Convert Your XP Connection To WiFi For Your Symbian
Gnubox has been here for a long time and, for those of you who were adventurous and persistent enough to go through the everlasting setting process, it worked. I wasn’t and I was never able to connect my mobile device to my computer’s connection. To tell you the truth, I wasn’t trying my best either, because I was stuck with a Nokia 3250 and I didn’t want to overload the poor thing. But the question had been spinning like a rat on wheels in my head, especially when I got the trial devices: N95 8GB, N81 8GB and N810. All of them had WiFi connectivity and I was dying to find out a way to use my laptop as a router for the LAN connection that I had at home into a WLAN connection. I even googled it, in vain.
Fast Forward to today. I was going through a long list of unread but starred RSS items when I stumbled upon this post about UPnP from The Symbian Blog. I was sighing once again, thinking this was another feature I will never use, when I read this “You will need to setup a home network first (or an ad-hoc network if you don’t have a router). The detailed how to on setting up and ad-hoc network can be found here for Windows Xp and here for Vista.” No need to say, I was in heaven!
Long story short, the tutorial worked partially as I was able to see the connection I set from my N95, was able to connect but everytime I would open a web page, it would give me a “No Gateway Reply”. Good’ol friend Google to the rescue again, and with some serious persistence, I was able to make it work. Good thing, the set-up was faster than the method Vaibhav had demonstrated, and bonus thing the resulting network was secure, meaning my neighbors can’t get advantage of my new WiFi. Here is the step-by-step tutorial.
What is this Ad-Hoc thing, and why do I need it?
If you have a wired internet connection at home or in the work place, like a DSL or ADSL or the old dial-up connection, without a wireless router, and you are dying to have this connection converted somehow to a wireless connection that you can use on your WiFi enabled device, than this is your solution. It will take your wired connection on the computer and transform it to a wireless connection, that will then be used by your device to connect to the web.
What do I need?
In order to perform this, you will need a computer with Windows XP or Vista on (I will only detail the XP side, as this is what I am using now, for Vista you can check the link above). This PC needs to be WiFi enabled, meaning most new laptops will work. If it doesn’t you can always get a wireless USB dongle, though getting a router by itself might be a smarter solution. You also need a device with support for WLAN, or WiFi if you want, this includes the N95 series, the N82, N91 and N93, N81 and many Eseries.
You also need 1 to 5 minutes of free time to make it work, depends on how fast you are with your computer.
I’m sold, show me how!
First thing you need to do is get connected to your usual connection on your computer.
Second thing is enabling Internet Connection Sharing (or ICS), and this is how you do it:
- From the Windows XP desktop, click Start, Control Panel, Network and Internet Connections, and Network Connections.
- Right-click the wired network connection (this is your current connection that is used to access the Internet, the wired one), and then click Properties.
- On the Advanced tab, select the Allow other network users to connect through this computer’s Internet connection check box and clear the Allow other network users to control or disable this shared Internet connection check box.
- Click OK to save changes to your connection.
Third thing is to create the protected wireless network shared through the ICS:
- From the click Start, Control Panel, Network and Internet Connections, and Network Connections.
- Right-click the wireless network connection (this is your still disabled WiFi connection), and then click Properties.
- Click the Wireless Networks tab.
- In the wireless network adapter properties dialog box, click Add under Preferred networks.
- On the Association tab, type the name of your ad hoc wireless network in Network name (SSID). This is the name of the network you want to set, for example, I named mine Dotsisx as this is my nickname.
- Select the This is a computer-to-computer (ad hoc) network check box and clear the The key is provided for me automatically check box.
- In Network Authentication, select Open. In Data encryption, select WEP.
- In Network key, type the WEP key. The WEP key is a password that you are setting so that no one would access this network and make use of your bandwidth or data volumes. It should be a random sequence of hexadecimal digits or numbers, letters, and punctuation. Make sure you use something that you will remember easily, but that no other people in your surrounding might know
- In Confirm network key, retype the WEP key.
- Click OK to save changes to the wireless network and OK to save changes to the wireless network adapter.
This is about it! Now all you need to do is pick up your device and click on WLAN Scanning on your Standby Screen. You will see a “WLAN Networks Found” line, click it and select “Start Web Browsing”. Amongst the found networks, you will find the one you just created, ie the one I decided to name Dotsisx. Click on it, it will ask you to enter the WEP key. This is the password you have chosen for you network. If everything is right, you will find yourself web browsing within minutes.
I have found this method to be nothing short of amazing. The range is good, even behind a wall or two, and I can use 2 devices (other than my computer) at the same time. The speed is also really reliable, and don’t forget that it’s a protected network so getting inside it will be a bit difficult if your neighbors are not techies. Mine are as far from it as possible, so I have no problems.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to continue exploring the Internet Radio application that never worked on my university’s WiFi network but is now blossoming.
