Wireless Broadband

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Wireless Broadband Common Problems and Possible Solutions

1. Power-cycle the network equipment. This includes the Subscriber Module, Routers, Switches and/or Hubs, and ultimately the affected computer.

a. Unplug the Motorola power supply.

b. Unplug the Router/Switch/Hub power supply.

c. Plug in the Motorola power supply – wait 60 seconds.

d. Plug in the Router/Switch/Hub – wait 60 seconds. Attempt to get on-line.

e. The last step is to shut down and restart the computer.

Cold restarts of all the electronics help ensure each device has a chance to start with new dynamic settings that may have become corrupted.

If you find yourself constantly rebooting or power-cycling equipment (i.e. more than once or twice a month) there is likely a bigger problem and much better solution.


2. Release/Renew your IP address.

Each operating system has its own way to release and/or renew a dynamically assigned IP address. Our included example works for Windows 2000, XP, and Vista, since the problem seems most prevalent on these systems. From the Start button menu select Accessories, then Command Prompt, or select Run then enter cmd. You should see a black screen with a DOS prompt, like C:\My Computer>.

Type the following:


ipconfig /release

ipconfig /renew


This will force your computer to request an IP address from either your home router or the Subscriber Module (by default its built-in router is enabled).


3. Check your network settings.

Unless you have customized your home network (in which case you likely already know what you're doing), we recommend you configure your computer(s) to use DHCP (Dynamic Host Control Protocol). In Windows XP's network settings for TCP/IP (Internet Protocol), the radio button next to "Obtain an IP address automatically" should be checked. These are the default settings for all Windows and Mac OS X installations and are rarely, if ever, modified.


4. Check continuity to the radio on your roof.

When you're having trouble connecting, the first step we take is to see if your radio is still connecting to our network. If it is, we check to see if it is "talking" to your network equipment, be it a router or computer. One way to verify this is to use a program called ping to test the connectivity between your computer and its upstream components.

To ping the radio, open a Command Prompt as explained in troubleshooting step 2 (above).

Type in the following:


ping 192.168.0.1


hit enter. You should see a response similar to the one below:


Pinging 192.168.0.1 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=255

Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=255

Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=255

Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=255


If instead you see:


Pinging 192.168.0.1 with 32 bytes of data:

Request timed out.

Request timed out.

Request timed out.

Request timed out.


There may be a problem with connectivity between your computer and radio. When we walk customers through this step, we ask them to bypass any routers they may have installed in order to rule out the router as the potential cause of the problem. We also suggest temporarily disabling or bypassing any firewall and antivirus software, as they also tend to interfere with getting out to the Internet.

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