Wireless woes - tips

I am sure this has been nearly beat to death, but I wanted to share my experiences.
I have a stock 2.0 Ghz White MB and a Linksys WRT54G wireless router. I had been using one of the linux firmwares and noticed a tad of an erratic wireless connection on my mb (please note, my XP work laptop never, ever lost connection). So a friend recommended the DD-WRT firmware. I tried this and my wireless connection on my mb went to crap. I mean it was bad.
So I went back to the stock linksys firmware:
Firmware Date: 5/25/2006
Firmware Release Version: 4.30.5 (.zip file)
Firmware File Size: 2.76 MB
and presto, my mb has not lost connection yet and even automatically reconnects to my network after waking from sleep.
Just a tip, in case you missed it posted before.

Thanks for the post, but it's what I keep telling you, specific firmware updates/revisions are often necessary for proper access/connection with many new Intel Macs.
Thanks for sharing your experience.

Similar Messages

Wireless Woes

Many months back I got a Netgear WGR614 V6 wireless router. For a while it did the job but I noticed as soon as I left the room with the router in, the signal would degrade. By the time I got to the garden area (2 rooms away) and signal was dead. After much problems with it I decided to buy a new Linksys WRT160N £50 I installed it perfectly, pretty easy and connected my computer, xbox 360 and connected my iphone and laptop via wireless. Before I connected my upstairs computer via cable, I had the router downstairs connected to the laptop via cable so I could install it quicker. Once done, I popped outside the house and down the end of the garden and tested the iphone. Full strength!
I then connected my upstairs computer and connected the laptop to wireless. About 20 minutes later I went to the french windows, which is about 2 rooms away from the router and was horrified to discover my iphone had no signal. Thats a good 6 meters less than I previously tested at the end of the garden. To eliminate my iphone I brought out the laptop to the room as well, signal strength was poor at best and no connection at worst. Now Im really stunned. The exact same signal problems are happening with this brand new router. Im dumbstruck as to what it could be causing this problem. But so far, apart from the new look, I may as well have set fire to £50. I did some testing.
Unplugging all cables and just plugging in the routers (both of them) in various places around the home. The problems seemed to be the same. Poor signal. But oddly, it seemed that things got worse as soon as I plugged in my upstairs computer via Ethernet cable. I now have 2 routers and none can give me a strong signal, even though I only bought this Linksys router because the box stated it had superior signal strength. So theres either something in this house blocking the signals or I have bought 2 faulty routers. Which I don't believe.
Ive tried resetting the Linksys to factory settings and scanned again. I do get a signal at the end of the garden but its intermittent and when I connect my upstairs pc, thwe signal strength seems to die. Please I hope someone can shed some light, Im pulling what little hair I got left out!
Finally, when I got the router, the firmware was 1.54 or something, dated Dec 2007. On the linksys site I found version 1.02 but that date was 1/8/08 so I assumed it was better and updated. Now the router states the firmware version 1.02 was made Nov 2007! so I've actually downgraded?
Message Edited by Triaxial on 08-01-2008 04:07 AM

