Trying to connect a new laptop to my linksys wireless setup and I enter the WPA key and it says it is aquiring network address, but never does. What am I missing.

By Security Key, you mean the WEP/WPA Key that you entered when you setup the Router?

Use your browser and access the Router. Login to the application that is on the Router and look for your 'key' on the menu dealing with your WEP/WPA setup. That should be your key.

Also, get your SSID info as well, so you can setup your Wireless Network Card so it can 'see' your wireless network.

Hope that helps.

To connect to your wireless network using Vista's WLAN Autoconfig, follow these steps:
Step 1:
Right-click this icon at the bottom-right corner of the screen and select Connect to a network.

Step 2:
Select your Wireless Network Name or SSID then click Connect.

NOTE: If the wireless network name or your SSID is not listed, the SSID Broadcast on the router might be disabled. For instructions on how to connect to the wireless network with the SSID broadcast being disabled, click here.
If the computer is not detecting any signal or is not seeing any wireless network, change the channel of the router. For instructions, click here.
If WEP/WPA is enabled on the router:
Step 3:
Enter your wireless network WEP/WPA Key on the field provided then click Connect.
NOTE: To learn more about WEP/WPA and other Wireless Settings, click here.

NOTE: Make sure Display characters is checked, to display the WEP/WPA key used by the router. You can get the passphrase or network key from the encryption that has been generated (if using WEP network security) from the router's web-based setup page. If you're using WPA network security, the network key is the key for passphrase.

Make sure you enter the wireless network's WEP or WPA key not the Passphrase.

It is also possible to make a wireless connection even if the wireless security is disabled on your router. If you don't see any network SSID from your network list, make sure your wireless adapter/device is ON and your router is in good condition. If your router shows any unstable occurrence, click here.

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All Linksys routers have a built-in web-based setup page that allows the user to customize settings and set up advanced properties.
NOTE: Before accessing the router’s web-based setup page, make sure the router is powered on and the computer is wired to one of the Ethernet ports on the router (1, 2, 3 or 4 ).

Accessing the Router’s Web-Based Setup Page
Step 1:
Open a web browser such as Internet Explorer.
Step 2:
Go to the Address bar and enter your router’s IP address ("192.168.1.1" is the default IP of most Linksys routers) then press [Enter].
Step 3:
A new window will prompt for a User name and Password. Leave the User name field blank then enter your router’s password ("admin" is the default password), then click OK.

To setup or SEE the WPA Wireless Security on your Linksys router, follow the steps below:
Setting-Up the Wireless Router to Use WPA
Step 1:
Access the router’s web-based setup page. For instructions, see above
Step 2:
When the router’s web-based, setup page appears, click Wireless and select Wireless Security.
Step 3:
Select WPA Personal under the Security Mode drop-down menu.
NOTE: IF YOU ARE JUST CHECKING ON THE PASSWORD NO NEED TO GO ON JUST TAKE NOTE OF THE WPA SHARED KEY AND USE IT IN YOUR LAPTOP WHEN ASKED OF THE PASSKEY
Step 4:
Select TKIP on WPA Algorithms.
Step 5:
Enter your desired WPA Key on the WPA Shared Key field such as “MySecretKey.” This will serve as your network key whenever you connect to your wireless network.
NOTE: Do not give this key to anyone. This key will secure your wireless network. Leave Group Key Renewal to 3600 seconds


Step 6:

Click .


If you need further assistance please do not hesitate to contact me....GOOD LUCK!!!

To configure the wireless router and the laptop's wireless card, follow these steps : -
1. Connect the wireless router to your computer with a LAN cable.
2. Start your browser and enter the router's configuration URL
3. Enter the router setup, login and password
4. Change the admin password
5. Go to the wireless settings and change the default SSID and turn off SSID broadcast.
6. Setup encryption key the strongest is WPA2 (if not then WPA).
7. For further security measures - turn on MAC address filtering and enter the MAC address of the wireless cards on the computer/s you want to connect to this wireless router.
8. Record the settings you have made and keep it in a safe place and Save the settings.
9. Configure the wireless cards on the computer/s with the SSID and encryption settings of the router.
10. Remove the LAN cable between the router and the computer then the computers should be able to connect to the router.

