Poor Wireless Range

[joe19812]

I have a work issued T42 with great wifi reception. I can move all over the house and still get a strong signal everywhere. Since I've had such great performance from my work issued T42 I decided to buy a used T42(2378-duu) for personal/home use. This used T42 seems to have poor wifi reception. If I'm in the same room as the router then signal is strong but as soon as I move one room over the signal strength drops to poor/low. I've tried adjusting the power settings in the hardware profile but it' still poor. Is there anything else I can do to improve the reception?

Also on an unrelated note, the right palm rest area feels flimsy on the used t42 but the work issed unit feels solid in that location.

[Paul Unger]

Can you tell us what type of wireless cards they each have? Go Start > Control Panel > System and on the Hardware tab click Device Manager. Click the '+' beside Network adapters and you'll see the name of the wireless card installed. Remember how to get here--you might be asked to look at the card's properties (which you can do by right-clicking the 'device' and selecting 'Properties').

[joe19812]

both laptops showing having Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG Network Connection and an Intel PRO/1000 MT Mobil Connection.
The laptop with better wifi reception also has Blue Tooth but the other one does not.

[Paul Unger]

Nice that they're the same--makes comparison that much easier (fewer variables). So, do they have the same driver version? Check the 'Driver' tab of the 2200 b/g Network Connection Properties (remember I said you'd be going back there? ) I have version 9.0.4.26 of 10/25/2006 running on mine, and it seems to pretty strong reception (compared to the IBM a/b/g card in my other T42). So, compare driver versions and then we'll go from there.

[edit]: While you're looking at the Properties of the respective cards, go to the Advanced tab and compare the rest of the settings (especially "Power Management" and "Transmit Power"). If there are any differences, set the 'weak' machine to match the 'strong' one.

[Peak2Peak]

If the software and config proves to be ok and your up to removing the keyboard & palm rest (keyboard bezel on 15") to get access to the Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG Network Connection - ensure that the antenna jacks are firmly connected to the card.

If all is well there it could be the card or broken antenna cable(s).

[jamiphar]

Could one of the WiFi antennas be taken by the bluetooth adapter? This might be the case if the original owner upgraded the laptop with bluetooth and it didn't have a bluetooth antenna preinstalled.

:EDIT:

According to this, the 2378-DUU didn't originally come with bluetooth. It may or may not have come with the antenna.

[yak]

To exclude any software issues, I would use a Linux Live CD on both ThinkPads and compare the reception there.

For example, my Intel 2915ABG WiFi card works out-of-the-box on Ubuntu Live CD. You may also try Knoppix or a similar distro.

Edit:
jamiphar, the Bluetooth is in the laptop with strong reception so it can't be the cause.

[joe19812]

thanks for the info everyone. Both drivers appear to be the same(original 8/24/04 v 8.1.0.28). Tonight I will try taking out the keyboard to check the antena connection.

[Paul Unger]

thanks for the info everyone. Both drivers appear to be the same(original 8/24/04 v 8.1.0.28). Tonight I will try taking out the keyboard to check the antena connection.

Don't you hate it when 8.1.0.28_) is interpreted as 8.1.0.28)?! A peek under the keyboard certainly won't hurt just to make sure the antenna leads are attached correctly. You might also give an updated driver a try in the weaker machine. Leave the strong one alone for now.

[joe19812]

[quote="Peak2Peak"]If the software and config proves to be ok and your up to removing the keyboard & palm rest (keyboard bezel on 15") to get access to the Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG Network Connection - ensure that the antenna jacks are firmly connected to the card.

If all is well there it could be the card or broken antenna cable(s).[/quote]

Success! took it appart and found the main attenna was barely connected, now it works great. Thanks to everyone here for the info. There was also a very helpful link to a video showing keyboard removal.

[Peak2Peak]

Success! took it appart and found the main attenna was barely connected, now it works great

Am glad it was a straight-forward fix as opposed to pulling apart the LCD panel to check/re-wire the WLAN cable(s) - it's nice when it's that easy - plus you get a greater sense of satisfaction - I did it myself and it worked