Linksys WAP54G with other brand router

I followed the exact instructions for setting up the WAP54G to be an
Access Point for an existing Dell Truemobile 2300 wireless router. I
set everything to the same channel, ssid, security, with a unique IP
address for the WAP54G. It actually seems to cause a wireless laptop
not to connect until I unplug the access point, as if it's interferring
with the wireless router signal. I'm going to try changing the channel
on the access point and any other suggestions anyone has. How can I
tell if the laptop is connecting wirelessly to the access point or the
wireless router since they have the same ssid?

Taking a moment's reflection, Jerry Abrams mused:
|
| I followed the exact instructions for setting up the WAP54G to be an
| Access Point for an existing Dell Truemobile 2300 wireless router. I
| set everything to the same channel, ssid, security, with a unique IP
| address for the WAP54G. It actually seems to cause a wireless laptop
| not to connect until I unplug the access point, as if it's
| interferring with the wireless router signal. I'm going to try
| changing the channel on the access point and any other suggestions
| anyone has. How can I tell if the laptop is connecting wirelessly to
| the access point or the wireless router since they have the same ssid?

... by changing the channel on the WAP54G. For roaming, you want
same SSID, but different channels. You are right that having them both
set to the same channel is the source of your issues.

Thanks for the suggestion, which made a lot of sense. However, changing
the channel on the access point did not solve the problem. I'm thinking
Linksys doesn't play well with other brands. I even upgraded the
firmware to 2.8. I still have my question about how you tell what
device you're actually connected to with multiple wireless access
points. Win/XP will tell you what SSID you're talking to, signal
strength, and speed, but I couldn't find what channel.