WiFi problem on my SL500 and its solution

[akorn]

Hej,

bought an SL500 just after Christmas and have been using it nearly daily ever since. Will give a review of pros and cons that I have found, but here a thread on the WiFi problem I encountered and how I solved it (one-day statistics).

Problem: the laptop would a) not connect and b) lose connectivity every now and then, could be after three minutes, could be after half an hour. The AC tray icon would show it to be connected (after it had been connected), but the Windows symbol would show the actual status. Neither http nor ssh would work. I was thinking that my D-link router was malfunctioning, but another computer connects just fine and stays connected. Disconnecting (via AC) or repairing (via Vista network and sharing center) would often solve the problem for the moment, but this is too much of a hassle in the long run.

Solution: I looked here
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=67065
and followed the instructions to download the latest Intel WiFi 5100 AGN drivers. Since I only use this laptop at home (it's a portable family PC), I removed AC from the startup menu and now run with Vista network center alone.

Result: I have not had an unvoluntary disconnect all day today!

Btw: did the same thing on my X61. Really don't know why Lenovo does not post the latest drivers through their System Update... conservative to the point of sacrifizing the peace of mind of their customers?

Good luck!
akorn

SL500 2.0 GHz, matte WSXGA screen, Vista Home Premium