Wow, nice guide! Works like a charm
Glad to see it has worked for you John! I can’t believe how long I have waited to make it work, and yet it’s only a 5 minute process in the worst case! Now I am enjoying a great speedy WiFi connectivity everywhere in my house and I can finally try those applications that other “free” networks had banned, like p2p, IM, Internet Radio, Music Store,…
how to overcome the ‘no gateway reply’ issue. how did google help you get the no tension wifi connection can you pl help with that
Good guide - but WEP protection? Seriously, WEP is barely protection at all - readers make sure to use WPA (otherwise your neighbours may well end up using your ‘protected’ WLAN).
@NZtechfreak For 90% of consumers, they wouldn’t know how to ‘crack’ a WEP key. Unless you’re in a rather geeky part of town, or have a hacker neighbor, ANY protection on your wireless is going to offer you decent coverage against someone else using it.
However, as you correctly point out, it might be a wise idea to use something stronger, if you’re living in San Francisco, for instance.
@summitheleo
The “No Gateway Reply” was due to the fact that in the first tutorial, posted on The Symbian Blog, there was an additional step where you had to check your computer’s IP address and add it in the settings somewhere, along with the Gateway address and the DNS server. This method that I demonstrated here does not require this, which removes the need for a manual setting. The device hence picks up the connection automatically.
@NZTechFreak
As I said in the post, “it’s a protected network so getting inside it will be a bit difficult if your neighbors are not techies. Mine are as far from it as possible, so I have no problems.” Well there you have it, I know it can be broken into, but I wonder how much of a range a laptop can offer as a router, and I also wonder how many people live with über nerds as neighbors?
Thank you so much for this! At first I was using a third-party software to handle my WIFI connections, just changed it to Windows as stated in the instructions. Now, I’m enjoying WIFI over AdHoc all over the house, upstairs and down! Just short of a miracle this tutorial is:)
WOOHOO!
Well, I am as ecstatic as you Mark! That’s why I shared this
but why dont just use the wpa? The setup is propably just as easy than wep so dont really understand…
I am still not able to get the connection on my N95.I have followed the steps given by DOTSISX .My N95 doesn’t show me the Ad-hoc network name.(Note:it shows all other wireless network in the neighbourhood).
My Pc shows the ad-hoc network name under view wireless connection..Should this be in connected state??
If I try to connect also it still shows me not connected.
HELP me plss.
same thing here as viv… Followed everything and still i can’t see anything on my n95. And the “not connected” status is always there even when i connect! Please somebody help. Could it be because i have xp home edition?
Will this also work on a Nokia E51?
Thanks in advance.
I followed the above steps but after checking box of
allow other network users to connect through this computer’s Internet connection check box and click OK to save changes to my connection, a message appeared telling me that I have to set all IP’s of network computer to automatic and I have to change my IP address to 192.168.0.1 instead of 192.168.0.252, for your information this LAN cable connected to a nearby internet cafe, so it is not possible to change the IP’s to automaticaly because every one in the network have his own IP
hello guru,
i tried the things u told in the Windows Xp wifi for my N95
I can see the Ad hoc network n it connects but says no gateway reply’ please do help me regarding this.
I am using my Wireless Lan to configure this do i need a WIFI dongle ?
Waiting for your reply!
im using xp sp2 i already locate mya wire conection (Start, Control Panel, Network and Internet Connections, and Network Connections)when i right clic the icon then click propertie then advance but i cannot see this word “Allow other network users to connect through this computer’s Internet connection” that u said i only see a windows firewall protection settings…can anyone help me to this.. Advance Thaks…
If iam using internet through a lan connection it is possible to do this.I can’t see on LAN properties ‘Allow other network users to connect through this computer’s Internet connection’ .There is any other settings for this one activate?
Sameer, are you on vista? if you are, you should check the how-to here: http://vaibhavsharma.wordpress.com/2007/08/14/wifi-without-routers/
the wireless network tab is not in my control panel
i cant find the wireless network tab can you tell me where it is
Jose,
It’s in Control Panel > Network Connections > Wireless Network Connection. If you don’t have WiFi on your laptop or PC, then you won’t see it, but if you do, you should see it.
well,when i search available network though my n81 it will search my adhoc network,but after connecting it shows “no gateway reply”
one more thing i want to add is my laptop is conneted through a LAN.
is there any other setting to share LAN connection over wifi.
help me out…
All things are good until i want to connect to internet over the phone. “No gateway reply”, i try with and without the ip and dns in wireless network.
The answer is: the ” Convert Your XP Connection To WiFi For Your Symbian” is a tutorial to connect a phone to a laptop computer ( a simple connection, without internet). Don’t be mad on me but that’s the truth. The laptop is not a wifi spot!!!!
Mar 30th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
[…] Update: For those of you who get a “No gateway reply” or this doesn’t work, jump over to Dotsisx’s guide! […]
Apr 10th, 2008 at 10:07 am
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