Atheros AR9285 and "n" mode

I purchased the Asus Eee PC MK90H on Amazon for my daughter, which lists the following under specs: WLAN: 802.11b/g/n (draft 2.4GHz n). However, when I try to use the netbook with my D-Link DIR-655 in "n" only mode (at 2.4GHz), I cannot get the netbook to connect to the Internet. When I switch the router to mixed g/n mode, it connects.

I went into the Device Manager of the MK90H and notice that the wireless card is Atheros AR9285, and, under Properties, the following shows under Wireless mode selection -- Auto or 802.11 b/g.

Does this mean the wireless card does not support .11n?

Thanks.

 

No it means that it's either auto (b/g or n) or forced b/g if you specifically do not want 802.11n. Leave it at auto.
You do know that you need security set to WPA2 and AES for 802.11n to work, right?

 

Thanks. It's on Auto. And, yes, WPA2 and AES are both selected. I've been using an "n" only environment for months, and I have had no wi-fi connection problems with any of my devices (including ... knock on wood ... the iPad). But while the MK90H "connects" to the router when it is in "n" mode, there is no Internet access. I am able to access the Internet only when I switch it to a mixed g/n environment.

 

Damn I hate this particular card- it always means trouble
Are your wireless channels are set to 20MHz?
Did you try updating the drivers?
At what speed does the notebook connect when in "n" mode?
What's missing that it doesn't have internet access- DNS, gateway?
I assume the OS is up to date.

 

I don't have the machine or router in front of me, but I believe the wireless channel is set to 20/40 (auto) on the router. Could be wrong.
I looked last night for drivers for this card but couldn't find any. The one listed on the Asus site is the one installed.
On speed and on what's missing, I will need to answer those questions tonight when I have access to the netbook.
Yes, the OS on the netbook is XP and all updates have been installed.
As an aside, how difficult is it to replace the wireless card in a netbook? In my laptop, it was easy, but not sure about the netbook. Maybe I can get a solid wireless card for the netbook.

 

It should be pretty easy to upgrade to something decent like Intel 5300 but for now here is slightly newer driver than the one Asus lists on their support page.
Why am I sure it won't help?

 

Thanks. I'll give it a try, but won't hold my breath.

 

trclac, I had the same issue with a Sony Vaio laptop (i5, Windows 7, Linksys WRT310, Atheros AR9285).

To make a long story short....I used WPA2-Personal with AES, and entered the encryption key in CAPS, and finally it worked! Please try and see if you have success as well.

To make a short story long....Everytime I attempted to configure my Linksys WRT310 for "N only", I could only gain access with my VAIO by going "WPA-Personal" with no security.

Because of this security issue, I added MAC filtering on the router (shouldn't make a difference for your issue) and enabled "adhoc 11n in device manager for my Atheros adapter. After reading your post, I went with WPA2-Personal and AES security encryption, again to no avail. I attempted the same with a wireless-N adapter on my wife's laptop, but it worked.

Only after entering the encryption password in caps did I have success. Must be an issue with Atheros.

Incidentally, I had called Sony support about this the day before, with no solution - to be honest though, the Sony guys are usually pretty good).

 

I don't have problem with my AR9285 wireless card & "n" mode.

These are what I have right now to test it:-
- Asus A42JV notebook with Atheros AR9285 wireless card
- LevelOne WBR-6002 2.4GHz 150mbps 802.11n compliant wireless AP.
--> Currently set to "N Only".
--> Security setting WPA2-PSK with AES encryption.
--> Bandwidth set to Auto (20MHz + 40MHz)

Result:-
- AR9285 can connect to AP on "N" mode & with 150Mbps.

I have another AP; LevelOne WBR-6001 300Mbps 802.11n compliant wireless AP which I can test later.

Conclusion:-
- My AR9285 probably newest revision. The problematic AR9285 probably an older revision.

On slightly related note; Intel WiFi Link 5300 AGN on my Dell Studio seems unstable. The connection speed always change between 58MHz, 65MHz & 72MHz when connected to same AP, regardless 802.11 mode (b+g+n or N only).

Please let me know if my test incomplete or I missed something.

 

the atheros brochure states its a 150mbps N card

 

AR920x series in general does cause a lot of problems just like Intel 5100.
It doesn't surprise me that it works for you- it's a wireless card not a brick after all - but there's one thing you can't test and that is compatibility.

All you have is one, two, or three routers/APs tops and you never know if yours among the vast majority of working ones or a minority of lucky ones.

On top of that there are tricks that make "computer science" sound like "nice Monday" i.e. Intel 4965 Wi-Fi card works fine with quite a lot of routers/APs and Linksys WAG200G wireless gateway/router works fine with a lot of Wi-Fi cards but Intel 4965 doesn't work with Linksys WAG200G unless SSID is unhidden.

Both are made by reputable companies, both are certified by Wi-Fi Alliance, both have been tested with various firmware/driver combinations.
In the end Intel is the one to blame- it happens to 4965 with other routers too while it doesn't happen to Linksys with other Wi-Fi cards.

In similar manner Intel 5100 is a poor card and is notorious for causing problems and Intel 5300 is one of the best often used as a benchmark by reputable websites like smallnetbuilder. The funny part is that both are supposedly based on the same chip so both should be equally good or bad- just one of them faster than the other.

This mystery can't be solved at home unless you have access to a whole bunch of routers, Wi-Fi cards and you're in contact with drivers developers.

 

Yes it is true I can't test compatibility since I only have two draft-n wireless AP with & both doesn't support 5GHz. Still my post is crystal clear & unless I'm stupid, I think it comply with this thread title. That said my AR9285 doesn't have problem with "N" mode & what I'm trying to do is share my experience.

Yes this is true. All of the complains about AR9285 in this forum looks like there are many people who have problem with it. But in real life, if you do proper research on it, there is still probability that the vast majority (high percentage) which have AR9285 actually don't have problem with it. I highly believe this problem only involved small percentage of the owner. This is understandable since there is always compatibility issue between the AP & the wireless card.

I can access a lot of wireless AP but this involving me to pay a visit to client site. This is unacceptable since I can't play around with client property even though my company is the one responsible managing it. Since my company usually don't have extra (sample) wireless APs on their possession, this means I don't have opportunity to test them. This means I can only figured out this mystery at home. I have no problem to buy another wireless AP to test because this is what I love doing, testing things.

 

I am having connectivity problems with an Atheros AR9285 also ( see this thread). It worked OK with a wireless G router, but not with N.

Based on my particular experience, it is not a good card.

 

I know this forum is old, but in case somebody else has the same problem.

I have the same wireless card (Atheros 9285). Everything was good until I went to the library. I knew there was an access point, but I could not see it with my laptop (Asus U35JC). I saw that the driver was out of date so I upgraded it. After the upgrade I was able to connect to the access point but the speed was only 65 Mb/s , instead of 150 Mb/s. I thought that the problem is with the n mode so I found this forum and the advice from koba6610 really worked . After setting the key on the router with caps it worked with 150 Mb/s.

So thanks again koba6610