Wired Equivalency Protocol is a well known way of preventing a wireless computer network from outside connections and threats, but it can be frightening when a network issue occurs. Here are various issues related with WEP networking and how to fix them up.

Facts

1. WEP is an old way of network security, according to the length of the security keys; a WEP network can be broken within seconds. NetGear routers that support it can prevent these security problems by shifting to the much powerful WPA protocol.
Wireless Connection Issues

2. Most wireless problems are misdiagnosed as a WEP issue when the issue is caused by the wireless signal. If the WEP network does not appear in the list, this is not a WEP issue; PC is not locating the wireless network. Try moving near to the router to make sure a powerful signal; if there are walls in between, changing the place can sometimes strengthen the signal if it is being blocked by water pipes or electrical wiring.

Router Troubleshooting

3. If having access to a PC with a working connection to the router, and having administrative access to the router, log in the administration interface to view the settings are perfact. This is done by pointing the web browser to the IP address of the router.

Try a Hex Password

4. WEP can be configured to use simple text passwords, like a word or a jumble of letters and numbers, or it can use a "hex password," which is a number expressed in hexadecimal way. Hexadecimal numbers use the numbers 0-9 and the letters A-F and have a set length based on the strength of the WEP encryption. All simple text passwords are changed to hexadecimal, so sometimes the hex password will work when the simple text password is not being properly changed.

Try an Ethernet Cable

5. If having physical access to router, can bypass the wireless network by connecting an Ethernet cable from PC directly to the router. This still needs using WEP authentication to connect to the network, but enables diagnose if the issue is related with the WEP encryption or to an unrelated wireless problem.