Trouble w wireless network and passphrase generated key

[DS1952]

I'm enjoying my new IBM Thinkpad T42 which came with the IBM 11a/b/g Wireless LAN Mini PCI Adapter.

The Thinkpad works fine on my home 128 WEP encrypted wireless network. I configured the network by manually entering a key when setting up the Netgear router a couple of years ago.

However at my wife's office, the Netgear wireless router was configured using a passphrase which then generates the 128 bit WEP key. The office is a mix of Powerbooks and PCs from Dell and Gateway ... all of which seem very happily talking with each other on the wireless network. The cards in all the computers used the passphrase to generate the matching key.

The problem is that I can't find anyplace in the IBM Access Connections software which will accept a passphrase ... it is looking for the key itself. I've spoke with two folks at IBM Tech Support who don't have a clue of what I'm talking about.

In doing a quick Google, I came across a page for a different model Thinkpad & router with a similar problem. Their solution appears to be a chart which offers a translation letter by letter of the ASCII into the hexadecimal value. I haven't been back to my wife's office since finding this to try it.

I looked at the setup of the Netgear router used at my wife's office through the browser interface and, of course, the key is nothing but a series of ****s ... as it should be I suppose. I couldn't think of anyplace else to find the key to copy it.

Have you run into something like this before? Thoughts?

Thanks,
David

[taphil]

If you go into the router config, does the router give you the HEX value for the key?

[DS1952]

No, unfortunately, tthere is no visible HEX values for the key. In the key box is just a series of "*"s.

[jdhurst]

My Netopia router uses a passphrase to generate the key, but then the key is generated and displayed in HEX. I recall copying it in the telnet tool and pasting it into my text documentation for configuration in Access Connections. As far as I can see, you are correct that you can't enter a passphrase for WEP in Access Connections. You *can* for WPA-PSK (and I use that now as it is much more secure than WEP). May I suggest that you try once again at your wife's office to see if this value can be displayed in some way. That is where you should get it, and if you can't, then I'm not sure how this will work. ... JDHurst