Wi-Fi Connectivity problem with WA3002 G4

[RMDesai]

Hello,

I have UTStarcom wireless modem + router (WA3002 G4) configured as ALWAYS ON on my Laptop which has Vista Home Premium loaded (which is skimmed using vLite). I am using Vista default Broadcom Wireless LAN drivers

- From the default settings, I have only changed the default username and password in the Advance settings and left everything else is unaltered.

I have open dns addresses entered. These are: 208.67.222.222 &208.67.220.220

- In the wireless settings. I have changed the SSID, and 'hidden' the broadcast. I have used WPA2-Personal w/ TKIP and set the re-key interval to 100. All the rest is unaltered

- In Access control, I have enabled ALL the services, changed the passwords for admin, support & user

The modem boots up and connects to the internet and there seems to be NO problems with modem connectivity to the internet and wired (ethernet cable) connectivity to the laptop.

The problem is with wireless connectivity.

It is never consistant. It sometimes starts connected, sometimes takes 5mins to connect and sometimes needs nothing short of re-boot. I can browse the net at great to poor speeds whenever it is connected. The connectivity lasts from 2 min to whatever time. Most of the time it disconnects with "Limited Connectivity" message or it simply disconnects and stays that way.

Why is this inconsistancy in wireless setup? Am I missing a trick?

Is there anything called idletime where the modem stops throwing connectivity packets after some time?

How can I narrow down to a problem with modem/ laptop/ Windows installation?

Any thoughts and inputs are welcome. Do let me know if you need any further inputs to help me.

Thanks in advance and regards,

Ravindra.

[cluberti]

It is never consistant. It sometimes starts connected, sometimes takes 5mins to connect and sometimes needs nothing short of re-boot. I can browse the net at great to poor speeds whenever it is connected. The connectivity lasts from 2 min to whatever time. Most of the time it disconnects with "Limited Connectivity" message or it simply disconnects and stays that way.

What happens if you configure your WAP to broadcast your SSID, and change security to WEP? Does that change the behavior of the wireless at all? If so, you've got either bad hardware or bad drivers (usually the latter).

[RMDesai]

Hello,

Thank you for your early reply.

I have changed the settings to broadcast the SSID and security to WEP.

After a reboot on both the modem and the laptop, the connection was quick and stable for whatever period it is ON. I wiil monitor it for a day or so and report back here.

Thanks again!

Regards,

Ravindra.

[RMDesai]

Hello Cluberti,

The problem was with the driver. I trusted Vista to load the correct driver. It loaded a 54G driver for my 54b/g hardware. Once I loaded the correct drivers, it gave me more options in the drivers>>advanced tab. I set the details to match my modem and things are good since then.

Thanks to you for everything.

Can you kindly explain me a few of the settings:

1. Location setting: Driver is locked to United States. It is configurable in the modem. Is this tied to the ISP? Is it required to have it matched on the laptop and the modem?

2. Channel no: Can I choose any number? I guess this one needs to be the same at both places.

Regards,

Ravindra.

Edited January 26, 2008 by RMDesai

[cluberti]

1. Location setting: Driver is locked to United States. It is configurable in the modem. Is this tied to the ISP? Is it required to have it matched on the laptop and the modem?

I actually have no idea on this - I'd contact the vendor or the ISP (or both) and get their opinions on this.

2. Channel no: Can I choose any number?

If you're using 802.11b or 802.11g, the only channels that actually matter are 1, 6, and 11 because those are the only 3 that are 22MHz wide (see the wikipedia doc on this for why, if you're interested).