Securing your wireless network is a simple process, which generally does not require a lot of time. This can be done by:

• Enabling WEP or WPA on the Router
• Enabling Wireless MAC filter on the Router
• Disabling SSID Broadcast on the Router

NOTE: The wireless security modes available may vary depending on the model of the router and wireless adapter you are using.
Enabling WEP on the Router
Wired Equivalent Protocol (WEP) is a type of wirelesssecurity which does not change. It provides comparable confidentialityto a traditional wired network. There are two types of WEP you canchoose from:
a. WEP 64-bit: This type of WEP consists of 10-hexadecimal codes. To enable WEP 64-bit, click here.
b. WEP 128-bit:This type of WEP consists of 26-hexadecimal codes hence it is moresecured compared to WEP 64-bit. To enable WEP 128-bit, click here.
Enabling WPA on the Router
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) is a type of wireless securitywhich is dynamic in nature. Meaning, it changes depending on the timerenewal you will specify. Hence, WPA is more secured compared to WEP.

• Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (WPA-TKIP) – utilizes a stronger encryption method and incorporates Message Integrity Code (MIC) to provide protection against hackers.
• Advanced Encryption System (WPA-AES) – utilizes a symmetric 128-bit block data encryption

To enable WPA, click here.
Enabling Wireless MAC Filter on the Router
Wireless access can be filtered using the MAC address of thewireless devices transmitting within your network’s radius. You caneither permit or prevent specific wireless computers access to yourwireless network.
To permit wireless computers to connect to your wireless network, click here.
To prevent wireless computers to connect to your wireless network, click here.
Disabling SSID Broadcast on the Router
Disabling the SSID broadcast is one way of securing your wirelessnetwork. This procedure will prevent other users from detecting yourSSID, or your wireless network name, when they attempt to viewavailable wireless networks in your area. For instructions, click here.

Hello...if you need to retrieve your network key, eg to connect a new laptop to the internet, this can be found within your router settings.

Here's a rough guide:

1. Type your router IP address, eg http://192.168.1.1 or whatever is correct for your model, into a web browser address bar

2. Enter your router username and/or password at the prompt. The defaults for Linksys are username: (left blank) and password: admin : but if you have set a router password/username, please enter these.

3. In the router user interface, go to the section headed Wireless Security, or similar. Every router is different, so you may have to hunt around a little. Key words to look for are Security, Wireless Settings, Encryption, WPA, (or WEP).

Your network key will be somewhere here. It might be labelled PSK, pre-shared key, WPA or WEP key, WPA-PSK, network key, WPA shared key, passphrase etc – but that’s the one you need.

For more details, you could pick up a manual from the Linksys site or view the help pages; otherwise, please come back to Fixya with your model number, and let us know how we can help. Good luck

You need to use a working computer with the router then access the router setup page that way you can get the wireless security key, then follow this step:
Open a web browser like internet explorer or Netscape. Enter the ip address of your router in the address bar of your browser. In the picture above the address bar has http://www.google.com in it. Just replace all of that with the ip address of your router. By default the ip address should be set to 192.168.1.1

You should see a box prompting you for your username and password. Enter your username and password now. By default the username is blank, and the password is admin. Click the Ok button to log in to your router.

When you're already on the Linksys router setup page, click on Wireless tab and look for a sub tab that says Wireless security and there you can find the security key that you're looking for..

Hope that helps..Don't forget to rate the solution FIXYA thank you...

hello, Anytime windows gets stuck "aquireing the connection" there is usually a security key thats not entered correctly. Do you know if you configured your wireless network for "wpa" or "wep" ? If so, we need to get that setup on your Laptop.

From the PC you are trying to connect to your wireless router LAN there are two possible causes of these problem.

1. No DHCP Server Available.
2. You are using MAC Filters and the MAC is not defined in the router configuration.

Please verify this and you can easily get through it.

DHCP can be configured over your wireless router also incase you don't have DHCP Servers in your LAN / WAN. Other wise you can go for manual IP addresses.