I have a Kindle (wifi version) and can't connect to my network. I have a wrt54g linksys router. do i enter my router password or my wpa shared key? I've entered my router password many times and it tells me it can't connect.

John,

Is it on a particular Wifi Connection?

Are you able to connect to other Wifi? Or other devices works fine on this particular Wifi Connection?

Go to Settings < Wi-Fi < Click/Tap on the Wi-Fi Network and Choose Forget

Enter the Password again and make new Connections.

It May help.

Are you trying to connect to a wireless access point that's running WPA encryption and the tablet won't talk to a WPA access point?

Are you sure you have the password correct?

Can you connect other devices to your wifi using the same password?
If so, it is the Kindle at fault.
Go to your wifi connections in Settings and remove your connection (I think it may say "forget").
Turn off your Kindle by holding down the power button for a full 30 seconds.
Restart your Kindle and connect to wifi, re-entering the password on the back of your router.

Make sure *Airplane Mode* is *Off* in Settings.

This will turn on the Wi-Fi transceiver. In the Wi-Fi Networks section right below the Airplane Mode section you will see available Wi-Fi networks. Click the little black triangle, choose your network and enter the password. It will only automatically connect to open networks. Most networks these days are *secured* and need a password in order to share data.

Is it WiFi in your home? If that's the case, and, you still can't remember/find your network's username and password--try resetting the wireless router (or access point--AP) to default factory settings. Use your PC or laptop to reenter factory settings with the router's/AP's networking address entered into a browser (likely Internet Explorer)--it should appear as something like 168.192.0.1 (depending upon your particular router)--it's in the manual.

If you don't have a manual, download the PDF version from the router/AP manufacturer online. Navigate within the menus provided on your PC's/laptop's screen. One of the menus should offer default factory reset. Indicate "Yes." (If you can't read a PDF file on your PC/laptop, download and install the free Adobe Reader from adobe.com.)

Once the router is reset, the manual indicates the temporary username and password to use for WiFi. This is the time, though, to invoke security once again for the router/AP--enter a sensible and secure username and password--something memorable, yet difficult for others to determine. Use letters, numbers, and even certain special characters. Follow the instructions to set up security, replacing the simple username and password--use WPA2 or WPA (encryption). WPA2 is the most secure.

Now's the time to configure the Kindle or other tablet: You need to find the WiFI settings menu in your Kindle--after enabling WiFI in the tablet, find your router/AP user name you just configured via your PC/Laptop in the Kindle menu--perhaps among those from other WiFi signals from neighbors or businesses. Choose your username, and enter the password. It should connect--securely now.

In a few locales in America (say, in California), not configuring security even proves illegal. Always secure your wireless network--people actually may scan for networks in order to share bandwidth--or, far worse, to garner sensitive personal info and otherwise hack in. Even these days, many people refuse to take sensible steps towards security--they're happy to get a connection of any type--not being locked out of their WiFI by forgotten security, either. That's a "shortcut to thinking."

On a wifi connection when you see problems the cause will either be the device or the wifi router.
If you can try the kindle out on a different network this will tell you if it is the kindle or the network. If it connects then it not the kindle. It could be a setting or the router.

If it is a setting the two biggies are going to be something wrong with the security passcode or it isn't getting through the gateway out onto the internet. For settings you need to check things like using wep when it should be wpa or the wep key is 64bit when it needs to be 128 or in the wrong key location and so on.

When it can't get through the gateway that usually means your dhcp is wrong or you are using fixed ip. You can just set these numbers manually in the kindle.

The other usual suspect is that the router itself is beginning to fail. This usually shows up first as difficulty to connect and dropped connections or increasing errors. It will eventually fail. This is common and typical of all home grade wifi routers. They are good for about 18 months or so. If this is the case you might notice slow downs or dropped connections on other wifi devices. These units are not repairable so you just need to replace it.

Out of all the possibilities I would say your first choice would be the security settings and next would be the the router. Those are the two most common problems.

The Kindle connects to WiFi networks supporting standards 802.11b and g. If your router is configured to use 802.11n exclusively, the Kindle cannot establish a connection. However, you should be able set up your router to "mixed" mode or "b+g+n operation".

The exact procedure and naming of the option depends on your router's model name. If you cannot figure it out yourself, feel free to add a comment to this solution, providing the model name and version of your LinkSys router, and I'll probably be able to give you further advice.
I

Four reasons come to mind that may prevent you from connecting:

1. Wi-Fi Passwords are case sensitive. Please check again if you entered the password with proper casing and you did not put any extra white space in front or behind. I know, this sounds annoying, but it is really the most common cause for connection problems.
2. Give your network a unique SSID. This is the network name that shows up in the list of detected networks. Default names like LINKSYS can be troublesome if a neighbor one block down the street happens to have a router from the same company.
3. Some routers have a MAC address filter as a security measure, limiting service to devices specifically whitelisted. If your router is set up for this, add your Kindle's MAC address to the list of permitted devices. See your router's configuration under Wireless > Wireless MAC Filter. You can check the MAC of your Kindle from its settings page (press HOME, MENU, select SETTINGS, see paragraph headlined "Device Info".
   
4. There are twelve different standards for Wi-Fi transmission collected under the hood IEEE 802.11. The four most dominant transmission modes are called a, b, g and n. They differ in radio frequency, modulation method and data rate. Kindle supports the two standards IEEE 802.11 b and g only, which is not really a problem because all wireless routers I ever encountered support one or both of these, too. However, the Linksys N-series can be set up to use 802.11n exclusively, not allowing for b or g connections. In the router menu Wireless > Basic Wireless Settings (Manual Setup), make sure the network mode is configured as "Mixed".

Please add a comment to this solution if one of these items resolved your problem. If you suffered from a different issue I did not think of, it would be nice to drop me a line, too. Other people will benefit from any experience you made.

You need to contact Amazon Customer Service - 888-280-4331