Problem connecting to different wireless networks

Question

First of all, my Dell Latitude DM620 wireless connectivity worked flawlessly when connected to our corporate network.  However, when I attempted to connect, outside the scope of our network to a publicly available wireless network, I had problems.  I have tried everything that I can think of; latest drivers, firmware, removing all other wireless connections, different 'external' wireless card, and attempted connection to several different publicly available wireless.   Nothing I did seemed to help, until I removed the computer account from my Active directory domain, which placed the laptop back in a  'WORKGROUP'.  Once the computer was removed from the domain, it connected to every publicly available wireless hotspot I tried without any issues.   Does anyone know why this would be an issue?  We have many laptops on our corporate network, many of which will require connectivity to public wireless networks when traveling.   Suggestions anyone?

MRF4700 · Answer

Some corporate network administrators configure company computers for internet access via the company's proxy server or network bridges. Once your laptop is configured to function on those settings it will not connect outside that environment until you return the settings to the default condition.(Which is probably what you did in removing the account from the Active Directory) You'll probably not be able to connect upon your return to work and will need to contact your network administrator to reconfigure your laptop.

Alford5832 · Answer

Thanks for the reply.  The proxy was an issue that we had to address.  However, the problem I described existed even after the IE proxy settings were changed.  When I attempted a connection to a public wireless network, I would get a valid ip address from thier DHCP server, (ipconfig /all).  All indications were that a good wireless connection was there.  But when I tried to ping a node on the internet, I never received any response.  I disabled the firewall, but that made no difference.  As I noted in my previous post, when I removed the laptop from our corporate domain, it worked as it should on public wireless networks.  Of course, removing the laptop from the domain now prevents me from connecting to our corporate network.  Any more ideas?

MRF4700 · Answer

Okay, now I'm getting a little confused, let me see if I can save us both some time. Are you wondering, if there is a way to setup your Latitude D620 to both connect at work to the proxy server and to connect to outside public WiFi hotspots without changing or deleting any of the settings on your laptop??

Alford5832 · Answer

Not exactly.  Obviously, I want to operate in both worlds and I know there must be minor modifications made to the IE connection configuration.  That is what I call a minor.  Removing the computer from the corporate AD domain and returning it to workgroup status is more than minor, not to mention a pain.   I suppose the question is why the wireless connectivity will not work in both environments when the computer has been joined to a corporate domain.  I am confused as to why the laptop, when disconnected from the corporate domain, will not communicate, stand alone, over a publicly available wireless connection.  Seems like the domain would not be an issue when the computer is disconnected from it.  Thanks!

MRF4700 · Answer

That is probably a question best answered by your company network administrator, who is more experienced and knowledgeable than I. My experience, is that of a maintenance tech in a major hotel with a wireless network for 2 years. This was a common problem of businessman arriving to our hotel from out-of-town. The only remedy that seemed to get them up and running on our network, was to delete the proxy server or network bridge connection settings and use the original(default) connection settings.

Networking, Internet, & Bluetooth

Was this post helpful?