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[summerstormpictures]

Okay, I had never had this issue before until this recent fiasco with the ''vomit'' of firmware updates. I am no ''expert'' but ''I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.'' I stumbled onto this possible solution out of frustration.

Starting yesterday after finally settling on the 1.22 (yes, I said 1.22) firmware--the second release, not the first--and before they yanked it--I began to have this wireless random hiccup--off--on--off--on and sometimes it wouldn't come back on at all.

Being on a MacBook Pro, I would go to Network, turn the Airport off, then back on, and then it would ''find'' my SSID (which is hidden) and sign on with the saved passwords. But the drop-off/on still happened randomly and even more frequently.

Well, I got very frustrated as this was a new and unwanted wrinkle and so I basically reset the wireless settings on the D-Link DIR-655.

Before you start doing the things I list below, read through first to see how probably nothing really mattered until something I stumbled onto in the last step:

First I re-did the ''Wi-Fi Protected Setup'' under the ''Advanced'' panel--by pushing the button ''Reset to Unconfigured'' and then got a new PIN. Then I saved the settings. I can't remember if the router re-booted or not, but either way, after this...

Then I went to the ''Advanced Wireless'' under the ''Advanced'' panel and changed nothing. I just saved for good measure and got the ''nothing has changed...'' dialog. Then...

I went to ''Manual Wireless Setup'' in the main ''Setup'' panel. Apparently the settings had gone back to the default ones after re-setting the ''Wi-Fi Protected Setup'' earlier. So, I changed my SSID name, made it invisible as before.

THIS IS WHERE IT GOT INTERESTING:

I chose ''WPA-Personal'' under the ''Security Mode'' drop-down. Then assuming everything else was okay, I hit ''Save'' and then the error dialog came up ''TKIP cannot be used under WPA2...''

I looked at the drop-down which was set at ''TKIP and AES'' -- where it had been set for months and months. This error had never ever come up before. I had always been free to select ''TKIP and AES'' with WPA2. So, I changed it to just ''AES'', pushed ''Save'' and it saved.

I have now had no wireless drop-off/on for over two hours and going. I am hoping this is helpful to some others out there having this issue. If you don't see me post anything else here (other than answering any question someone might have), you'll know this at least worked for me.

Good luck

[summerstormpictures]

FOLLOW UP TO OPENING POST:

Okay, so it's been a few hours now and no hiccups with the wireless. It seems to be steady and functioning properly. We'll see how things continue going.

The following is primarily directed at the Apple/Mac users out there who were having problems with other machines on the local network--specifically Windows machines--showing up on the Finder sidebar.

I felt brave a couple hours ago and took a chance to see if more ''normal'' settings might take and how that would affect the wireless continuity.

In System Preferences I re-enabled the ''automatic'' mode to IPv6 under both Airport and Ethernet. It had been advised that by turning this to ''off'' it would make the Finder sidebar behave better.

Well, so far, the Finder seems to communicate properly with the network--and still the wireless hasn't hiccuped or been compromised in any perceptible way.

I think that's all the ''tinkering'' I'm going to do, though, since things seem to be working well. I think I'll back up my settings and wait for a firmware update that is a little more robustly tested.

[ttmcmurry]

From my understanding, if you set the DIR-655 to WPA2 (only) mode, then you must select AES.  That setting is there for if you choose WPA & WPA2 (combined) mode, where TKIP is a valid option for WPA.

In short:
WPA2 - AES
WPA  - AES, TKIP, or both

You should really only use AES for two reasons:
1)  It's more secure than TKIP
2)  The N mode is faster with WPA2/AES only chosen

..especially if all of the wireless devices in your network support WPA/WPA2.  You should only use TKIP as a last resort If you have any legacy devices which lack WPA/WPA2 support such as B and older G devices.

[summerstormpictures]

From my understanding, if you set the DIR-655 to WPA2 (only) mode, then you must select AES.  That setting is there for if you choose WPA & WPA2 (combined) mode, where TKIP is a valid option for WPA.

In short:
WPA2 - AES
WPA  - AES, TKIP, or both

You should really only use AES for two reasons:
1)  It's more secure than TKIP
2)  The N mode is faster with WPA2/AES only chosen

..especially if all of the wireless devices in your network support WPA/WPA2.  You should only use TKIP as a last resort If you have any legacy devices which lack WPA/WPA2 support such as B and older G devices.

Hey, thanks for the info. Like I said, I'm no ''expert'' but I'm good at tinkering out something.

My observation actually centered around the fact that the firmware prior to 1.22 (or whatever version of it I had) didn't stop one from making the mistake you indicate. The new 1.22 I have did give me an error dialog, which was very helpful.

I'm still running seamless wireless N with the settings you noted above.

Much thanks.