Dropped wireless connections requires reboot

[shamrin]

I'm trying to figure out the exact patter to this, but it appears that randomly when I switch power sources from mains power to battery and sometimes when the computer suspends, I permanently lose my WiFi connection. Everything shows that the radio is still on (both software and the little WiFi light on the keyboard) but I can't see my network or any other network. The only way to clear the problem is to reboot. I've tried power-cycling the radio both in software (Thinkpad button/Wireless and Networking/Power on-of Wireless Radios) and with the little switch - no joy. My assumption is that either some driver gets completely hosed or the radio gets turned off and stops listening to any commands because I can't find any wireless networks when it happens.

Has anyone else seen this or found a fix other than a (5-7 minute) reboot?

/sch

[mikemi]

Yup, I have exactly the same problem. Which model/wireless card/bios do you have?

I have the new T60 widescreen (87445BU) with the Thinkpad a/b/g/n wireless card. My bios was 7IET19WW. I called Lenovo on Saturday and they suggested putting the latest bios (7IET20WW). The problem seems to have gone away; however, now whenever the laptop screens turns off for inactivity, i can't get the screen to come back unless I put the laptop into standby and bring it out of standby...

Very frustrating but still love the new laptop.

EDIT: Called Lenovo tonight again and reset BIOS to default setting (even though I didn't change anything) fixed the screen problem. Also, the wireless issue has not occurred since the bios update.

[GomJabbar]

A possibility - your software firewall. After you lose your connection, try turning off the software firewall and see if you can make a connection.

I was having a problem with a desktop PC of mine not being able to reestablish an ethernet connection after standby. I discovered eventually that ZoneAlarm was the culprit. I uninstalled ZoneAlarm and replaced it with Kerio. No more problems now on the desktop PC.

[dzo]

I'm trying to figure out the exact patter to this, but it appears that randomly when I switch power sources from mains power to battery and sometimes when the computer suspends, I permanently lose my WiFi connection. Everything shows that the radio is still on (both software and the little WiFi light on the keyboard) but I can't see my network or any other network. The only way to clear the problem is to reboot. I've tried power-cycling the radio both in software (Thinkpad button/Wireless and Networking/Power on-of Wireless Radios) and with the little switch - no joy. My assumption is that either some driver gets completely hosed or the radio gets turned off and stops listening to any commands because I can't find any wireless networks when it happens.

Has anyone else seen this or found a fix other than a (5-7 minute) reboot?

/sch

try doing repair of wireless network adapter, usualy it helps with renewing ip address

or disable/enable wlan via windows network

[ryengineer]

I'm trying to figure out the exact patter to this, but it appears that randomly when I switch power sources from mains power to battery and sometimes when the computer suspends, I permanently lose my WiFi connection. Everything shows that the radio is still on (both software and the little WiFi light on the keyboard) but I can't see my network or any other network. The only way to clear the problem is to reboot. I've tried power-cycling the radio both in software (Thinkpad button/Wireless and Networking/Power on-of Wireless Radios) and with the little switch - no joy. My assumption is that either some driver gets completely hosed or the radio gets turned off and stops listening to any commands because I can't find any wireless networks when it happens.

Has anyone else seen this or found a fix other than a (5-7 minute) reboot?

/sch

I've had the same problem since I installed ZoneAlarm's firewall.

[shamrin]

Yup, I have exactly the same problem. Which model/wireless card/bios do you have?

I have the new T60 widescreen (87445BU) with the Thinkpad a/b/g/n wireless card. My bios was 7IET19WW. I called Lenovo on Saturday and they suggested putting the latest bios (7IET20WW). ...

EDIT: Called Lenovo tonight again and reset BIOS to default setting (even though I didn't change anything) fixed the screen problem. Also, the wireless issue has not occurred since the bios update.

I have a different machine that you, but I do have the latest BIOS. I THINK I have fixed the problem now, but I'll need to do a little more testing. First, I did suspect the firewall so I deleted all the Symantec rubbish and replaced the firewall. This did not fix the problem (although since I did not test with no firewall installed I can't be positive that the new firewall - Comodo - does not cause the problem).

