WEP keys can be entered as ASCII characters or in hexadecimal form. The hexadecimal form begins with the characters '0x'. The keys have a length depending on the WEP method:
| Method | ASCII | HEX |
|---|---|---|
| WEP 64 | 5 characters Example: 'aR45Z' | 10 characters Example: '0x0A5C1B6D8E' |
| WEP 128 | 13 characters | 26 characters |
| WEP 152 | 16 characters | 32 characters |
The ASCII character set includes the characters '0' to'9', 'a' to 'z', 'A' to 'Z' and the following special characters: ! ” # $ % & ´ () * + , - ./ : ; < = > ? @ [ \ ] ^ _ ‘ { | } ~
The HEX form uses the numbers '0' to '9' and the letters 'A' to 'F' to display each character as a character pair, which is why twice the number of characters is required to display a HEX key.
Select the length and the format (ASCII or HEX) of the key depending on the best option available in the wireless network cards that register with your WLAN. If the encryption in an access point is set to WEP 152, some clients may not be able to log into the WLAN as their hardware does not support the key length.