My computer wont pick up a wireless signal that my friends does.

When you view all wireless networks are you saying it doesn't show up at all or is it just not automatically connecting?

it doesn't show up at all.

Can you see any local networks around the router? Try moving around to a different position; you might just be suffering some interference.

USB wifi keys have become a $10 item now. First thing I'd do is turn the radio in the computer off and plug one of the $10 kind in and see if that made a difference.

Sounds like your computer's getting on in years. How long have you had it?

Is this a signal that you should be able to access or one that you may have been "visiting"? Perhaps you've been blocked by the person paying the bill.

Or the router has been changed to stop broadcasting the SSID.

This would explain it if your friend has the wifi point saved on his computer and you don't.

How do I check the SSID is broadcasting?

Is it your router? If so, you can set your browser to a certain website (likely 192.168.0.1 or something like that, you can find it in your manual or online) then check the setting. If it isn't your router, you are out of luck. Can you see other sites? Do you have something like an Ipod that you can use to see if it can see the site? If it isn't broadcasting, the Ipod won't see it either.

my friend is able to access the internet through that router using wireless and I can access other wireless routers so I know it isn't my machine. I have tried putting my computer next to the router and it still doesn't pick it up. Is it still the SSID? I have tried getting onto the router settings but it asks me for a username and password that I do not have.

If the SSID is broadcasting then the router SSID will show up on a wifi scan.

If you know the SSID, which your friend must have, you can try adding it manually.
http://www.7tutorials.com/how-connect-hidden-wireless-networks




You still haven't told us if this is your router or not.

If it isn't your router then it is possible that the router's owner has specifically blocked your machine from connecting.

It is my router.

When I go on that 192.168.0.1 it asks for a username and password which I don't have. Is there a standard one?

Did you set up the router originally? Did you change the password from the default password?

If no then you need to find the default password or give us the make and model of the router to help you find it. I think Linksys routers tend to be user- admin ; pwd - admin. It's usually not a good idea to leave the default password on the router unless you make sure it can't be configured through wifi and it is not accessible by others.

If the default password doesn't work then you need to reset the router to factory settings. This will return the router to the default password but you will also lose any other changes on the router.

It looks like some routers have the password set by Comcast or other provider if you got the router from them.
http://compnetworking.about.com/od/routers/qt/linksys_passwds.htm

Try googling the router model and "default password".

Are you attempting to access it when hard wired to the router? You shouldn't be able to configure it by wifi unless you have changed the password and set it up to do that. If you can configure it by wifi then others can as well.

My router is by HUAWEI. How do you reset the router to factory settings?

BEFORE YOU RESET THE ROUTER..
Have you determined that the SSID is not broadcasting by doing a scan from your computer?

Does anyone else have access to this router to change the settings?
If no, then we need to determine if the router has really changed.
If yes, then you need to talk to the person that made the changes.

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CAUTION - making changes to the router may make it impossible to get on the internet. You may not even be able to access the router without making changes to your computer. Unless you know what you are doing, I wouldn't recommend it.
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If you are sure you want to get to the router and make changes
To get to the router-
Have you tried a default password?

It looks like
username - admin
pwd - admin
is the most common one for HUAWEI routers.

It looks like there might also be a back door to get your router depending on the model.
http://agnipulse.com/2008/07/hidden-user-account-in-huawei-adsl-routers/

Try that user and password and see if that gets you into the router.

Without a model number, I can't be more specific. HUAWEI makes several models.

I have the same problem, what i did was i just transfer the router to another position and look for a stronger signal and it works.

Have you tried moving closer to the router? Obviously I assume this was your first idea too, I just had to make sure - Not all wifi adapters have the same range.