Troubleshooting your on-campus wireless networking connection

Note: To use the wireless network on any Indiana University campus, you must first ensure that you have a strong wireless connection signal. For added security and full access to IU resources, you need to establish a VPN connection. IU students, faculty, and staff need to register their computers before making a wireless connection at IU Bloomington and IUPUI. See the instructions in the "On-campus wireless" section of At IUB and IUPUI, how do I register my computer? (If you are using a Network Access account, instead see At IUB and IUPUI, what is a Network Access account, and how do I get one?)

If you're having trouble with your on-campus wireless connection, see the appropriate section below.

On this page:

• Problems getting a wireless signal
• Problems accessing IU resources
• Problems with VPN

Problems getting a wireless signal

For information about wireless coverage areas at Indiana University Bloomington and IUPUI, see the list of UITS-supported wireless sites. If you cannot obtain an adequate wireless signal in an area that is supposed to have coverage, try verifying your laptop's wireless settings. By default, some operating systems use settings that are incorrect for the IU network. Unless these are changed, you may not be able to connect to the wireless network. Follow these steps to check your settings in Windows XP:

1. From the Start menu, select Control Panel, or select Settings, then Control Panel.
   
   
2. Select Network Connections. Click the tab for Wireless Networks.
   
   
3. At the bottom right of the window, click Advanced
   
   
4. Ensure that the only option selected is Access point (infrastructure) networks only. If other options are selected, deselect them.
   
   
5. Click Close, then OK.

Problems accessing IU resources

If you can access sites outside of IU (e.g., Google or Yahoo) but cannot connect to IU resources, you may not have a VPN connection. VPN provides added security and is required for full access to IU's resources. For help making a VPN connection, see the following section.

Problems with VPN

• The basics of VPN at IU
  
  
• At IU, while attempting to connect to the VPN server, why do I get a message that the server is not responding or is unable to complete a connection?
  
  
• In Windows 2000, why does my VPN connection to IUB or IUPUI stop responding?

Note: The following information may also be helpful when establishing a VPN connection:

• Make sure you are connecting to the correct server. See the link for your operating system in The basics of VPN at IU.
• Clear your DNS cache. For help, see In Windows, how do I clear my DNS cache?
• Release and renew your IP number. For help, see In Windows, how do I release and renew my IP address?

Also see:

• At IU, how do I configure my Windows wireless network card?
• Wireless networking in IUB and IUPUI campus housing
• At IU, what factors might affect the quality of my wireless connection?
• At IU, where can I get a signal for wireless network access?