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[m_a_schuster]

I'm trying to deploy a DIR-880L, as a drop-in for an older router at the moment, on a home network using 128-bit WEP encryption for older client hardware. The encyption key is 26 hexadecimal numbers (including non printing characters) and that's the only way it's ever been known. Supposedly the DIR-880L supports both 64- and 128-bit WEP encryption keys. From language on web page and manual it really looks like it is expecting an ascii string there, not hex, and interprets all input in that way.

In the web setup page, the drop-down for WiFi security lists only WEP without a choice as to key length. If I attempt to enter the hex, it complains when I go over 13 characters. How to let the router know that "facc2ccb....." is hexadecimal and not an ascii passphrase?

router has been updated to current (1.07 B8) firmware.

[FurryNutz]

Link>Welcome!

• What region are you located?

It's possible that there could be a bug in that hex was not included or not supported on with Router with WEP. WEP isn't used much any more. I recommend that you phone contact your regional D-Link support office and ask for help and information regarding this. We find that phone contact has better immediate results over using email.

As a alternative suggestion, I recommend if you still have the older router that had been working with WEP and your devices, configure this router as a wired LAN 2ndary AP and have those older devices connect to it: Turning a router into an AP.

Let us know how it goes please.

[m_a_schuster]

Hi. Thanks for the response. I am in the USA.

I'm fully aware of the security issues and obsolescence of WEP. But I need to use it right now, and the 880L is spec'ed as supporting it.

I'm considering using the old router as a wired AP with WEP as you suggest, but then there are space and interference issues that complicated matters, and I wouldn't have if the 880L simply did what it was supposed to do.

I'll give D-Link US a call when I am with the equipment. I tried the web form over the weekend, to email then. After filling the whole thing out and watching it churn for 5 minutes each try, the web page returns "SEND FAIL" and bounces me back to the submission form.

[FurryNutz]

You can use the old router as a 2ndary. Interference can be a concern, if you can keep that router as far away from the 880L as possible while still connected via LAN wired between them.

Couple of suggestions:
1. Turn off the 2.4Ghz radio on the 880L and run the old router as your 2.4Ghz radio. Leaving the 5Ghz radio enabled on the 880L.
2. Leave the radio enabled on the 880L and set a manual channel of 11 on 2.4ghz and the old router set for channel 1. This will help keep the interferences to a minimum.
3. You can use the same SSID between the two however since you need a specific security mode, you may want to use different SSID names.

[m_a_schuster]

Thanks for the suggestions. Not enough 5 GHz devices to utilize the 880L exclusively for that band; but the others might work if I can't get the firmware to accept the hex key.

Would probably use a different SSID for the 880L and old router-as-AP.

[FurryNutz]

Let us know how it goes.