5555 & WLAN

[SassKwatch]

Somebody tell me I haven't totally lost my mind........

On a 5555, if one turns on the WLAN capabilities, we *should* get at least an amber light indicating activation of wireless capabilities....even if we haven't set up a connection for WiFi previously, no?

I haven't played with WiFi in quite some time on this unit, and so thought *maybe* I'm forgetting something.

[buckyg]

Yes, you're right, you should get the amber light saying it's trying to find a signal. This appears to be a common problem. I have it once in a great while. It seems to happen most if I've not used wifi in awhile.

You need to try the "pop the battery trick". Do a backup first, just in case the battery trick does a hard reset. Then shut off the iPAQ, pop out the battery for about 5 seconds, put it back. Then press the reset button to do a soft reset. Now wifi should work.

Good luck,
buckyg

[SassKwatch]

You need to try the "pop the battery trick".
Ahhh..., wish I'd remembered that one. I did a backup, hard reset, then a restore. And darned if the WiFi hasn't started working again. Go figue.

Thanks!

[ctmagnus]

Yes, the "firm-reset" (between a soft-reset and a hard-reset) always does the trick in this case. However, I find that the five second wait is not necessary. Whenever I have this issue I pull the battery and reinsert it right away.

[paulzazzarino]

the general fix pack addresses some issues in for the WLAN
I believe it is dated 11/2003.

[buckyg]

Keep the battery trick/firm-reset in the back of your mind, though. I've got all of the updates and last night, I had to pop the battery out again before wifi worked.

One of these days, hopefully HP will be able to give us a fix for it...

[SassKwatch]

the general fix pack addresses some issues in for the WLAN
I believe it is dated 11/2003.
Oddly enough, it was immediately after installing a WLAN update that I noticed the problem.

That may, or may not, have had anything to do with it. It had been quite a while since I'd used WiFi, so it could well be that the problem may have existed prior to installing the update and I just hadn't noticed.

[buckyg]

I did have to pop the battery immediately after installing the last WLAN update in order to get wifi to turn back on. That was true on both my 5555 and 5455.

You're right, the update may or may not have had anything to do with it. As far as I can tell, it's a random problem. So this could have been your first time. Anyway, I don't know who discovered the battery trick originally, my thanks to them!

[that_kid]

The latest wlan update is dated Jan 7 2004. I'm using and for the most part it works very well, but HP has been screwing with the signal meter again :bangin:. So if you get it installed(there have been some issues with getting it installed but worked first time for me) don't freak out because the signal strength meter only shows 2-3 bars and you're not far from your AP.

[mattbugz]

Here's a general observation I have found with my 5555 and using 802.11b. I notice signal strength is pretty weak on the unit. I use Cirond PocketWiNc to measure signal strength, and I noticed my connection would intermittently drop when signal strength is approximately 50%.

If I am using my iPAQ for a period of about 10 minutes, I noticed it will lose WiFi connectivity 3 or 4 times. Performing a similar test with the Axim and being the same distance away from the access point, I see no loss in connectivity.

I used an Orinoco Silver PCMCIA along with my previous 3835, so perhaps my standards are a bit too lofty. Has anyone else noticed this about their 55xx using WiFi?? :evil:

Thanks!

[ctmagnus]

I do get dropouts, but not as often as you.

I wonder if it may have something to do with the number of APs in the vicinity?

[mattbugz]

I do get dropouts, but not as often as you.

I wonder if it may have something to do with the number of APs in the vicinity?

I've tried it at home (1 AP) and work (Several) with the same result. I'm wondering if I have a faulty unit? Before I conclude that, I need to try different access point vendors.

I attempted setting up an AP 15ft away and ran variable sized pings. I would lose connectivity intermittently....highly frustrating!

[ctmagnus]

fwiw, I have two Linksys APs here, a BEFW11S4 v1 and a WAP11 v1.1. Both are properly secured except the WAP11 doesn't have WEP set on it. I use the BEFW11S4 ~95% of the time I connect via WiFi.

One thing I've noticed lately is the WiFi LED on the iPaq will turn amber for a while and then back to green, occasionaly. In the past it would stay amber until I turn the WiFi off and back on.

[mattbugz]

One thing I've noticed lately is the WiFi LED on the iPaq will turn amber for a while and then back to green, occasionaly. In the past it would stay amber until I turn the WiFi off and back on.

ctmagnus,
This is exactly what I'm experiencing! If your indicator turns Orange, then you are momentarily losing synchronization with your Access Point. I'm using Cirond PocketWiNc to monitor this and you actually lose IP connectivity as well! Your iPAQ has to perform a new DHCP request with the AP. But for me, this is occurring more than occasionally.

Hmm....maybe I should try statically assigning my IP addresses to see if that alleviates it. :)

[mattbugz]

I'm wondering if someone knows if there is a power save feature for the WiFi that can be disabled?

[ctmagnus]

Not on the 5550 series.

[Server]

I do get dropouts, but not as often as you.

I wonder if it may have something to do with the number of APs in the vicinity?

I've tried it at home (1 AP) and work (Several) with the same result. I'm wondering if I have a faulty unit? Before I conclude that, I need to try different access point vendors.

I attempted setting up an AP 15ft away and ran variable sized pings. I would lose connectivity intermittently....highly frustrating!



:idea: tried my tin foil Mod? (http://discussion.brighthand.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=98896)

[paulzazzarino]

Ever since i installed the fixpack i have not noticed any problems.

One problem too, check is your APs. A lot of these only operate in the 30 foot range, you need to find out the output power. I am running a Cisco 350 at 100 mw, and so the coverage is most excellent.

The other week i was doing a demo in ad-hoc mode, handheld to handheld and sure enought i started getting more errors. Of course stuff always breaks more when you demo it!

[ctmagnus]

One problem too, check is your APs. A lot of these only operate in the 30 foot range,

:confused totally: