Wirelesss N Not Working

Hey guys,

I have a T400 with the Intel Wifi Link 5100 Wireless card in it and a WRT300N router from Linksys. Both are N-Draft wireless compatible, yet the two only connect using Wireless G. I already tried changing my router settings (wide channel 40 mhz, mixed network mode). Does anybody have any suggestions on how to fix this?? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Try changing your ADAPTER settings to match your Router. Set your 5100 to N enabled (this bypasses the B/G/A settings), and set your Wireless Mode to 40mhz. Set the 300N to N only, 40mhz, Auto, make sure UPnP and NAT are enabled.

If your 5100 isn't set for N Enabled, it will connect in B or G (depending on the Adapter's Mixed mode settings for B/G) to the Router.

To access your 5100's setting, go to your Device Manager, click on Network Adapters, then right-click on the Intel adapter and select "Properties", then the "Advanced" Tab.
These setting are for a 4965 but will work for a 5100:

1. 802.11N Channel Width - Auto
2. 802.11N Mode - Enabled (this assumes all your network devices are N or Dual-Band N - if not, you'll need to set it to Disabled and set your Router's Wireles Mode to Mixed. I cover that below.)
3. Ad Hoc Channel 802.11b/g - If N is enabled, this doesn't matter as the B/G bands aren't utilized. Set to 11 if you're going to use Mixed.
4. Ad Hoc Power Management - Disabled (this will keep your system from turning off your adapter to save power, or for anything else)
5. Ad Hoc QoS - If you're like me and use Quality of Service settings on your Router, set this to WMM Enabled. Do the same on your Router's QoS panel. If you're not using QoS (or anyone else) you should be.
6. Fat Channel Intolerant - Enabled.
7. Mixed Mode - CTS-to-Self Enabled
8. Roaming Aggressiveness - Highest
9. Throughput Enhancement - Enabled
10. Transmit Power - Highest
11. Wireless Mode - 802.11b/g (Note: again, this will only work if you've got 802.11N disabled in step 2. If you're using N enabled, this doesn't matter, nor does step 3.

Switch to the Adapter's Power Management Tab next.

1. Uncheck "Allow the Computer to turn this Device off". If you don't, your system can turn it off at any time.

ROUTER SETTINGS - WIRELESS N ONLY (ALL DEVICES ARE N)

Note: If you're wondering, you always use 40mhz Channel when using Wireless N or Dual-Band N only. You only use 20mhz for Mixed Mode and B/G network devices present.

Wireless Mode - 2.4ghz

Network Mode: Wireless N Only
Network Name(SSID): Your SSID
Radio Band: Wide 40mhz Channel
Wide Channel: Auto
Standard Channel: N/A (grayed out)

SSID Broadcast: Enabled (always use and broadcast a unique SSID - never use the default, Linksys. You can wind up connecting to a neighboring network without realizing it)

SETTINGS FOR MIXED MODE

If you've got mixed network devices (N, G, B, A, etc.) then you'll need to change your Wireless Mode settings. Remember what you set your Adapter to, channel 11 and B/G.

Wireless Mode - 2.4ghz

Network Mode: Mixed
Network Name(SSID): Your SSID
Radio Band: Standard 20mhz Channel
Wide Channel: N/A (grayed out)
Standard Channel: Auto or Channel 11, if you set your Adapter to Channel 11. The reason I use 11 (2.462ghz) is that it's the furthest from the base frequency, and gives you the best chance to avoid interference from devices in the home using a base frequency of 2.4ghz.

ADVANCED WIRELESS SETTINGS

In the Advanced Wireless panel, all settings should be set to default, except if you have a lot of network devices you might want to AP Isolation Enabled. Since I do, I have mine enabled - it prevents them from talking to each other, or more succinctly, from interfering with each other. AP Isolation forces them to communicate only with the Router.

SETUP PANEL
Click on the Setup Panel, and make sure that Network Address Translation (NAT) is Enabled.