a Netgear WGR614v4 router (with hte latest firmware) configured as an access point. (It gets the DHCP via my SMC Barracuda router.)

This set up works like a charm with my old Windows notebook and with friends' Windows notebooks.

But my MacBook Pro doesn't get a real DHCP address from the wireless (just from the direct Ethernet connection to the router). Instead, I get those useless 169 IP addresses. I usually get the error message " There was a problem joining the network xxx." The various preferences and connection managers show a connection to the AP but not to the Internet. A few times, after switching from a manual IP address (which results in the same errors), AirPort picks up a legit DHCP address but after no more than 5 minutes it is replaced by a useless 169 one.

Any suggestions? I even did a clean install of Mac OS X 10.4.8 on a backup drive and booted from it in case there was something corrupted on the MacBook, but the same problems occur there as well. I've also tried WEP and WPA to the same result. Thanks.

Hi,

Having the same problem with my ibook and also an emac. Same netgear router, slightly older version. Both macs get IP addressed via the built-in ethernet but not the airport cards. PCs with win2K and Winxp work fine.

By restarting the computer and making sure no IP applications are open I sometimes get an IP. I tried having the router reserve an IP address based on the mac address of the card but that didn't work either.