Network Help needed, iPhone WIFI hanging/knocking both wired and wireless Internet

[SDPINC]

Network Help needed, iPhone WIFI hanging / knocking both my wired and wireless internet access off line

OK, so like many of us I have a small home / office computer network. The network is a hybrid containing both wired and wireless computers. Three Mac Books, two Mac Mini's, two iMacs and one Mac G5 Tower (All running system 10.4.11). On top of that I also have two Ethernet connected HP printers (HP 2100). I set my network up about two years ago and it has worked seamlessly since. I have made additions and subtractions to the network and at one stage even adding a Xbox to it for some much needed mid day Xbox live Halo break time! At any rate all of it worked great, even persons visiting the office with there own laptops, Mac or PC were able to connect to my wireless network no problem. My network connection was simple. I have Comcast cable internet, so the whole thing is pretty basic. I come in off the street via the cable line into a cable modem (Arris Modem TM502) which also connects my two home phone lines (Digital phone service) From the cable model I ran into a Netgear Double 108 Mbps Wireless Router (WGU624) and then I come out of the wireless router into a Netgear Fast Ethernet Switch (FS108) to connect all of my wired computers and printers. Now again this network has been running great, never a problem. I've had a few different modems as Comcast upgraded there gear service and I have added and subtracted different computers and printers all with very great successes. But (There always is a but isn't there?) yesterday I bought a iPhone, which was a great improvement over my Samsung Blackjack. I am so sick of having to have two phone books and two calendars so to be able to have one file synced is like a gift from God! I digress, so I get he iPhone home, love it, very easy to set up and all that but then I go to use the WIFI internet, and it sees my WIFI network for about 20 seconds, I click on it, then I put in the password, it connects and then it freezes, my wireless network disappears from the "WIFI Network Selections" on the iphone and it proceeds to hangs up my entire networks connection to the internet! The modem is flashing that it is working and connected to the internet still but it cant connect to the wireless router and thus to the wired network too. Its like there is a break right there, at the wireless router. Now again the lights on the modem are still saying its connected, and the internet digital phone is still working, and even the guys at Comcast can still see the modem and ping it. Further my wired network is still working, all of my wired to the switch computers can see each other, and all see the printer and even exchange files between each other but they still cant connect to the internet. Now as for the wireless computers, they loose the WIFI single all together, the little upper right "up side down umbrella" icon goes blank, showing no WIFI single what so ever and I now I cant see any of the other computers in the wired network or the wired printers. Its as if the wireless router and all the wireless devices suddenly are hung up, or jammed or frozen. Its like the back and forth flow is broken right at the wireless router point. Now once I go and unplug the wireless router and unplug the switch, then plug back in the wireless router, wait till it connects, then plug back in the switch, then all is better, up and running, wireless and wired all on the net and interconnected no problem. That is until I switch back on WIFI on the iPhone, then its down again. So as of right now, I have turned off the WIFI feature when I'm home, which, frankly sucks.

Has anyone experienced anything like this at all coming from the iPhone? I thought the WIFI would be just like that of one of the Macbooks but I guess not? Any insight would be greatly appreciated for as of right now I am stumped. I am contemplating just going to pick up another wireless router, maybe a apple one and seeing how that works in its place, but I have a feeling that this may just be a waist of time. Again any help or suggestions would be great!
Thanks
Mike
Sdpinc @ comcast.net (remove the spaces on both sides of the at symbol)

[cwtnospam]

I don't think it's your iPhone. I think it's your router. From page #160 (D-16) of the router manual (wgu624_ref_manual.pdf):

Is WPA Perfect?
WPA is not without its vulnerabilities. Specifically, it is susceptible to denial of service (DoS)
attacks. If the access point receives two data packets that fail the message integrity code (MIC)
within 60 seconds of each other, then the network is under an active attack, and as a result, the
access point employs counter measures, which include disassociating each station using the access
point. This prevents an attacker from gleaning information about the encryption key and alerts
administrators, but it also causes users to lose network connectivity for 60 seconds. More than
anything else, this may just prove that no single security tactic is completely invulnerable. WPA is
a definite step forward in WLAN security over WEP and has to be thought of as a single part of an
end-to-end network security strategy.

[cpragman]

FWIW, I've had similar experience with my wireless network hanging up on all devices. Completely different equipment to the OP's. Mine also started the day I brought my iPhone home.

[cwtnospam]

Maybe they use a similar approach to wireless security. Deliberately disconnecting doesn't seem like an elegant solution, but in today's PC dominated world, elegant solutions are rare.

[cpragman]

Mine is westell. I'm also using WPA, so maybe this is just a WPA thing.

[cwtnospam]

Mine is westell.
Judging by their very PC-like website (they won't even let you download a manual!), I'd be very surprised if they weren't doing something similar.

I don't think it's specific to WPA though, for two reasons. First, this would be a much more common problem that we'd have heard a lot about by now. Second, I have a Dlink DI-524 and it's manual doesn't mention anything about intentionally disconnecting devices as part of WPA. I don't have an iPhone to test it though. :(

[cpragman]

I did a little bit of googling about the WPA vs. DoS attack thing. It is an issue for all WPA devices, because it's built into the IEEE protocol. They even gave the subroutine a name (Michael). So I guess if you've got enough noise in your signal back to the router, there's a chance it will do this periodically.

[cwtnospam]

Interesting. It appears that this flaw isn't in WPA2 though. I assume the iPhone can use WPA2. The question is, can the router?

[cpragman]

Dunno. I'm fed up with getting disconnected, so I'm getting a new router, to see if that fixes it (better signal strength). I'll know in about a week, when it arrives.

[trevor]

cpragman, is your Westell router another of the 108 Mbps routers?

SDPINC, I have a Netgear router, which is compliant with 802.11g, which has never had any problem with the iPhone. 802.11g is 54 Mbps. Netgear uses a non-compliant method to double the bandwidth to 108 Mbps in some of their wireless routers, and I wonder if their non-compliant 108 Mbps is what is causing the problem. Can you turn off the "Double" speed, and set your router to be 802.11g compliant?

Trevor

[cpragman]

Mine is a westell versalink Model A90-327W15-06 (802.11g).