Wireless connection drops

Question

I have an Inspiron 9100 w/a wireless internet card, and I'm having problems staying connected to a wireless network. I'll be connected to the network for a while and then my connection will just randomly drop out. It seems like it happens everytime I use Skype (it has also just happened when I've been on AIM or just using my browser). It hasn't really dropped at all while I've been away from my computer, just while I'm here using it. I'm studying outside of the US, so I'm not sure if this has anything to do with it. The connection is wireless g and I know my card is a g card, so thats not the problem. Also, I've read it could be a power issue, but my comp is plugged into the outlet (I don't unplug it). I'm running XP Pro too if that matters at all. I'm not sure what other settings you need to know to help me out, but any other help will be appreciated.

volcano11 · Answer

Which make and model wireless network adapter do you have?  If it is an Intel wireless adapter, see the following: http://www.intel.com/support/wireless/wlan/sb/cs-006205.htm Steve

ThirstyTank · Answer

At the moment, its set to 6. I had it set on 11 when I got here, and it was dropping out so I changed to 6 to see if that would make a difference....it didn't. There are no 2.4gHz phones or anything like that in my room, but I'm not sure about the other rooms around mine.

ThirstyTank · Answer

I have the Dell Wireless 1350 WLAN Mini-PCI Card

volcano11 · Answer

Are there any other 2.4 Ghz wireless devices in the vicinity (like 2.4 Ghz cordless phones)?  If so, try changing the channel on the router to one of the extreme channels. Steve

volcano11 · Answer

Channel 6 will get the most interference.   Another thing to try is to go into Device Manager, expand the listings for Network Adapters, right click on your wireless adapter and select Properties from the drop down menu.  If there is a Power Management tab, click on that and set the power savings mode to never to turn off the wireless connection.   Steve

gvp_id · Answer

Hi Thirsty-

I had a problem similar to yours. My wireless connection would drop every 5-10 minutes. What corrected it was I went into Network Connections, right-clicked my Wireless Lan icon, left-clicked properties, then went to the Wireless Networks tab, selected the wireless connection I was using, clicked the properties button, then selected the Authentication tab, and unchecked the box next to "Enable IEEE 802.1x authentication for this network" and never had a problem with drops again. Maybe that might work for you.

ThirstyTank · Answer

I change the channel to 1 to see if its any different than 6 or 11, but I doubt it will be. I'll post and let you know. Also, the network I'm on requires me to have IEEE 802.1x authentication enabled. I'm not totally sure if that is a problem anyway, because I know people who have the same set up and they never lose their connections. Thx for the responses so far.

ThirstyTank · Answer

channel 1 still dropped, and power save mode is disabled....any more ideas?

volcano11 · Answer

Although driver issues have not been reported on these forums with that card.  Try updating the drivers for your wireless card to the latest available. Steve

ThirstyTank · Answer

I already have the latest driver for the card....

volcano11 · Answer

Does your network not work at all if you disable 802.1x Authentication?  Why is this required on your wireless network?   Intermittent problems like this are the most difficult to solve.   If you have access to other wireless networks, does the problem go away?   Steve

ThirstyTank · Answer

when i disable the 802.1x authentication i no longer have access to the network. im on a univeristy network in the netherlands and for security reasons they require us to have the authentication on. at the moment im not aware of any other place i could go to get access to another network and see if the problem still exists. the only other thing i can say is that i have a wireless network at my house in the US and i don't have this problem. also, there are other students here who do not have this problem...and their internet doesn't drop out like mine does. the signal strength is high too....so i don't think im in a bad location.

volcano11 · Answer

Again, since it is an intermittent problem, it is very difficult to solve without having access to the router or the computer. If you can find a wireless hotspot somewhere in the vicinity, it would be quite useful to know if the problem exists there too. Otherwise it I'm not sure I can offer more help. Have you been in touch with the network administrators at the university?

Steve

ThirstyTank · Answer

i emailed the network admins and they haven't got back to me yet. hopefully they will have some suggestions. again...thanks for the responses so far.

Networking, Internet, & Bluetooth

Wireless connection drops

Was this post helpful?