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Fixing wireless "hidden network" problem on Windows 7

Anonymous
2009-12-02T05:09:46+00:00

I've read a post by a previous user who seemed to be having a similar problem as me, but the response he received didn't help solve the problem and I suspect this to be a genuine bug in Windows 7, but that remains to be seen.

http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7network/thread/0d9e680f-8025-4863-9242-f990c64ea8bd <- a link to the aforementioned thread.

Connecting to  my wireless network (which has been online for years and served dozens of machines no problem), yesterday I attempted to connect running Windows 7 and received the following error message in my troubleshooting dialog: "Windows can't connect to the hidden network."

More specifically: "This network is marked as a "hidden" network and is either not in range of this computer or the wireless settings saved on this computer do not match the settings of the network."

My network is not hidden, SSID broadcasting is on, I am using a valid key and the network has full strength from my wireless connection utility. Does anyone know how to fix this problem or why it seems to be only happening on Windows 7, and only reporting that the problem is that the network is hidden?

Thanks

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Internet and connectivity

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Anonymous
2009-12-09T11:29:14+00:00

Do you use WEP encryption?

Maybe I will answer to your question using google results. When you get to the last page of results for

Do you see some correlation? Majority of results include information about WEP. Some of topics were never answered. Those one were the solution was found include suggestion about changing WEP encryption. 

Try to set another security type in your router's settings and use it in your network setting under Windows 7. I'm using security type: WPA2, and encryption type: AES and everything works fine.

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  1. Anonymous
    2010-01-03T17:19:58+00:00

    Howdy... I've been struggling with these problems ever since I upgraded to Windows 7. I was doing some reading today and trying out various suggestions ... install a new driver (which I did), reset the router, etc etc... but then I started looking at my router settings too.

    I have a Netgear WGR614 v7 and use WPA2-PSK [AES] for security. On the 'Wireless Settings' page, I had this enabled - Wireless Card Access List.

    I turned it off, and was able to connect to my wireless network. Hope this helps.

    Cheers!

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  2. Anonymous
    2009-12-04T19:17:54+00:00

    I don't know would be helpful but you can try it: right click on Computer desktop icon > Manage > Devices Management > Network adapters > right click on the Wireless... adapter > Update . I guess update won't change anything because it's gonna say it has most recent drivers, so.. Uninstall it.

    After that network adapter will be shown as unknown device... choose install drivers for that. It will install drivers using Windows Update. You can also go to the manufacture website of your laptop, look for drivers for Wireless adapter download them and use them to install this device under your laptop.

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  3. Anonymous
    2009-12-09T03:56:27+00:00

    I  have 3 laptops running xp and vista and they can connect without any problems to my router. So, this is not a router problem. I have tried to connect to unprotected networks in my vicinity, without success, although those networks are visible in my computer. My network is not visible though (I can see it in the other computers running xp and vista without any problems). I can connect to the internet using a wired connection. Can you suggest what can be wrong with the wireless adapter? The wireless adapter can see other networks, but cannot connect with anything. This a brand new computer and I have run all the possible updates.  If this is not a windows 7 problem, why there are so many people complaining about the same problem? If you search on the internet for complans about this, you will find many. I guess it is time for MICROSOFT to address this problem. I have had wireless connection in my home for years and everything has worked fine (with xp, vista and linux). The problem is just with windows 7. So, could you give me a practical suggestion to identify the problem if this is not a windows 7 problem?

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  4. Anonymous
    2009-12-04T19:05:34+00:00

    I am having the same problem as above as described above, and tried everything to fix without any sucess. I did not change any settings in the computer. I believe this is a windows 7 bug. MICROSOFT NEEDS TO SOLVE IT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, OTHERWISE THIS WILL HURT SALE OF NEW COMPUTERS.

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