Next I made two simultaneous changes, one of which appear at this time to have worked. I went into the wireless driver and changed the "Power Save" mode to "off". I notice that when I fiddled with this is actually caused the problem to occur (I was forced to reboot). Then, I went to the website and found that the wireless card has a new driver that was posted on 9 January. I downloaded and installed that (as an aside, the release notes say it requires Access Connections version 4.22 but the current release is only up to 4.21 - nice job Mr. Release Manager). Anyway, after making these two changes the problem has not recurred. If that changes under further use, I'll repost.

/sch

[jdhurst]

I am using Windows, Access Connections 4.21, IBM 11 a/b/g card with newest driver and Symantec Client Security V3.1.5 on my T41.
I have the "same" setup on my NetVista Desktop minus Access Connections, minus wireless and plus Wired Ethernet.

I can always reconnect after suspend, and most times it is completely automatic and transparent. So that says it is not a Windows problem, most probably not a network card problem (wired or wireless), not an Access Connections problem, and not a Symantec Corporate problem.

... JD Hurst

[shamrin]

I am using Windows, Access Connections 4.21, IBM 11 a/b/g card with newest driver and Symantec Client Security V3.1.5 on my T41.
I have the "same" setup on my NetVista Desktop minus Access Connections, minus wireless and plus Wired Ethernet.

I can always reconnect after suspend, and most times it is completely automatic and transparent. So that says it is not a Windows problem, most probably not a network card problem (wired or wireless), not an Access Connections problem, and not a Symantec Corporate problem.

... JD Hurst

Just to clarify, the problem (for me) seems to occur when switching from mains power to battery. So, when I pull the plug out of the wall, about 10 seconds later, I lose the network.

/sch

[jdhurst]

<snip>
Just to clarify, the problem (for me) seems to occur when switching from mains power to battery. So, when I pull the plug out of the wall, about 10 seconds later, I lose the network.
/sch

I unplug very frequently to move my machine. I don't lose anything while unplugging, moving, or replugging.

I also want to emphasize that I understand you are having an issue, and that my post was to rule out the things mentioned that I have as well.
... JD Hurst

[Vicster]

I have mine set up to go to standby when I close the lid. It occasionally loses data transfer through the wireless, but it says I have a good signal. It doesn't really seem to follow a pattern. A reboot always fixes it, but it NEVER takes me 5-7 minutes. Mine boots pretty quickly.

[claudeo]

Some things to look at:
- ZoneAlarm is reported to cause various kinds of problems with wireless when some things change in the system. If you have ZoneAlarm, the only way to test that out is to do a full uninstall (following the directions on the ZoneAlarm site) to repair the TCP/IP stack and whatnot.
- Power management. The wireless card might be temporarily turned off when power conditions change. But read on...
- If you are using Access Connection, check that Enable automatic connection switching is enabled (in Configure menu, Location Switching) and that you have at least one good profile defined and enabled for location switching. This apparently makes AC try to repair the connection every time it senses it got lost. It certainly works that way for me; even when I go from site to site, it is uncanny how well that works...
- If the problem occurs when docking, try to disable the option "Include Ethernet ports in automatic connection switching" in the Location Switching dialog box.

[shamrin]

Alas, the updates did not fix the problem. I'm not using Zone Alarm, using Comodo instead. The problem occurs about 75% of the time. Followed the advice to enable location switching to no avail. Have tried repairing the connection through windows and disabling the firewall but that hasn't helped either. I think I'm going to have to talk to Lenovo about this. This has to be my sixth or seventh Thinkpad and I've never had a buggy one until now.

If I get any joy from Lenovo will repost a solution for posterity

/sch

[claudeo]

Were you using Comodo on your other ThinkPads?

[shamrin]

Were you using Comodo on your other ThinkPads?

Not all of them of course (this goes back 12-13 years) but the last two yes. Let's not get too OT here though, the problem occurred with the pre-installed Symantec kit as well so while it could be related to the firewall it's not likely. I'll see if I can uninstall it tonight and replicate the problem.

/sch

[sugo]

is it an intel or atheros card?

[shamrin]

It's an Atheros, driver version 6.0.2.75.

[lswone]

I see problems with the wireless radio being turned off every couple of minutes on different ThinkPads. T43s and T60s. I called IBM and ran all the updates they suggested (everything), and installed new wireless cards they sent. We were clueless and so were they. Finally one of my Techs. just suggested I uninstall the IBM Access Connections and the ThinkPads no longer dropped the wireless. Hope this helps.