It seems that some homes have wireless "dead zones" in them. In some cases, this can occur in a room that is closer to the router than other rooms where wireless works. Most likely this has something to do either with the construction of your home, or else it is from wireless interference, from something near the room, or perhaps from your neighbor's wireless signals.
In some cases, people have simply decided to run a wire through the house, either for a direct ethernet port connection, or to add a second transmitter (a WAP, ie wireless access point).
Also note that wireless n will only give you more range if you have a wireless n adapter in your computer. If you computer (or iPhone) is using wireless g, your router must use wireless g to communicate with it, so you get wireless g range.
Before you run an ethernet cable through your home, or add a second transmitter, try the following tips to "tune up" your wireless network. In some cases, the tips below will be enough to get things working.
There are many causes for poor wireless connections, and many solutions:
First of all, give your network a unique SSID. Do not use "linksys". If you are using "linksys" you may be trying to connect to your neighbor's router. Also set "SSID Broadcast" to "enabled". This will help your computer find and lock on to your router's signal.
If you are getting poor range when using a wireless n adapter in your computer, then, in the router, make sure the "Radio Band" is set to "Wide".
If all your devices are wireless g, set the router to "Wireless g only".
Poor wireless connections are often caused by radio interference from other 2.4 GHz devices. This includes wireless phones, wireless baby monitors, microwave ovens, wireless mice and keyboards, wireless speakers, and your neighbor's wireless network. In rare cases, Bluetooth devices can interfere. Even some 5+ GHz phones also use the 2.4 Ghz band. Unplug these devices, and see if that corrects your problem.
In your router, try a different channel. There are 11 channels in the 2.4 GHz band. (13 channels in most of Europe). Usually channel 1, 6, or 11 works best. (or 13 in Europe). Check out your neighbors, and see what channel they are using. Because the channels overlap one another, try to stay at least +5 or -5 channels from your strongest neighbors. For example, if you have a strong neighbor on channel 9, try any channel 1 through 4. If you are using a wireless n adapter in your computer, and you need more range, make sure your standard and wide bands are at least 2 channels apart. For example try standard band on channel 11, and wide band channel 9.
Also, try to locate the router about 4 to 6 feet above the floor, in an open area. Do not locate it behind your monitor or near other computer equipment or speakers. The antenna (if visible) should be vertical.
Also, in the computer, go to your wireless software, and go to "Preferred Networks" (sometimes called "Profiles" ). There are probably a few networks listed. Delete any network named "linksys". Also delete any network that you do not recognize, or that you no longer use. If your current network is not listed, enter its info (SSID, encryption (if any), and key (if any) ). Then select your current network and make it your default network, and set it to automatic login. You may need to go to "settings" to do this, or you may need to right click on your network and select "Properties" or "settings".
If the above does not fix your problem, download and install the latest driver(s) for your wireless card(s), including the latest iPhone wireless driver, if available.
Some users have reported improved wireless performance by switching to WPA encryption.
If you continue to have problems, try the following:
For wireless n routers, try setting the "n Transmission Rate" to 162 Mbps, and the (wireless g) "Transmission Rate" to 54 Mbps.
If you still have trouble, download and install the latest firmware for your router. After a firmware upgrade, you must reset the router to factory defaults, then setup the router again from scratch. If you saved a router configuration file, DO NOT use it.
Hope this helps.

Lenovo x220 wireless woes.

Hi,
The x220 has Debian 7 Stable (Wheezy). The wireless works for a while then starts to fade out and to the point where it loses connection and then comes back, then the cycle repeats. This happens at home and work. I was thinking of replacing the wireless nic, but I thought maybe the firmware needs to be upgraded so I want to try this first. I could not find the drivers/firmware for this though. Can someone please help me to find drivers/firmware, please? Also if you could offer up other suggestions to try, I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank you.
Erik

Hello Justin,
that´s sad.
Please tell us:
What system(s) appear to be affected? Models, or model types?
What OS ?
What applications (TVTs) if applicable
Summary of the observed conditions - "what happens, when?"
GFX Driver versions, are also important.
Follow @LenovoForums on Twitter! Try the forum search, before first posting: Forum Search Option
Please insert your type, model (not S/N) number and used OS in your posts.
I´m a volunteer here using New X1 Carbon, ThinkPad Yoga, Yoga 11s, Yoga 13, T430s,T510, X220t, IdeaCentre B540.
TIP: If your computer runs satisfactorily now, it may not be necessary to update the system.
English Community Deutsche Community Comunidad en Español

For all, (or at least some), with wireless woes, just check..........

Had a wireless drop today. For a good few minutes too. Very unusual for of late. Anyway, was using my browser and it took a while for the page to load, the wait lengthened an then; 'You are not connected to the internet'.
I clicked the Airport menu bar icon and it said my network was there. I opened Airport Utility and sure enough the AEBS was there. Every now and then I do a hard reset on my equipment any way so thought I'd try one then, just before I did though I noticed that my router, (DG834), had only two of its usual three lights up. The power light and the LAN port light. The internet light was flashing orange which according to the manual means 'ADSL Training'. Airport appeared normal.
My point is, all those times I assumed Airport was the problem. But maybe it is the router. I assume most people who run wireless networks have the router hidden away and so can't see what it's doing.
Before you flame me, there will be some people who do have genuine Airport problems and this post is not directed at them.
Just next time you have a signal drop check the router status too, and if by the time you get to it everything is normal, check the router logs to make sure it has always had a connection.

OK 6 weeks into this I now have a new tuner card and some updaters drivers. Computer stayed two weeks at the shop! It seemed to work when the techie booted it up in front of me.
Now the worst feeling of all. I get home, boot up and the Raid controller on my MSI 655 board starting denying access to arrays! can't do anything!
I read the MSI 655 forum boards asking for solutions and ALL i read is about super dissatisfied customers having to deal with RMA issues because this is a junk mobo!
WOW! You need help. You turn to your manufacturer. You read boards hoping for solutions and time after time people dish the 655 and I don't see techies admit or much less come to the rescue of owners.
I bought a mobo and two cards becAuse of these boards and now I can only regret that decison.
I guess the marketing department is doing a much better job than the problem solving department at MSI
MSI 655 MAX FISR HT Ready (MS-6730) :0
P4 2.53
1Gb MEM PC3200
MSI 4200-VTD8X (MS-8894)
MSI TV @nywhere 8o
2* SEAGATE 80Gb 7200 8mb buff. SATA drives raid 0
NEO 35 removable IDE 40 Gb drive MP3 player
1 40 Gb IBM deskstar IDE drive
HP DVD writer 200i
Matrix Orbital MX221 USB
Dual Voltage 4port Baybus
ANTEC TRUE BLUE 480w PSU
XP Pro Version 5.1 (build2600.xpsp2.021108-1929:Service Pack 1)[/FONT] [/COLOR ]
DCW

Laserjet P1102w & Mac Wireless Woes (Have tried everything!)

Feels like I have tried everything, so I turn to here.
Installing (reinstalling, actually) a P1102w on a Macbook running Leopard. I had this printer working beautifully a year and a half ago, no problems whatever. Changed the network name, everything fell apart. I went away for a few months and have come back to a new ISP and router/modem and am now trying to set it up on the network.
Here is everything I have done so you have a sense of how this is failing me:
Installed drivers from the cd
Plugged in the printer and configured the HTML Config and the Wireless settings in the HTML Config exactly as every thread and guide on this website tells me to do. It finds my network, it takes the WPA key and says that everything is fine.
Tried accessing it via "Bonjour" on Safari--it doesn't show up.
Tried powercycling everything, doesn't work.
Tried resetting the HTML config settings to factory default on the printer numerous times, nothing happens.
Tried setting my own IP address for the printer within the IP Range of the router/modem and connecting to it that way--no luck. Whenever I add the printer connected that way it says the sheets have printed within the print queue but nothing happens to the printer.
Have managed to connect to the printer under the AirPort drop down, the ad-hoc, but that still doesn't do anything.
The printer when plugged in via USB works perfectly. When (as directed) I delete the USB printer from my Print/Fax list, unplug the USB Cable and attempt to re-add the wireless printer (As I did a year and a half ago) nothing shows up in that list.
It used to show up as the printer name + Bonjour under "Kind", it doesn't any longer. Bonjour is turned on in HTML Config.
I have looked at the youtube videos and searched these forums and others with zero luck.
I called Tech Support but unforunately they are now charing you to fix problems (I'll leave my complaints on that for another thread...ha). I am sure $25 is worth it, but when you're a student and $25 is about half of your weekly food budget, it's hard to justify tech support.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Also, this sounds totally stupid, but stay with me.
I just went into the Add Printer window with the USB unplugged and, as usual, there is nothing there.
I clicked to "FAX" and then back to "DEFAULT".
When I clicked back to "DEFAULT" for a milisecond the printer name and "BONJOUR" flickered and was gone. It happens each time that I switch back to "DEFAULT". I can see it for barely a moment and it is gone.
The wireless light on the printer is also flickering pretty constantly.
Perhaps this information will help...

[Solved] Wireless woes, odd problems.

Hey all. Working on my first install of arch. Had to go with packages from the CD for reasons that will become clear below.
During the install I was able to bring up the wireless without much trouble. However, actually using it proves to be a problem. It's *extremely* slow - sometimes I can ping google (with 2000+ ms response times, always), sometimes I can't. Downloading packages is out of the question.
So, with the installed system, same thing. I can only get the wireless working by stopping the network daemon from running during boot (!network in rc) and doing it all manually. Bringing up the interface (wlan0), setting the essid, dhcpcd, etc. This usually works, sometimes it doesn't and I need to reboot completely and start over. Same thing as during install - incredibly slow. Useless for all practical purposes.
Signal is good. No security for now. I've tried editing the dhcpcd conf to read nameservers from resolv instead of getting them from dhcp - same thing. FWIW I've got multiple connections in the same room that work just fine (7/OSX).
It's almost like it's having trouble resolving, but even once it finally does the speed is in the realm of .3-.6k/sec.
Thoughts?
Edit: Atheros, using ath5k, auto-detected and auto-loaded. Tried ath9k by manually removing 5k and loading it, no dice. Have not tried ath_pci as it is not installed. I may try to pull it off the CD somehow and load it up. It's a 5001X+ / AR5213A chip.
Edit 2: Much google-fu. Not much help. I've got everything back to default - dhcpcd fails on boot - the following will bring it up;
ifconfig wlan0 up
iwconfig wlan0 essid myssidhere
dhcpcd wlan0
Tried manually setting the rate per the kernel.org ath5k help page. No change in speed, still getting ping responses in the 2000ms range. So while I do have connectivity it's still worthless. As an aside, if I add the correct lines to my rc.conf for the network to pull dhcp from my router/correct ssid automatically, it still fails. Needs manual doing.
Edit 3: While attempting to update some select packages, it seems that downloading most anything over a few hundred kb fails. I'm unsure if it's killing my connection or if pacman is deciding to try another mirror or what. The speeds fluctuate wildly, sometimes around 35k/sec, but always end up very very low, quickly, up for a sec, down down down, then failure. Unfortunately I do not have the ability to have a wired connection =/
Last edited by entity7 (2010-05-04 16:02:09)

Problem solved. I'm posting this as a humbling reminder to not forget your basic troubleshooting steps. I reached back and moved the antenna 1/4 inch and went from crap to full connection instantly - mind that the signal quality did NOT change, just the speed. This is also quite strange considering that 2 other OS installs on that PC have/had a functioning connection.
Anyway, thanks Sin and thunder!

Linksys Wireless Woes

Moved my PC to another room which was out of range of my existing (2 year old) wireless network. Added a WMP300N due to it's extended range and planning on upgrading my wireless network to "N" in the future anyway.
The future came sooner than expected (1 1/2 weeks). Had problems with new card so I tried to solve by adding a WRT350N router and a WPC300N for the Laptop. Still cannot get the WMP300N to work. Signal is good but speed is only 1mbps and keeps trying to acquire an IP. Any suggestions how to improve connection?
(Edited post for guideline compliance. Thanks!)
Message Edited by JOHNDOE_06 on 12-28-2007 08:37 AM

try changing the wireless settings on the router
SSID - any unique name
radio band - wide
wide channel - 9
standard channel - 11
beacon interval - 50
fragmentation threshold - 2306
RTS threshold - 2307
N -Transmission rate - Max speed
Also , the firmware of the router should be latest..

More Wireless Woes [solved]

There's a lot on these fora about wireless, but I haven't been able to figure this out. So forgive me if someone else has solved this problem elsewhere, but I didn't recognize it when I saw it, I guess.
I have a Broadcom BCM4306 wireless adapter. I followed the instructions here, http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Wireless , for the bcm43xx module, which I've added to /etc/rc.conf, and it shows up in lsmod. Then, I set up rc.conf as follows:
lo="lo 127.0.0.1"
eth1="dhcp"
eth0="dhcp"
wlan_eth0="eth0 essid [networkid] key [likei'mgoingtotypeithere]"
WLAN_INTERFACES=(eth0)
INTERFACES=(lo eth0 eth1)
The wireless adapter shows up as eth0 because the rc.conf module list runs before udev gets the wired NIC going, so wireless is always eth0.
Unfortunately, nothing has worked yet. Most of the time, iwconfig doesn't show an essid. It usually picks up the wireless key, and sometimes shows the right essid if I give it the key first (by iwconfig eth0 key xxxxx then iwconfig eth0 essid xxxxxx). Here is a typical iwconfig output:
eth0 IEEE 802.11b/g ESSID:"" Nickname:"Broadcom 4306"
Mode:Managed Frequency=2.437 GHz Access Point: Invalid
Bit Rate=1 Mb/s Tx-Power=15 dBm
RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
Encryption key:xxxx-xxxx-xx Security mode:open
Link Quality:0 Signal level:0 Noise level:0
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:0 Invalid misc:0 Missed beacon:0
Doing iwconfig eth0 power on gives this error:
Error for wireless request "Set Power Management" (8B2D) :
GET failed on device eth0 ; Operation not supported.
ifconfig shows eth0 having a valid MAC address (00:0D:0B:CF:EB:0F), which I guess is relevant.
This is my first adventure in the land of Linux wireless. Can anyone help me out?
Thanks,
John

