WWAN signal strength Thinkvantage Access Connections

[thebully]

Hi

My task bar signal monitor for my WWAN always shows very low signal strength ie one red bar or two orange bars but never the full green bar. Even though the Internet connection through it is very good. I thought it might just be a low signal but at the minute I am writing this post through the WWAN and the Internet is fast but the access connections meter at the bottom on the task bar is currently showing all the bars empty that should mean no signal? Any ideas why this is happening?

I am using a X60s with Windows 7 and the sierra wireless card unlocked with DC-unlocker on tmobile.

Also this is probably a bit of a stupid question and unrelated but does anyone know how I can make the windows 7 login screen show my actual logon image when using the fingerprint reader instead of the ugly think vantage fingerprint icon?

I am using all the latest drivers etc after updating with the think vantage update utility.

[ansible212]

You can get a more accurate indication of signal strength by right clicking the Access Connections icon and selecting 'View Status of Wireless Connections'.

[thebully]

Hi atm my signal strength is fluctuating between 10 - 40%, its 22% right now and showing 96dBm. I guess where I am this weekend on the south coast the signal isn't too good for t-mobile probably due to the bad weather as well.

I am now using a 5200mAh battery and noticed that my battery reserve dropped from 4 hours to 1:30 as soon as I connected the WWAN today. Does the WWAN get through alot of power when the signal is low as it has to up the transmit power etc?

Anyway thanks for the tip its handy to see more detailed info.

[bill bolton]

Does the WWAN get through alot of power when the signal is low as it has to up the transmit power etc?

In general terms, using 3G connectivity will result in a noticeable increase in your ThinkPad power consumption!

The received signal strength at your location doesn't have much impact on 3G power consumption per se... a 3G card pretty much needs to be transmitting on maximum power no matter how near/far you are from a 3G tower.

Cheers,

Bill B.