Lswone.

[edaugherty]

I've been having similar problems. I have a 8744 with the Atheros card and when I come out of suspend the wirless will work for 10 seconds and then go away, needing a reboot to restore.

I have the latest BIOS and wireless driver version. I am using Windows to manage the connections instead of Access Connection (uninstalled).

Based on what I've read hear, I'll try to disable the power management setting on the driver and see if that works.

I previously tried to set it to 2.4GHz only instead of auto (based on something I read elsewhere) but that didn't seem to work.

Let me know if anyone has other ideas. No firewall, etc.

[mcvosi]

I experienced the same dropped connections too. Uninstalling the Access Connections software fixed the issue for me.

[RaviN]

I'm trying to figure out the exact patter to this, but it appears that randomly when I switch power sources from mains power to battery and sometimes when the computer suspends, I permanently lose my WiFi connection. ...
/sch

Brand new T60 widescreen owner and forum member here, very grateful for this thread.

I'm experiencing the disconnect problem on switching power and have spent several sessions with a very sharp IBM rep. trying to figure out what the problem might be. I found this site and thread yesterday and we went through the suggestions here, as well.

I have switched routers, disabled the AC software, updated and rolled back the BIOS, updated the Power Management, Hotkey, and Atheros drivers, enabled/disabled the power management to the card from the Device Driver panel, and looked into effects of range from the router on the problem. We also uninstalled the Intel Wireless driver software that was on the drive and did a safe mode delete/reinstall of the Atheros drivers.

Unfortunately, I still have the issue! It may not always drop the connection on the first disconnect but sometime between the first and the fourth, it will drop and nothing short of a reboot will fix it. We've monitored the wireless panels on the AC software, the XP panels, etc. and it takes about ten seconds for the connection to go unstable and finally quit. The card can still be connected to the router, it just will not "associate". The problem can't be on the router because it happens the same way with an old Linksys b router I had and the new Netgear a/b/g router I bought and tried yesterday.

They're sending me a replacement card that I'll install and test.
I hope I won't have to send it back for depot service!

Thanks to all for the helpful tips. I'll report whatever I find.

Ravi Narasimhan
Redondo Beach, CA

[GomJabbar]

FWIW, I had an SMC router that once it lost the connection, it often required rebooting of the router, the ThinkPad, or both. I recently bought a Netgear Prosafe Wireless Router with Print Server, and have had much better success with maintaining a connection and with reconnecting if the connection is dropped.

[RaviN]

FWIW, I had an SMC router that once it lost the connection, it often required rebooting of the router, the ThinkPad, or both. I recently bought a Netgear Prosafe Wireless Router with Print Server, and have had much better success with maintaining a connection and with reconnecting if the connection is dropped.

We tried router reboots as part of the test to see if the inability to get an IP address through DHCP was a problem with the card or with the router. We saw the problem with both the Linksys b-only and the Netgear multispeed router. And it wasn't a range issue as some Windows error messages stated - I had the notebook 2 feet away from both routers. After a reboot, the card sees my network and three or four routers in the neigborhood. After the connection is dropped, it won't see any of them.

Forgot to mention that I disabled Symantec Firewall (supplied with the machine) and the problem persists.

Funny thing is that when we check the XP Event Log after these failures, they state that an Intel wireless networking card was not properly configured prior to shutdown. This suggested that Plug and Play had the wrong card identified. So we deleted the driver in safe mode and reinstalled it. XP Device Manager always recognizes it as an Atheros - no problem there. But the failure in the Event Log is always attributed to an Intel wireless card.

Of course a cheap wireless PCMCIA or USB card would solve the functional problem. On the other hand, this bugs me enough on principle to want to keep at it a little longer!

Ravi Narasimhan
Redondo Beach, CA

[RaviN]

New Atheros a/b/g/n wireless card came today by DHL next-day, courtesy of IBM. I removed the old one and installed the new one. No change in the behavior of the system on applying/removing wall power. The connection continues to drop.

On the positive side this strongly (although not conclusively) points to some kind of software problem.

