ARCHIVED: At IUB and IUPUI, how do I connect my Dell Axim Windows Mobile 2003 PDA to the wireless network?

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Introduction

As with any other 802.11b-capable device on the Indiana University Bloomington or IUPUI campus, you must first configure your hardware to accept the signal from IU wireless access points. After that, you must configure, then initiate, a VPN connection. Only when the device is properly connected to both the wireless network and the VPN will it be able to access local network resources or the Internet.

Note: IU's VPN is intended for individual computing accounts only. Group and departmental accounts cannot access the VPN. See Why can't I make a VPN connection through an IU group or departmental account?

To connect your Dell Axim Windows Mobile 2003 PDA to the IU wireless network, follow these steps:

Initialize the wireless connection

You must be in a location receiving a wireless signal. Turn on your device. From the Start menu (it will look like the Windows flag icon in the upper left corner), go to Settings, and then tap the Connections tab.
Tap the Dell WLAN Utility icon. The Settings window will open.
Tap the Turn On button for the wireless adapter. Then tap the Setting button below it.
The Configure Wireless Networks screen should appear. In the box at the top, you should see an entry reading "IU Wireless", with the status reading "Connected" next to it. If you do, skip ahead to the next step.
If you don't see a "Connected" there, or if you get the cartoon balloon saying "IU Wireless network connects me to:", do the following:
1. If you get the balloon, select The Internet and tap the Connect button. If you don't see the balloon, tap the IU Wireless entry to proceed to the next screen.
  Note: In some cases, you'll have to tap and hold the IU Wireless entry to bring up a menu with "Connect" in it before you'll proceed to the next screen.
2. You will now be in the Configure Wireless Network screen. In the "Network name:" field, you should see IU Wireless. If you don't see that, do not proceed; you are not connected to an IU wireless access point. Either start over and select IU Wireless from all the available entries, or move to an area where your device no longer detects the non-IU access point that's interfering.
3. In "Connects to:", ensure the setting is on The Internet. Then tap the Network Key tab at the bottom.
4. Make sure the setting for "Authentication:" is set to Open. Also, make sure "Data Encryption" is set to Disabled. The other settings on this page should be grayed out, but ignore them even if they're not. They're unused on IU's network. Tap the 802.1x tab next.
5. All the settings on this tab should be grayed out, but if they're not, make sure the box labeled Use IEEE 802.1x network access control is unchecked. Do not worry if the box is checked but the setting is grayed out. The setting is not taking effect in that case.
6. Tap OK.
If you still don't see "Connected" listed there, make sure you're in an area with wireless network reception. If you are, tap OK to return to the previous screen and ensure that your wireless antenna is indeed turned on. If it is, you'll be able to tell in either one of the following two ways:
- The button you tapped earlier now says Turn Off.
- The wireless antenna icon at the top of the screen next to the speaker and clock icon will no longer have an "x" on it.
If your antenna is properly turned on and you're in an area with good wireless reception, but after following the above suggestions you still can't get the Axim to talk to the wireless network, then you may have a problem with your PDA. Stop here and contact Dell for help troubleshooting your wireless hardware. Make sure the wireless adapter is functioning correctly before proceeding.
On this same page, under "Networks to access:", select Only access points. Then tap the Network Adapters tab.
Under "My network card connects to", select The Internet.
Tap OK, then OK again to exit.
Register your device for use on the wireless network. Follow the instructions in the Knowledge Base document At IU, how do I register my wireless Pocket PC, Windows Mobile, or Palm device with DHCP?
After you register, you should confirm that you are receiving a legitimate IP address from the wireless network. Since not all PDAs come with software that reports the device's IP address, you may not be able to do this. For now, you can skip confirming your IP if it's too difficult; however, if after following all the instructions you are still not able to connect, you will need to go back and confirm it.
On most Axims, you should be able to view your IP by following the steps below:
1. From the Start menu, go to Settings, and then tap the Connections tab.
2. Tap the Dell WLAN Utility icon. The Settings window will open. Tap the Advanced tab. You should see the IP address your device is receiving.
For a list of good and bad IP addresses, refer to the Knowledge Base document ARCHIVED: What are some IP addresses that might indicate I have a network problem?

If your IP address is good, you've successfully initialized the wireless connection. Proceed to the next section.

While most Axims will have the Dell WLAN Utility, which will show the IP address your device is receiving, some may not. In that case, you can either download and install the Dell Axim Self-Diagnostic Utilities package from the Dell Support web site onto your Axim, or you can download a program called vxIPConfig from the Cambridge Computer Corporation. Both are free utilities that can report your Axim's IP address.

Configure the VPN connection settings

Ignore any instructions supplied by Dell for creating a VPN connection. Follow the steps below instead:

From the Start menu, select Settings, and then tap the Connections tab.
Tap the Connections icon, and then select the Advanced tab.
Tap Select Networks.
Under "Programs that automatically connect to the Internet should connect using", select My Work Network.
Under "Programs that automatically connect to a private network should connect using", tap New.
Enter a name for the connection. It can be anything; for example, you can name it something like iupui1 if you're an IUPUI user, or IUBVPN if you're a Bloomington user. Or you can simply enter MyVPN .
Tap the Proxy Settings tab. Make sure that the setting This network connects to the Internet is not checked, and that a proxy is not named.
Tap the VPN tab, and then tap New... .
Name the VPN connection. It can be anything, for example, My VPN 1 .
Set the "Host name/IP" to ipsec.indiana.edu (for the Bloomington campus) or ipsec.iupui.edu (for the Indianapolis campus).
Set the "VPN type" to IPSec/L2TP. Tap Next.
On this page, under "Authenticate IPSec/L2TP connections using", select A pre-shared key. Next, set the pre-shared key value to: hermanbwells
Tap Next.
Enter your username and password. Set the "Domain:*" field to ads .
Tap the Advanced button and make sure that the button labeled Use server-assigned IP address is selected. Also, make sure that the Use slip, Use software compression, and Use IP header compression boxes are not checked. Tap OK, and then tap Finish.
Tap OK, and then OK again to exit the setup.
Tap the Exceptions button, and add the following URL to the list: *.*/*
Next, tap OK, and then OK again to exit the setup.

Note: Adding the *.*/* is an important step. If you do not add it, you will not be able to use the VPN. It will look like it's working, and you won't get any errors. But your Axim will not be able to access anything.
Tap the Select Networks button again. Under "Programs that automatically connect to a private network should connect using:" tap the Edit button. Tap the Proxy Settings tab, and check the box labeled This network connects to the Internet. Tap OK, then OK again, and then OK one last time.

Make the connection

To verify that things are working, launch a web browser and try to go to any web site. The VPN connection dialog should appear, and the device should connect to the VPN automatically.

Alternatively, you can tap the antenna icon at the top near the speaker and clock icons; the antenna icon looks like a pyramid with a dot inside a circle at the top, and will have two arrows pointing right and left. There will be a Connect VPN link in the cartoon balloon that opens up. Tap that to connect.

To disconnect from the VPN, tap that antenna icon, and then tap the Disconnect button.

If you cannot connect to the web site you select, but it appears as though the VPN connection worked fine, try another URL; the problem may lie with the web site rather than your connection. However, if the Axim won't connect to the VPN, recheck your settings.

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Last modified on January 21, 2009.