Irex technical support is not helping at all. I can't connect to my wireless network (it's completely unsecured). Is there a way to try to bring up the wireless from the command line so I can get some more information about what's going wrong?

You will have to provide a bit more information.

Are you using dhcp? If not, then you will have a problem, because as far as i know, static ips only work with wired connections.

Yes, it's dhcp.*

Does your DHCP server have IPs left to hand out? Often that is the problem. If so, check which IP your eReader has gotten.

What kind of wireless network are you using? a/b/g ? Whats the AP you are using?

Does wired ethernet work?

1a) If so, please let irex install the shell execute patch on your machine.
You can do this here: http://www.irextechnologies.com/node/45
1b) Update your iLiad using the wired connection.

2) Make sure you configured your iLiad with all the supposed credentials for your wireless connection.

3) Download the attached script "wireless-scan.sh", unzip it and put it on your iLiad.
4) Unplug your iLiad from the Ethernet!
5) Open this script on the iLiad. It will write a file named "wireless-out.txt" in your documents folder.
6) Copy this file to your PC/Mac
7a) (IMPORTANT) Change the encryption-key in the resulting file (a hexadecimal number like 0BDECAF1327DEADBEEF...) to something like "YouDontWantToKnow". If there is a line containing something like 00.16.7C.xx.xx.xx change the last numbers, too.
Maybe change the network name, too, if you are really paranoid :-)
7b) Post this file in this discussion.

Thank you for observing all safety precautions.
#!chris

Here's the output. WirelessGuest is the one I'm trying to connect to.
Wed Dec 6 19:33:50 UTC 2006
Using /lib/modules/2.4.19-rmk7-pxa2-irex1/kernel/drivers/pcmcia/cfio.o
Using /lib/modules/2.4.19-rmk7-pxa2-irex1/kernel/drivers/pcmcia/cf8385.o
Network: "Wireless" wpa 0/10
Network: "WirelessGuest" free 0/10
Network: "Wireless" wpa 0/10
Network: "WirelessGuest" free 0/10
Network: "Wireless" wpa 0/10
Network: "WirelessGuest" free 0/10
wlan0 deepsleep:setting to on
-- Interface wlan0 down
-- The specified ESSID is not found
Using /lib/modules/2.4.19-rmk7-pxa2-irex1/kernel/drivers/pcmcia/cfio.o
Using /lib/modules/2.4.19-rmk7-pxa2-irex1/kernel/drivers/pcmcia/cf8385.o
wlan0 deepsleep:setting to on
-- Interface wlan0 down
-- The specified ESSID is not found
Using /lib/modules/2.4.19-rmk7-pxa2-irex1/kernel/drivers/pcmcia/cfio.o
Using /lib/modules/2.4.19-rmk7-pxa2-irex1/kernel/drivers/pcmcia/cf8385.o
wlan0 deepsleep:setting to on
-- Interface wlan0 down
-- The specified ESSID is not found

Are you absolutely sure that you entered the right station ID? Because it seems as if the iLiad can't find it.

Try entering it again, better try scanning for it. Upper/lower-case matters.

Yes, I'm sure. I've created the profile multiple times, always by scanning. For example, I just tried it again. I entered a name, chose wireless, then clicked search.
Wireless and WirelessGuest each show up three times. If I click on any of these and then press Test it searches and says unsuccessful.

Yes, I'm sure.
Okay. Let's try connecting to the network by hand.
Same procedure as last time, the attached file just tries to connect to a network named WirelessGuest without encryption.

Please post the result.
If it still does not work, try renaming the network to "GuestWireless".

I had similar problems.

The symptom was that Iliad scanned and saw my network, but failed to connect.

It turns out that my my open wireless network was MAC-restricted for security reasons (so only a known set of devices could associate), and I mistakenly entered the MAC address on the back of my Iliad device. (On my Iliad, that is the Ethernet, not the wireless MAC address.)

(I found out my Iliad wireless MAC address by temporarily un-restricting my wireless network, then checking the router to see what MAC address was associating with the router, then adding that to my allowed list.)

That may not be your problem, but there is my 2c.

Edit: I just realized that this post is a year old. And my device just updated itself over its new wireless connection and updated itself and now displays the wireless MAC in software. But maybe this will still be useful to someone... ;)