w510 Gobi 2000 mobile broadband problems

[419nickjd]

I have had nothing but problems with my gobi 2000 and my w510 in general. It had a problem that's so reproducible, I can do it every time. I can use it while the laptop is continuously on for a period of time, but when I reboot the computer for the first time after it working, it won't work again. Actually, windows says in the troubleshooter that the "mobile broadband device capability is turned off" when the switch is clearly turned on and wimax/wireless N device is activated and functions. Coincidentally, the bluetooth device also disappears from the device manager. The gobi 2000 device doesn't disappear but it appears that the computer thinks the hardware switch is disabled.

So, to make it work again, no amount of rebooting, reinstalling the drivers or whatever works. I have to actually turn off the computer and unplug the battery/power adapter and leave it for about 10 minutes. Then, EVERY time after booting up again it sees it but the hours of messing with it wouldn't do anything until I take all power from it. And the problem according to windows is that the hardware switch is off.

But now it's just so awful that even when it does connect, it is basically non functional. The lenovo diagnostics probably won't show anything and the lenovo support will probably ask me to do it. Of course it will show nothing.

Has anyone had this problem or heard of anything similar? This is driving me crazy because this is my only internet connection besides through my phone! That means I can't really download anything big :p

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
-Nick

[QFoam]

There's a giant thread about this in the W-series forum at lenovo.com.

I think a fix exists which entails hopping on one leg, waving your left arm in the air while whistling, and reinstalling one of your wireless drivers six times. It took Lenovo over a year to solve the problem. Do a search over there on gobi. If that thread doesn't save you, then probably nothing will.

[419nickjd]

Thanks, I wasn't aware of the extent of posted problems on the other forum. I searched this one and didn't find anything exactly like what I was going through. I've always had updated drivers and firmware so at the moment there doesn't seem to be anything I can do.

I can deal with the rebooting/unplugging thing to get the broadband to work, I often leave it on for a week at a time (I use it as a desktop replacement). The problem now is that it only sometimes connects and though it sometimes gets an internet connection, it's unreliable and only transfers data at a 45 second interval (it's not the network, as my phone is much more reliable and my neighbors with the same provider have no problems). This is a new problem. Before I've downloaded over 250 GB in a month with my mobile broadband