Fixing wireless "hidden network" problem on Windows 7

Anonymous

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

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

Answer accepted by question author

Anonymous

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

"This network is marked as a hidden" (you will find 3 pages - 24 results)
"This network is marked as a hidden" wep (2 pages - 14 results)

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.

0 comments

44 additional answers

Anonymous

2010-09-03T02:17:45+00:00

Hi,

   I seems run into a similar one. I cant see my own wireless network in the available list, but in it I can find dozens of wireless networks of others.

   That's pretty damn frustrating, I tried to restart all the wireless related services in local system.

   I also tried to change location, so now I can sure it's not a signal blackspot problem.

   Running out of ideas now, can you shed some light on this, thanks a million.

   I am sure my own network is on, cause my roomate can use see and use it.

   Looking forward to your replay, seriously.

   BTW, how can I start a new thread in this forum? I found no button , damn.

Best Regards
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments
Anonymous

2010-09-16T18:22:00+00:00

I have been experiencing this problem for the last few days and was unable to understand why. Looking at the router config, I found the security type set to 'WPA2-PSK (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 with Pre-Shared Key)'. I changed it to 'Mixed WPA-PSK+WPA2-PSK' and instantly the problem was resolved.
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments
Anonymous

2010-10-15T03:32:31+00:00

My Windows is Genuine! It isn't a pirated version. I didn't do anything. I found out that it was my router's fault. It's firmware is all screwed up. I don't know what to do with it. So I decided to update it. And then it fixed itself. And that's the same thing that I got. "WINDOWS CAN'T CONNECT TO THE 'HIDDEN NETWORK'"

crusher260
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments
Anonymous

2010-11-05T21:00:07+00:00

Having same issue with AWUS036H. goes offline randomly. It's been offline for 2 days now. Seriusly considering a mac.

edit:

I was able to fix it by turning on my A/b/g wireless signal. and changing to channel 1
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments