Laptop connects via wireless to home wireless router but won't connect to any other wireless routers?

Question

I have a Acer laptop that connects fine to my MadasaFish broadband internet service via a Belkin wireless router. However it won't connect to any other wireless routers when I am away from home (I have tried four others). Why is this.

As an example I am currently on another Acer laptop at my parents house, connected to their (Orange/Wanadoo) livebox wireless router fine. But when I try to connect with my own laptop it asks for the WEP key, and brings up a window saying:

Please wait while windows connects to the "xxxx" network.
Waiting for the network...

This stays there for a minute or so, and then closes with no error message taking my back to the main "Choose a wireless network" window.

There are no signs of activity on the router when this is happening, and the same thing happens when I put in a deliberately bad WEP key. So this suggests that it cannot see the livebox, rather than that it is rejecting the WEP key.

Any ideas?

Thanks

No GTB there does not seem to be any way to apply MAC address filtering on my parent's wireless router.

Answer 1

It sounds like a security issue. If your notebook is properly configured I bet your parent's home has a MAC address validation mode activated and your MAC address is not in the approved list on their router.

Answer 2

check the wep key and everything or just phone your broadband servers