Thomson 585v7 and WPA Issues

[#1]

Hi,
Over the last few day I've being trying to setup the Thomson 585v7 wireless router for both myself and my sister's family.  That is, two separate routers on two separate ADSL connections.
Originally, I sent my sister a USB Wi-fi dongle but it failed to connect to her router.  I assumed it was broken (as I found it in a box of junk) and ordered her a new one online.  The replacement also failed.  I assumed that the 585v7 was working as my son had managed to connect his laptop to it.  We therefore came to the conclusion that her PC was playing up.  She and her husband used that as an excuse to replace it with a new laptop.  When she tried the laptop it also failed to connect to the Thomson router!!  Ooops!
Today, my Thomson 585v7 router arrived.  I therefore plugged it in (still no broadband yet as it's not active until next Wed) and found that it also failed to connect to my laptop.  My sister's PC was running Win XP and both her and my laptops are on Vista.  Stating to doubt Bill Gates and Co, I rebooted my laptop into Linux (Ubuntu) and found that it also failed to connect to the router.
I then started to look at my router.  I changed the network security to none (temporarily!!) and connected straight away.  Next, I set it to WEP and that also connected.  When I set it to WPA or WPA2 it failed to connect.  I then talked my sister through setting it to WEP and her's began to work too!!  We've left it there for the time being, but WEP is not the safest setting.
It seems we have been sent two different Thomson 585v7 routers and both fail to connect to a combination of 4 different OS installs (1 x XP, 2 x Vista, 1 x Linux) , using 4 different Wi-Fi adapters (2 x USB, 2 x Laptop internal) on 3 different computers (2 x laptop, 1 x PC).
Has anyone had any issues like this?  Are there firmware upgrades for the Thomson 585v7??  Note that in order to post this I'm currently connected to a different router on WPA2 without any issues.
Thanks in advance,
Gareth

[#2]

Have you selected exactly the same version of WPA on the router and the PCs? There are differences, and they are not always interchangeable. Also double check the passphrase is exactly the same.

[#3]

Thanks for your reply.
The routers were set to default, which is WPA & WPA2 as far as I understand.  There is nothing wrong with the Vista's default neither as my son's laptop connected to my sister's router without using any 'Advanced' options.  That is, type in the passphrase and connect.  We've double, triple and whatever checked the passphrase over the last few days on both routers.  The WPA passphrase is the same as the 64bit key for the WEP by default on the Thomson router and that connected straight away on both my sisters and my router.
From what I can gather, the router is not happy running WPA or WPA2.  The only thing that's strange is that nobody else has suffered these problems, suggesting we're making some simple error somewhere!  Where though, is a different matter!  I've carried out a full reset of the router (pin in the Reset hole) just incase it was confused, but that didn't help.

[#4]

are you definitely using ALL CAPS

[#5]

We've tried that.  I'll do it again the next time I'm home as you're making me doubt myself now!  It would make sense as WEP keys are hex therefore not case sensitive, whereas a passphrase is a password, in esence.  I'll post my results.

[#6]

You're not quite alone    I have similar problems with connecting one of our laptops?   Both laptops are Acer's, but about three years apart in age, the new one connects to the Thomson with no trouble, the older one sometimes will connect if I drop it down to WEP, but never with WPA2!
Mine is the newer model, so guess what the default option is set to on the Thomson   On the other hand if I get around to sorting it, it could reduce this constant 'buzzing' I get in my right ear?
IIRC  these connectivity problems were being raised when PUG were involved with the pre-launch trials of the 585.  I'll have to go look up my notes again.
Maurice

[#7]

Your lucky, I have an Asus Eeepc 4g, on Linux, without going into the operating system and doing a mod, and being a Win Man, that is like talking Chinese it wont get past the DHCP stage, OK on WEP

[#8]

Yup!   Mine fails at the DHCP point too.

[#9]

if you have the inclination and brain the answer is here http://wiki.eeeuser.com/wpa_default_xandros

[#10]

I found that Vista often gets it's knickers in a twist regarding the encryption method - namely TKIP or AES under WPA2
There should be an option within the Wireless connection to select which encryption method to use - try switching it over to the other one.
From my POV, I have a 585v7 and I have several different devices connected to it - iPhone, Blackberry, EeePC running Windows 7, Wii, and a Dell laptop running Vista.  Both the Vista and the Windows 7 machine required 'tweaking' of the encryption setting before they would connect (and incidentally, I had the same problem at a friends house with a BT Home Hub)
B.