I'm using a Dell Inspiron 6400 laptop with an internal Dell wlan mini pci card (Truemobile 1390) that uses the Broadcom 4311 chipset. I've tried to get this card working in half a dozen different Linux distros with the native Linux driver bcm43xx that's provided as a kernel module plus the firmware cutter software bcm43xx-fwcutter. I've had no luck with this. However, I've had good luck using a Windows driver running via ndiswrapper. You may want to try that route. For me it works well for 128-bit WEP encryption. I haven't tried WPA encryption as yet; it may work for that too.
Here's what you'd have to do.
1. Connect your machine to WAN through the wired ethernet interface that almost certainly will be supported by Arch.
2. Get the Windows driver for your wireless card, e.g. from the support CD that came with your card (it would be in the WinXP directory) or from the web if you don't have the CD. To find it on the web, search http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net/medi … x.php/List for BCM4306 or for the pciid of your card, or go to the card manufacturer's website. The Windows driver consists of two files with extensions .inf and .sys. Perhaps the widely available standard driver bcmwl5.inf & bcmwl5.sys that I use for the BCM4311 would be appropriate for your card. Put the driver folder on your Desktop.
3. Install ndiswrapper-1.26-1 and ndiswrapper-utils-1.26-1 by running
# pacman -Sy ndiswrapper
4. Bring down the wired ethernet interface eth0:
# ifconfig eth0 down
5. Navigate to the folder on your Desktop that holds the Windows driver files and run
# ndiswrapper -i bcmwl5.inf (or whatever the name is of the .inf driver file)
6. To check whether the driver has been installed (it should be in /etc/ndiswrapper/bcmwl5, some two dozen files)
# ndiswrapper -l
If all is well, this should say: "driver installed; hardware present"
7. To insert the ndiswrapper kernel module run
# modprobe ndiswrapper
The LED for your card should come on.
8. To check whether the kernel module is running run
# lsmod | grep ndiswrapper
9. To bring up the wireless interface wlan0 run
# iwconfig wlan0 essid name_of_your_wireless_access_point channel number_of_your_channel
key your_WEP_key_in_hexadecimal open
10. To get an IP address via DHCP run
# dhcpcd wlan0
11. To set up a route to the internet gateway run
# route add default gw 192.168.0.1 (substitute you gateway's IP address here)
12. To check the connection run
# ifconfig (do you have an IP address?)
# iwconfig (does everything look all right?)
# ping google.com (can you connect to Google?)
You should have a connection now.
To make this setup permanent and initialize the wireless interface on bootup, edit the following two files.
/etc/conf.d/wireless
wlan_wlan0="wlan0 essid name_of_your_wireless_access_point channel number_of_your_channel
key your_WEP_key_in_hexadecimal open"
WLAN_INTERFACES=(wlan0)
/etc/rc.conf
MODULES=(ndiswrapper)
HOSTNAME="your_hostname"
lo="lo 127.0.0.1"
wlan0="dhcp"
INTERFACES=(lo wlan0)
gateway="default gw 192.168.0.1" (substitute you gateway's IP address here)
ROUTES=(gateway)
Then run # /etc/rc.d/network restart or reboot. You should be all set. If you use the wired interface too (which should be eth0), you can add that later.
Robert

Boosting dorm wireless range tips

Hey, I'm going to be honest and say that I'm a newb to wireless networking, but I just arrived at my tech school in the Air Force, and am trying to get it set up. Basicly, how it works is there's 3 wings to my dorm building. Only about the first 2 rooms in each wing can get interent access well. The rest of them get maybe one bar, and can maybe connect 1/20 times for less than 5 minuites ( which is my case, with just a very stock, plain dell wireless network card with no antennae ). What i'm wondering, is if you think this signal is boostable. It's from a internet provider's network hub, so i'm not even sure if i'll be able to set it up without their information or whatever. Anyways, any information would be helpful, and an estimate on what model i may need ( the access point is ~200 feet away or so ).

