Socket SD Wifi

[karen]

I have my new sd wifi card and a new linksys router. When I have mac filtering turned off on the router, I can connect to router with my wireless card. I can see the SD card's mac in the DHCP clients list.

When I want to turn on mac permissions and enter the sd card's mac address, the linksys configuration tool claims that the mac address is not a mac address.

I have tripple checked this, even cutting and pasting the address from the DCHP client list.

Does anyone know what makes a mac address valid or not?

Karen

[Janak Parekh]

This is the first time I've heard of anything like this. 8O

http://www.erg.abdn.ac.uk/users/gorry/course/lan-pages/mac-vendor-codes.html gives a quick overview of what the codes can be (though that vendor list is out of date...)

I assume you tried the MAC address listed on the sticker on the back? And if you don't have MAC filtering, does the router list which devices have a DHCP address, and if so, does it list the MAC there?

--janak

[karen]

This is the first time I've heard of anything like this. 8O



I assume you tried the MAC address listed on the sticker on the back?

Of couse.

And if you don't have MAC filtering, does the router list which devices have a DHCP address, and if so, does it list the MAC there?

--janak

That's what I meant by the DHCP client list. I've tried cutting and pasting from that list into the filtering field, but it still says "not a mac address" and won't let me save the changes.

It looks like I'll have to call Linksys. Dang it, I swore up and down I'd never buy another linksys product after my first linksys purchase of a wifi card that would only connect at a range of 2ft from the ap and tech support told me that that was within operating guidelines. BS.

[Janak Parekh]

That's what I meant by the DHCP client list.
Oops, I totally missed that. Sorry. I know you know what you're doing, but I felt like I should ask anyway.

It does indeed sound like a bug in the Linksys router. Join the club of those who swear they'll never touch Linksys again... their 100Mbps Ethernet cards did it in for me ;)

Incidentally, I'm not sure MAC filtering is worth it. If someone can spot the packets flying by and decrypt them, the MAC is in the header of an Ethernet frame and is easily cloneable. I personally use closed APs with WEP and consider that enough of a compromise, short of an 802.1x solution.

--janak

[Jon Westfall]

I know in Windows XP there is a way to change the MAC address (Not really change, more like masqurade) on an adapter through a registry key. I don't know if Win CE supports this, but it would allow you to try changing the MAC on your pocket pc to something that the router would like. I'm pretty sure the instructions for changing the mac on xp are at www.windows2000faq.com.

[Steven Cedrone]

If there is a bug in the firmware, I would check to see if there is an update available on the Linksys web site...

Steve