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Solved: Networking with Sprint Mobile Broadband card

6K views 9 replies 3 participants last post by  TerryNet 
#1 ·
My internet connection is through a Sprint Sierra Wireless Aircard 595U USB connection. Supposedly the card can be plugged into the router and each computer in the network will then be hooked to the internet. Unfortunately few routers (including mine) have a USB connection. So I have to plug the card into one of the three computers on my network, switching the card as needed. Someone published a solution to the problem and is a follows:

“Few routers that I'm aware of accept the AirCard 595U's USB connection. And only one that I'm aware of, the CradlePoint CTR350,
explicitly supports the 595U. I just got a 595U and Sprint Mobile Broadband and had the same issue of setting up a wireless home network using it. I solve the problem using Windows Internet Connection Sharing (ICS). Here are the steps I took:

1. Set up the 595U as normal, plugged into a USB port on your PC.
2. In Network Connections (assuming you're using Windows), right click on the dial-up listing for "Sprint Mobile Broadband - Sierra Wireless," and choose "Properties."
3. Click on "Advanced" tab and check the first box under "Internet Connection Sharing" to "Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection."
4. Choose "Local Area Connection" from the "Home Networking Connection" pull-down.
5. Choose "OK" and reboot computer.

Then:

1. Hook up a new wireless router (or reset your existing router to factory defaults) with a cable from your PC's ethernet port to the number 1 port (not the WAN port) on the router.
2. Reboot your PC

Then:

1. Open your browser and access the admin functions of the router (by going to the router's default IP address - http://192.168.1.1/ for a Linksys router, for example; this may differ with your router).
2. In the admin area, change the router's IP address to 192.168.0.254
3. Reboot
4. Get back into the router's admin functions (using your browser and the new 192.168.0.254 IP address) and find the setting for DHCP. Disable it.
5. Set up an SSID and WAP/WEP security, if you wish.

At this point, your laptop should see the wireless network. Try connecting. Took a lot research/tinkering for me to get to this point, but once I did, it worked great.”

I followed his directions and was unable to get the internet on all 3 computers. However, my network didn’t work either. All 3 of the computer connected to the new network connection but not to each other. They only recognized their own computer on the network. When I tried putting in the new IP router address in the two computers that have network adaptors, I was unable to get the Router’s new IP on either computer. I’ve since reset the network to the default network settings and the three computers are again sharing files.

I really have two questions.
1. Should the method in quotes really lead to an internet connection of all the computers on the network?
2. Why were my computers unable to recognize the other computers on the new network?

I should add that my router and one of my adapters is a Linkys.
When I set up the network, I created a new SSID, and disabled DHCP. I also set up a WPA (PSK) with an 8 character password instead of the eleven character password that was the default. (Could that cause a problem?) Also is there a difference between WAP and WPA?

It also occurred to me that the IP address 192.168.0.254 may not be one I can use and get all 3 computers connected correctly. The Linkys router had no problems with that address and took me back to the router settings so that I could put my original settings back in but the other two computers didn’t connect with that internet page.

Even if I am unable to get internet on all 3 computers (at one time), I would like to set up my network with greater security, (right now it’s set back on the Linkys default), so would appreciate any help you could give me.
Thanks,
Valerie Detling
 
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#2 ·
No one has responded to my question, so I'm not sure anyone is interested in what I found out about setting up internet sharing. However, since this method would work with a cable modem as well as the Sprint Mobil Broadband card, I decided I'd describe what I found actually works.
The method of setting up internet sharing I described in my first message would probably work if all the computers on the network were Window XP computer. When Vista computers are thrown in the mix, a different strategy is needed. I used the Vista Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) feature to see up internet sharing. As soon as I did this, I lost the ability to share files and printers even though the 3 computers are all on the same network. I also no longer can get to the Router control box online. (Which is exactly what happened when I set the internet sharing up when I method I described in my first message). On the plus side though, I now can get on the internet on all three computers when the Mobile Broadband connection is activated on the gateway computers. Eventually, I would like to strength my security on the network but I'm hoping that simply turning off the ICS will allow me to get back to the router controls on the internet where I can change my network name and security code.
Right now I'm working on the possibility of setting up file and print setting by configuring all 3 machines with static addresses on the same subnet segment and running the network using NetBios. There's a few bugs setting up the IP addresses since the ICS won't work with DHCP servers and the two computers that are not the internet gateway have to be set to set to DHCP. I realize this is a different subject than the one I posted, but, if anyone has any suggestions for setting this up or knows whether or not this would work on a wireless network, I'd be interested in your input.
Valerie Detling
 