I agree with saber_tooth. The ideal solution to your problem is to have your dorm's wireless system set up properly, and that would require adding WAPs (wireless access points), which would need to be wired to the central wireless router. However, if the wireless system belongs to the school, or to the ISP, you may have trouble getting their cooperation to do this.
Another option is to try to improve your reception and transmission. You could use a wireless g bridge (WET54G) and put a high gain antena (HGA7S) on it. This would give you a wired port that you could connect to the ethernet card in your computer. And if you add a switch, you could share the wireless connection with your roommate. But I am uncertain if this setup could really do 200 feet.
The ideal type of antena for this problem is a directional antena. Diriectional antenas focus your transmissions and reception in one direction, thereby optimizing the distance you can achieve with a given amount of transmitting power. I tried to locate one that was compatible with the WET54G, but I could not find one.
I would also suggest that you talk with your friends at the dorm. My guess is that somebody else who lives there has already solved this problem.
Please tell us the make and model of the wireless router that the dorm is using.
Message Edited by toomanydonuts on 04-21-200712:55 AM

Pixma 640 wireless woes

Almost everytime I attempt to use the Pixma 640 it does not respond to the commands from the pc at all. I am connected wirelessly and the router is about 1 foot from the printer but in a different wood cabinet in my desk. I have to unplug the printer, count to 10, and then plug it in again. It now works fine for an hour or so before it goes on another "walkabout".
Has anyone seen & solved this irritating issue?

Hi peteandjudy!
To have a better understanding of your issue, please let everyone know what operating system you are connecting the printer to. That way, community will be able to assist you with suggestions appropriate for your product.
Thanks!

HomeHub 2 wireless woes

I am on the Black HomeHub 2 with Vision (only for the sports) and have been since July/August. I am Mac based.
I've had wireless connection issues since I got it and so after a week of so of having it I plugged a spare Airport Express into an ethernet port and used that as my router instead.
However, about 2 weeks ago I moved the Airport Express into another room for use with Airtunes (I have one in every room now) so I am once again using my HH for my wireless connection so I need to figure out how to sort out my wireless problems.
My problems are the following;
Wireless internet access through any device will after about 30 minutes or so from first access eventually appear as 'not connected to the internet' despite the wireless signal being full or close to full.
Airtunes will after about 10 minutes become jerky to the point where maybe 1 second of a track is played every minute. The airtunes controller on my iPhone will also become de-synced, with the playhead being in the wrong position for the track.
If anyone tries to access (even just loading up the access page) the BTFON or OpenZone wireless network on my HH then all wireless internet access will show as 'not connected to the internet'.
Working solutions
Resetting the router works, until the connection drops again
Changing the channel works, until it drops (I've used all available channels, only 2 other networks show up when I search for other networks, and they are both on channel 7)
Disabling wireless on the HH and using an AirPort Express works perfectly
Obviously the solutions 1 and 2 are non starters for a permanent fix, and solution number 3 is not really a solution in my book because I shouldn't have to buy new equipment just to make BTs product work (unless they are willing to pay for the kit).
I'm posting on here in the hope that someone can help out.

I've done what you have. Turned security down to WEP. Used inSSIDer. Changed channel. Swiitched to b/g. Reinstalled Windows. Reset my Windows Phone. Restored my PS3.
I never had any WLAN issues until a few weeks ago. There has been a firmware update.
I ordered a new HH2 last week. But still get the same problem.
I believe a router should provide weeks if not months of uptime. That is why after some research I am about to buy the Billion BIPAC 7800N router.
If I buy the router I will request a couple of quid discount off my bill each month. And if the billiion doesn't work with BT vision, then sobeit. I'm looking at a Toshiba Freeview HD HDD recorder anyway.
If I move somewhere with Virgin cable, I can also use the router as a cable modem. And if BT ever upgrade Welwyn Garden City to FTTC then it supports VDSL2 as well. And 300mbps wireless and 1000mbps wired is enough for a while yet.

