pzxkys
asked on
wireless network connection dropping
My wireless network connection seems to drop at random. Sometimes it runs connected for 12 hours straight. Other times runs 5 minutes and drops me. When it fails my laptop network card hangs and I have to reboot to re-establish connection. Why? The router is a 2wire model 3800 hgv-b gateway (at&t provided) with current software 5.29.105.76. My laptop network card is an intel pro/wireless model 3945abg with driver version 11.1.1.11 from April 2007. Thanks!
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
membership
This solution is only available to members.
To access this solution, you must be a member of Experts Exchange.
SOLUTION
membership
This solution is only available to members.
To access this solution, you must be a member of Experts Exchange.
think that has something got to do with power saving? maybe turn the power saving feature off? most of the time for me i don't really have to turn off the laptop to get the wireless running again just switch it out of standby mode or suspend mode.
ASKER
I actually disabled the power saving feature right before I submitted this question. Not really convinced that is the issue though since it seemed so random and it didn't happen when I was using my older netgear b router. Also, not sure how to switch the card out of standby or suspend mode without reboot. Better just to have it disabled I guess. Why would it go into standby mode when I'm right in the middle of actively using it? Also, I'll try switching to g only (instead of b/g) this evening if I can figure out how to do that. Thanks for your replies and suggestions. I'll get back to you with the results of changes.
SOLUTION
membership
This solution is only available to members.
To access this solution, you must be a member of Experts Exchange.
SOLUTION
membership
This solution is only available to members.
To access this solution, you must be a member of Experts Exchange.
SOLUTION
membership
This solution is only available to members.
To access this solution, you must be a member of Experts Exchange.
ASKER
Lots of excellent questions and suggestions! Let's see: yes, win xp with sp2; yes, encryption enabled; yes, a 2nd computer in the home with a wireless connection occasionaly drops; I disabled power management on the wireless card (didn't see "on-highest" option ... but wasn't looking for it when I did it a couple days ago).
Ran without issue last night for a couple hours. Have done that before though so I don't know if it's actually fixed.
Good suggestion to contact u-verse tech support :-). It's on my to-do list. Had just been trying to fix it without them ... so I could learn something but if it keeps up I'll probably cave :-).
Ran without issue last night for a couple hours. Have done that before though so I don't know if it's actually fixed.
Good suggestion to contact u-verse tech support :-). It's on my to-do list. Had just been trying to fix it without them ... so I could learn something but if it keeps up I'll probably cave :-).
well usually the IP address to access the router is either 192.168.1.254
or try http://gateway.2wire.net
in there you can change the wireless information disable the encryption for testing ... change the network name(also known as SSID) for testing ... and boost wireless and power--- (do not use ch 1 or 11 they are limited in strength by the FCC so it only goes to a power level of 4 and not 10 like the other ch's )
or try http://gateway.2wire.net
in there you can change the wireless information disable the encryption for testing ... change the network name(also known as SSID) for testing ... and boost wireless and power--- (do not use ch 1 or 11 they are limited in strength by the FCC so it only goes to a power level of 4 and not 10 like the other ch's )
ASKER
Thanks crashelite. I know how to login to the router. Didn't know I could boost wireless and power there. Not sure I need to since my signal reception continues to show strong even when I'm disconnected :-). I did go ahead and upgrade the wireless driver on my laptop yesterday and I set my the wireless setting on the laptop to G only. Am actually using the wireless connection this morning and haven't had any dropped connection. I've logged all the changes I've made and will keep my fingers crossed now. If the problem pops up again I'll try disabling encryption temporarily as a test and boost power. If all else fails I'll go to AT&T tech support. Thanks to all who provided suggestions on this issue and I'll be very pleased to hear any other thoughts on the matter. Meanwhile I'll go ahead and award the points. Seems like the only fair thing to do is to distribute the points evenly. I really appreciate your help!
ASKER
thanks again for your help! Any other suggestions are welcome :-).
I'm glad that everything seems to be working for you!