#3 ·
The original instructions you quoted in your first post are correct. At least I did not spot any faults in them.

My guess is that you were not connecting wirelessly to the router. Any time you are trying to connect to a router and having any problem it's wise to try an ethernet connection and to try to connect w/o encryption until you get the wireless working. If, in fact, you were connecting to (meaning "communicating with") the router, then you had a problem with firewall(s).

If you use static IP addresses for this configuration you may save a couple seconds each time you connect and you will know w/o checking what the IP addresses are, but there are no other advantages.

When you get no response for about 24 hours, follow the Welcome Guidelines--respond yourself with the word "bump." This will bring your thread back to the top of the list where more people may see it. If no response after a couple bumps, probably nobody has any ideas.

I just scanned your second post again and it makes me think you have, or had, problems with firewalls. Maybe non-Windows firewalls and they were/are set to allow or trust one subnet but not the 192.168.0.x subnet.
 
#4 ·
I definitely was connecting with the router. The network connection showed up in each of the computers under networks in the Vista computers. It's possible that there could have been a problem with the Firewalls. I use Norton Internet Security in both of my Vista computers. When I first set up the network with the route (long before I had the Vista machines), I had to check something in the firewall to make the network work on one of my computers work. Unfortunately I can't find anything about the firewall in Norton Internet Security which gives any opportunity to change firewall settings. Where would I look?
The internet sharing is working with my present setup, so that I don't
know whether it's worth changing unless I could set up file sharing with it also.
Valerie Detling
 
#5 ·
I use Norton Anti-Virus on this (desktop) machine, but I don't think you want my solution for Norton Internet Security: Symantic's Removal Tool.

I don't know the details, but there is a way to configure NIS to allow or trust whatever network(s) you designate. This page may help.
 
#6 ·
Thank you! That was a really informative link. I was able to beef up the trust level of the network in at least one of my Vista computers and specifically add the IP address for the other Vista computer. It already had the IP for my XP listed.
The other Vista has been doing strange things since I set it up with Ghost. Right now when I try to open up Internet Security on that machine it kept getting the message "Devices on your network are not responding" so I'll have to wait a day or two to make changes on it. I do want to add, however, that internet sharing has occurred on all the computers since I set up ISC and that was before I beefed up the trust level on the Vista Computer or added the other IP.
Is there a similar site for Norton Anti-Virus. I have Norton Anti-virus on my XP machine but its attached to Norton Systemworks. I've had the same Norton Systemworks on the computer for several years but deleted the old Norton Anti-Virus and added a new one in January of 2008.
Thank you,
Valerie Detling
 
#8 ·
As it turned out, I didn't need to change the firewall on the XP machine. After I reset the IP for the Vista computer (which has a static IP setting) so it was consecutive to the other two computers IP (which are set up on DCHP) and adjusted the firewall on the two Vista machines, the computers all started sharing files and the internet. I really appreciated your suggestion about the security. I'm been working via email with the network specialist at my son's work place for about a week trying (in vain) to get the file sharing set up and neither one of us thought about the firewall settings.
Thank you,
Valerie Detling
Valerie Detling
 
#9 ·
I use Norton Anti-Virus on this (desktop) machine, but I don't think you want my solution for Norton Internet Security: Symantic's Removal Tool.
I upgrade the status of this advice from Recommended to Mandatory.

I've lost track of the number of threads where a "firewall" was getting in the way. Scarequotes because in the ultimate analysis all of those programs are bogus: they solve the wrong problem, and badly.
 
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