WTR54G Wireless/Wireless Woes

I've been having problems with my WTR54G when I am connected wireless in a hotel. It's being used as a wireless client to the hotel network with two laptops connecting wirelessly through the WTR54G. Everything works great and seamlessly (both machines have access to the Internet) with one huge problematic exception ...
The two laptops cannot see or ping each other. No Firewall software is configured. One machine is MacBook and the other is a Windows XP machine. On a wired network, they can ping each other without any issue.
By symptoms, you would expect that AP Isolation is enabled, but it is not. It's clearly disabled.
I'd like to figure out a way to make this work. Is there something that I am missing?

devildance wrote:
Under the advance wireless settings,reduce the beacon interval to 50,reduce the RTS and Fragmentation by 40 each and check if this works for you.
No effect, but I did experiment by switching the Internet connection to a wired type. Both wireless laptops can now see each other as a result. Unfortunately, I now have no Internet access when I use this mode.
I fear that the AP Isolation when using the wireless Internet may be an undocumented "feature". A few other clues such as the inability to change the wireless channel of the WTR54G, when operating with a wireless Internet connection, seem to suggest some real limitations of this device. AP Isolation may come along for the ride as that's the only way they can get it to work with a single radio.
Are my observations correct? Is this something that is simply unsupported?
Does anyone have a workaround?

Broadcom Wireless Woes

I think I have all relevant information in the link below, please let me know if there's anything you can think of, or some other useful information I should display. I have got this card working on arch/other distros before, but it's a struggle every time. Thanks
http://pastebin.com/SrghpUip

Thanks for the replies everyone.
I switched to the b43 driver, at the advice of Trilby. Now, I have been able to see wireless networks, but intermittently. I will run a scan with iwlist, or networkmanager, and will see networks, but running that same scan 2 minutes later and no dice. Not sure of the cause of the intermittent behaviour. I have never had wicd see a network, but I dont know if thats something with my card and wicd, or just a biproduct of the intermittent results.
Also, http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Dri … _b43legacy lists my card as being only partially supported, which is why I went with broadcom-wl initially. I didn't see where I could find what wasn't supported with this card.
Here are another round of scans/logs/information. Appreciate any further advice
pacman -Q | grep b43
b43-firmware 5.100.138-2
b43-fwcutter 018-1
lspci -vnn
04:02.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM4321 802.11b/g/n [14e4:4329] (rev 01)
Subsystem: Netgear WN311B RangeMax Next 270 Mbps Wireless PCI Adapter [1385:7d00]
Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 64, IRQ 17
Memory at f7ffc000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]
Kernel driver in use: b43-pci-bridge
Kernel modules: ssb
ip link
1: lo: <LOOPBACK,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 65536 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN mode DEFAULT
link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00
2: enp2s0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc pfifo_fast state UP mode DEFAULT qlen 1000
link/ether e0:cb:4e:b9:05:1e brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
3: wlan0: <NO-CARRIER,BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP> mtu 1500 qdisc mq state DOWN mode DORMANT qlen 1000
link/ether c0:3f:0e:bd:89:df brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
At this point, I saw wlan0 state as being down, so I ran ip link set wlan0 up, which returned back successfully, or at least without an error. However, re running ip link, the adapter state remained down.
iwconfig
lo no wireless extensions.
enp2s0 no wireless extensions.
wlan0 IEEE 802.11bg ESSID:off/any
Mode:Managed Access Point: Not-Associated Tx-Power=27 dBm
Retry long limit:7 RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
Power Management:off
iwlist wlan0 scan
wlan0 Scan completed :
Cell 01 - Address: 20:10:7A:06:FA:AB
Channel:1
Frequency:2.412 GHz (Channel 1)
Quality=41/70 Signal level=-69 dBm
Encryption key:on
ESSID:"Pretty Fly For A Wifi"
... More to that network, as well as other seen networks. Didn't want to post all. Seemed redundant. Running that same command 2 minutes later, no networks found.
dmesg | grep b43
[ 2.668274] b43-phy0: Broadcom 4321 WLAN found (core revision 11)
[ 2.703956] b43-phy0: Found PHY: Analog 5, Type 4 (N), Revision 1
[ 3.297283] b43-phy0: Loading firmware version 666.2 (2011-02-23 01:15:07)
[ 3.384399] b43-phy0 ERROR: Fatal DMA error: 0x00000400, 0x00000000, 0x00000000, 0x00000000, 0x00000000, 0x00000000
[ 3.384403] b43-phy0 ERROR: This device does not support DMA on your system. It will now be switched to PIO.
[ 3.384405] b43-phy0: Controller RESET (DMA error) ...
[ 3.587254] b43-phy0: Loading firmware version 666.2 (2011-02-23 01:15:07)
[ 3.657348] b43-phy0 warning: Forced PIO by use_pio module parameter. This should not be needed and will result in lower performance.
[ 3.674913] b43-phy0: Controller restarted
No idea what the fatal DMA error means, and if I should be concerned by it, or if PIO is ok/good enough..?
Thanks, sorry for information overload, but more is probably better than less. Let me know. All comments appreciated.
On a semi-related note, anyone have recommendations for a wireless-n card that works out of the box? PCI preferred, PCI-e and usb also accepted. Lol.

