Can I Upgrade My 802.11 Laptop To Receive 811 (108g) Signals ?

[Trevor]

I noticed a Linksys transmitter in this cyber café and assumed I could use their signal, with their agreement of course. Not so. They had 10 desktops all wi-fied in to what he said was a 811 (108G) system transmitter. Mine only receives 802.11 (a-g) and was set up to receive all letters.

I had never encountered this problem before with hotel wi-fi setups; they all worked fine. So for future reference, is it possible to upgrade the software on my laptop to receive other wi-fi codes, or is it basically a hardware problem, and something I am unlikely to encounter again? Thanks.

[oxymoron]

I noticed a Linksys transmitter in this cyber café and assumed I could use their signal, with their agreement of course. Not so. They had 10 desktops all wi-fied in to what he said was a 811 (108G) system transmitter. Mine only receives 802.11 (a-g) and was set up to receive all letters.

I had never encountered this problem before with hotel wi-fi setups; they all worked fine. So for future reference, is it possible to upgrade the software on my laptop to receive other wi-fi codes, or is it basically a hardware problem, and something I am unlikely to encounter again? Thanks.

Did the owner give you the IP address, Network Name , Password etc???

I suspect it is more of a problem of setting you system up to link-in to a secured router than a hardware/software out of date problem.

I say this since I have just returned home and we have the new ADSL slam 12Mbit, it took my son a computer nerd about 4 hours to get my Notebook up and running.

[sfokevin]

Most new 108G routers are downward compatible and should work with your a-g... When you search for available wifi systems can you see theirs?... Do they allow anyone with a laptop to log onto their system?.. Someone might have set up the cyber cafe security so that their network is not visible which is common security measure to limit access to only their computers

[monty]

Your equipment should be compatible!

The only thing is you'll never get the 108mbps connection, as this will only be possible between equipment of the exact same brand and type!

Normally you should be able to connect at the regular 54mbps.

I might guess that the accesspoint has some security futures enabled (no transmission of ssid, wep or wpa enabled or even a mac filter) making it necesary for you to know these setting and put them into your laptop before you can connect!

[Guest Reimar]

I noticed a Linksys transmitter in this cyber café and assumed I could use their signal, with their agreement of course. Not so. They had 10 desktops all wi-fied in to what he said was a 811 (108G) system transmitter. Mine only receives 802.11 (a-g) and was set up to receive all letters.

I had never encountered this problem before with hotel wi-fi setups; they all worked fine. So for future reference, is it possible to upgrade the software on my laptop to receive other wi-fi codes, or is it basically a hardware problem, and something I am unlikely to encounter again? Thanks.

What kind of Laptop you have, Brand and WiFi?

If your laptop is 802.11 than the speed is limited to 12 Mbps, if 802.11g than the speed is max 54 Mbps.

You will be not able to upgarde the hardware by software, you need to change the Mini PCI WiFi card in the laptop, if some is available!

Anyway, the internet connection will be normally not more than 2.56 Mbps. Only if you want to transfer data between 2 or more computers than may you will need more speed, depend an the size of the file you transfer.

[astral]

The router in the cafe may have been setup to support 802.11g only.

You cannot just upgrade your notebook, it would be too expensive,

but you could get a PCMCIA card to fit in the slot on the side to support

the newer protocols.

Here are the D-Link offerings.

[Trevor]

I noticed a Linksys transmitter in this cyber café and assumed I could use their signal, with their agreement of course. Not so. They had 10 desktops all wi-fied in to what he said was a 811 (108G) system transmitter. Mine only receives 802.11 (a-g) and was set up to receive all letters.

I had never encountered this problem before with hotel wi-fi setups; they all worked fine. So for future reference, is it possible to upgrade the software on my laptop to receive other wi-fi codes, or is it basically a hardware problem, and something I am unlikely to encounter again? Thanks.

What kind of Laptop you have, Brand and WiFi?

If your laptop is 802.11 than the speed is limited to 12 Mbps, if 802.11g than the speed is max 54 Mbps.

You will be not able to upgarde the hardware by software, you need to change the Mini PCI WiFi card in the laptop, if some is available!

Anyway, the internet connection will be normally not more than 2.56 Mbps. Only if you want to transfer data between 2 or more computers than may you will need more speed, depend an the size of the file you transfer.

I have a new Toshiba A100-998 Satellite running xp. The wifi is built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection. No wireless networks were visible so they probably made them invisible to prevent covert theft of the signals. And the staff member probably didn't know what he was talking about when he said certain brands of computer only can receive their signal. Another pervasive problem in Thai cyber cafés is they lock their systems so Java cannot be installed, which I need for my financial charts. Presumably to prevent errant downloads corrupting their systems. Rather hard to find cafés with Java installed, even though it comes as standard with xp.

Anyway, hopefully this was just a one-off encounter. Most cafés are hard-wired, and most hotels with wifi use open-access 802.11 a-g. Thanks to all for your contributions.