[RaviN]

Update: Continued to have the plug/unplug problem. After trying everything suggested in this thread and a few more, the last resort was to backup and reinstall the OS in case something had gotten crosswise in a driver. The Atheros card still shows as an Intel card in the event logs, for example. Tried this and it still didn't take care of it. The T60 is now back at the depot in hopes they can replicate and fix the problem.

[Vic Rosenthal]

I have a T60 with the Atheros 11a/b/g/n card. I was also having this problem. I tried the suggestion above (sorry, forget whose idea it was) to go into the control panel / system / hardware / device manager and select the driver for the wireless card. On the Advanced tab I found a setting for the Power Save mode. It was set to Maximum; I changed it to Off. I've tried plugging/unplugging a few times and the problem hasn't recurred.

Of course, it didn't happen every single time, so I can't be 100% certain. But it's easier and safer than updating drivers and BIOS so it's worth a try.

-- Vic

[RaviN]

I have a T60 with the Atheros 11a/b/g/n card. I was also having this problem. I tried the suggestion above (sorry, forget whose idea it was) to go into the control panel / system / hardware / device manager and select the driver for the wireless card. On the Advanced tab I found a setting for the Power Save mode. It was set to Maximum; I changed it to Off. I've tried plugging/unplugging a few times and the problem hasn't recurred.

Of course, it didn't happen every single time, so I can't be 100% certain. But it's easier and safer than updating drivers and BIOS so it's worth a try.

-- Vic

That was part of the experimental mix. I tried Maximum, Normal, and Off and the problem persisted.

The event log consistently says that an IBM (not Atheros) card/driver was shut down abruptly. It's as if the card expects to be gracefully terminated as an external USB device, through the add/remove hardware icon. Once it goes off, only a reboot will turn it back on.

I have not had this problem on my other non-IBM notebook for whatever that's worth...

[jordanjw23]

Hello-

I am having the same problem as all of you. When I start the computer and the AC is plugged in, I will get wireless. When I start the computer and it is not plugged in, I will also get wireless. When I plug the computer in after i started it it without AC adapter, i still get wireless. When i go into hibernate plugged in, and come out of it, I get wireless.

The problem seems when I go from AC plug to wireless while the computer is on, my wireless connection is lost completely. I see the icons, the thinkpad advantage is green still, but it cannot find any wireless networks

I disabled the antivirus before i went to hibernate or before i unplugged the AC adapter and for a few times, it seemed to fix the problem, but today i tried again and it did not fix it.

I just bought this computer 8 days ago, and cannot have a faulty wireless connection. Obviously im seeing many people on this site having the same problem

IBM was unable to help. I have all the updated drivers although i have not updated the bios

Please advise what your findings. I am going to swap out my laptop today

[ThinkTay]

It has to do with the LAN driver I believe. I am experiencing this (87445BU --> T60 Wide) and when I go into standby + come out of it, the wireless will lock up.

However, it does initially establish the wireless (like everyone else) for maybe 10 seconds, then quit. At this point, it is seeking to establish ANY LAN connection, and is trying to make an ethernet connection as well. Both icons appear (windows LAN + WLAN attempting to establish, not using AC) and when the LAN icon discovers it has no connection, the WLAN real connection dies out. it remains there, but gets no connectivity.

I disabled the LAN before going into standby, came out of standby, ONLY the wifi connection established and REMAINED established. I have been able to repeat this.

This is with original drivers. I haven't been able to check which versions I have, but I got the machine last week and haven't touched anything in terms of drivers yet.

Somebody else please physically disable the LAN connection (Start --> Connect To --> Show all --> right click lan --> disable) then go into/out of standby.

PS - this is unrelated to me physically using a LAN connection, I have been using wifi all day

[RaviN]

Update (and it is not good)

T60 87445BU came back from the depot. Repair slip claimed:
"Updated corrupted wireless driver to correct connection issue". Elsewhere it said Bios/Embedded Controller updates prescribed on IBM support page were performed on your machine to ensure reliability and performance efficiency.

They reinstalled Access Connections.

And the thing is a buggy as ever. The wireless connection fails after one plug/unplug.

The IBM rep who has been helping me with this assured me that they would do a thorough test at the depot and report on the plug/unplug results. I think the technician just did a quick update, verified boot, and shipped it back.

I will be asking about a refund.

[jordanjw23]

to my last post- i also have the 87445bu