Xbox Wireless Woes :(

Hi All - This is my first post here so please go easy on me.
After literally months of waiting about for Openreach to attend our property on the right day (you wouldn't believe how difficult that has been but I will spare you the details) I am now the proud owner of a BT Home Hub 3 and BT Infinity and a working connection. We have a lot of devices in the house using the wireless connection and most of them work just fine. The issue I am having is with the 3x Xbox 360s that we have in the house. There are various different issues that I assume are symptomatic of the same issue - any advice would be much appreciated.
The things I have noticed happening are:
When one Xbox is turned on, if you turn another one on the 2nd Xbox very rarely connects to the network
On the 2 new Xbox 360s (latest model with built in WiFi) the network is invisible to them and the only way to connect is by entering the SSID
Today when one of the units was turned on, the connection for all other devices was killed
Intermittent issues relating to the connection dropping
We don't have a huge house, the walls aren't lined with lead, and none of the other devices we have experience any issues like this. Before I go and buy another router to run a seperate network just for the Xbox units has anyone got anything I can try to save me a few £££? I've tried changing the order we turn the units on, I've tried resetting the router, changing the wireless channels etc but it makes no difference at all.
Thanks in advance

Please look at Network connection problems and possible solutions
There are some useful help pages here, for BT Broadband customers only, on my personal website.
BT Broadband customers - help with broadband, WiFi, networking, e-mail and phones.

More wireless woes

Our frustration began with a black MacBook purchased in June of '08 (an older black MacBook running Tiger has no problems). This particular MacBook constantly had connection problems—either weak signal, dropped connections, or very slow. Now we have added a late '08 aluminum MacBook and a similar vintage MacBook Pro to our household. Neither of these will connect to our D-Link wireless router (WPA-Personal encryption). Meanwhile, every other computer in the house—a Dell, '06 MacBook Pro (10.5.6), '07 white MacBook (10.5.7), G4 iBook (10.4.11), and XBox Live—connect flawlessly. These 2 newer computers will not recognize our WPA password or connect (connection times out). If by some slim chance I do get connected, heaven help me if the computer sleeps as this will render any earlier connection null and void. One of the only ways I've been able to get a connection is to go through Network Diagnostics, which, despite the fact that it tells me that it can't connect, will avail me a connection. The wireless problem seems to be getting worse with each newer model. Am I overlooking something obvious? What used to be a no-brainer is now stretching our patience. Macs just connected. Period. That no longer seems to be the case.

Our frustration began with a black MacBook purchased in June of '08 (an older black MacBook running Tiger has no problems). This particular MacBook constantly had connection problems—either weak signal, dropped connections, or very slow. Now we have added a late '08 aluminum MacBook and a similar vintage MacBook Pro to our household. Neither of these will connect to our D-Link wireless router (WPA-Personal encryption). Meanwhile, every other computer in the house—a Dell, '06 MacBook Pro (10.5.6), '07 white MacBook (10.5.7), G4 iBook (10.4.11), and XBox Live—connect flawlessly. These 2 newer computers will not recognize our WPA password or connect (connection times out). If by some slim chance I do get connected, heaven help me if the computer sleeps as this will render any earlier connection null and void. One of the only ways I've been able to get a connection is to go through Network Diagnostics, which, despite the fact that it tells me that it can't connect, will avail me a connection. The wireless problem seems to be getting worse with each newer model. Am I overlooking something obvious? What used to be a no-brainer is now stretching our patience. Macs just connected. Period. That no longer seems to be the case.

Wireless woes - tips

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for