My old wireless connection has disappeared and I'd like it back!

January 2, 2011 1:02 PM

My wife and I have a MacBook and a Linksys wireless router. The last few days our internet connection has been spotty, so this afternoon I reset the router. Since doing that we're able to connect to the wireless, but our network name has changed to "linksys" and no password is required to connect to it. How can I change it back to the old network name/password? I've tried going into the AirPort and Network preferences sections, but it doesn't give me the option of changing the name/password for the connection.
posted by The Card Cheat to Computers & Internet (13 answers total)

Best answer: I think the answers to this recent question will answer your problem.
Long story short, if you pressed the small "Reset" button on the router, you have reset it to "factory settings" and need to reconfigure the network name, security, etc.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 1:05 PM on January 2, 2011

On preview, what EndsOfInvention said.

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Your Linksys router should have Admin pages inside it. Using a browser, go to http://192.168.1.1 and there you should be able to rename, add passwords and all sorts of other stuff.
posted by lampshade at 1:08 PM on January 2, 2011

Best answer: Since you seem to have reset it to factory settings, you need to "set up your Linksys Wireles Router for the First Time". Check the respective Linksys Support page. Usually you need to point your browser to the routers built-in configuration, say at http://192.168.1.1/ , to do so. [This link only works when you personally will click it, while connected to your local wifi network]
posted by oxit at 1:11 PM on January 2, 2011

Response by poster: Thanks! I'm on the 192.168.1.1 site. Under the Wireless Security tab, there's an option to change it from "disabled" to "WPA Personal," but I'm not sure that's where I want to be. There's nowhere I can see where I have an option to change the name of the network.
posted by The Card Cheat at 1:18 PM on January 2, 2011

The name of the network is the SSID, this should be a field somewhere.

Currently, the best available security is WPA2. Please use it when your MacBooks (and other devices) support it. They should.
posted by oxit at 1:20 PM on January 2, 2011

Response by poster: Under Basic Wireless Settings there's "Wireless SSID Broadcast" with "Enable" and "Disable" options (right now it's enabled). Under that there's a symbol of a lock with waves and under that it says "Status: SES Inactive". And under that there's a "Reset Security" button...
posted by The Card Cheat at 1:25 PM on January 2, 2011

So? What's your question?

May I suggest you do consult the manual, too?
posted by oxit at 1:27 PM on January 2, 2011

Best answer: This page has pictures of how to change the name that it's broadcasting which is also called the SSID. This page has a few more linksys questions answered.

There are a few choices you can make

- change the name of the SSID [from linksys to something else]
- change whether the name is broadcast [i.e. will you see it in a list of available networks if you look? You can set this to not broadcast]
- change the type of password your router will have, if any

Any time you press the little button on the back, it will all go back to how it was right out of hte box.
posted by jessamyn at 1:33 PM on January 2, 2011

Response by poster: Thanks again! It was a bit confusing because the 192...website sent me to a blank screen after I made changes, but it seems like everything is working normally now; the network name in the Airport menu is back to what I changed it to and there's a lock symbol beside it.
posted by The Card Cheat at 1:44 PM on January 2, 2011

My linksys started to exhibit this behavior on power loss and needless to say, it became quite frustrating. You can back up the configuration but... at this point, you may want to test that it holds config after reset, and if not, replace it.
posted by rr at 3:57 PM on January 2, 2011

You were sent to a blank screen after the changes probably because the router was rebooting or something...
posted by TravellingDen at 7:08 PM on January 2, 2011

you may want to test that it holds config after reset, and if not, replace it.

Note that in this sentence, "after reset" means "after the power supply has been disconnected and reconnected" (i.e. turning it off and on again). "Resetting" by clicking the (Factory) Reset button and "resetting" (or more accurately "rebooting") by turning the power off and on are two entirely different things, which can be confusing when talking about "resetting" a router.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 4:57 AM on January 3, 2011

Correct.
posted by rr at 7:26 AM on January 3, 2011