ethernet port causes fingerprint reader problems

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dloo · #1 Post by **dloo** » Fri Jul 22, 2005 4:29 pm

I have a 2687-DTU. Absolutely love it.
Then I came across this quirk.

When I plug in an ethernet cable into the RJ-45 port,
the fingerprint reader doesn't work right any more.
Every time I swipe it, I get a "slow down" error
and it doesn't matter how slow I swipe it.

When I unplug the cable, the reader works fine again.

Any ideas? (Yes, I'm pretty sure I'm running the latest drivers.)

c333 · #2 Post by **c333** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 9:51 am

I want to second this concern. I have a 2687-D3U and experience the same problem. I thought it was broken, or a CSS problem, but it seems to be a wired ethernet conection. I will contact them about it.

codex · #3 Post by **codex** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 10:17 am

Same issue here. I didn't realize that this was the problem until I read this post.

Previously, it would take many, many tries enrol a fingerprint, and sometimes it would not accept at all. And whenever I tried to scan my finger afterwards it would not accept it.

After reading this post I unhooked the ethernet cable, deleted the entire profile and started from scratch. Now most of my fingers enrolled after just one attempt and it accepts my fingerprints just fine.

I tend to run my T43 almost entirely while plugged into ethernet, so this is a big concern to me. This problem makes the fingerprint reader absolutely useless to me.

c333 · #4 Post by **c333** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 4:46 pm

I'm in the exact same situation codex, i always have an ethernet cable in. Do you have a 2687 model like dloo and I?

codex · #5 Post by **codex** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 5:29 pm

c333 wrote:I'm in the exact same situation codex, i always have an ethernet cable in. Do you have a 2687 model like dloo and I?

I actually have a 2686-DGU.

brainpicker · #6 Post by **brainpicker** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 5:34 pm

Have any of you checked in HARDWARE to see if there is a possible memory or resourse conflict? I don't have a fingerprint reader so I can't help directly, but that would be my first thought.

Yak

STS06 · #7 Post by **STS06** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 5:44 pm

I just set my fingerprint reader so that its used to log into windows xp. At first, despite not being connected to an ethernet cable, it took me a good 1 minute of just swiping my finger to get in (always kept telling me to move left and when i did, nothing happend). Either it sucks or I suck at swiping my finger.

Anyways, I'll reboot a couple of times and see how long it takes me and then plug in my ethernet cable on my desktop and see if it affects it. But its not a small issue at all, I agree with that. Thanks.

#8 Post by **RonS** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 5:59 pm

It if effecting the BIOS (power-on) fingerprint scan, or the fingerprint scan you get when Windows is starting?

c333 · #9 Post by **c333** » Sat Aug 27, 2005 5:24 pm

I don't believe I have any BIOS password enabled. Just WinXP logon. I contacted customer support and explained the situation. The guy didn't seem to care much, and after 10 minutes he said to reinstall the software. He said there is a new fingerprint software, but I probably have it because I ran the software/driver updater. I explained that all I want is for him to give this complaint to those who prgram updates and fix glitches, so hopefully he did. I encourage the rest of you to call so they can have documented cases and maybe then they'll fix it.

rfalter · #10 Post by **rfalter** » Sun Aug 28, 2005 2:52 pm

I have the 'slow down' issue as well, cannot register prints. I tried removing the ethernet cable, still no go. Have also checked BIOS and downloaded latest software. Even had IBM replace the reader (their idea), a waste of time. Their tech support doesn't have a solution, so they figure to try replacing all the part.

Filip · #11 Post by **Filip** » Sun Aug 28, 2005 2:53 pm

I have the same problem here.
But a little bit different...
When I connect my cable to 100Mbit/s network the fingerprint reader works normally. But when I connect my cable to 1Gbit/s the fingerprint software (on windowsXP logon) rejectes my fingerprint... Not completely, because it reads it successfully after 10-15 times of desperate swiping...
It works excellent on 100Mbit/s and affects only winXP logon. power-on and hard disk passwords are not affected with this problem (in my case).

c333 · #12 Post by **c333** » Sun Aug 28, 2005 3:11 pm

rfalter wrote:I have the 'slow down' issue as well, cannot register prints. I tried removing the ethernet cable, still no go. Have also checked BIOS and downloaded latest software. Even had IBM replace the reader (their idea), a waste of time. Their tech support doesn't have a solution, so they figure to try replacing all the part.

I think that once an ethernet cable causes a conflict, it "corrupts" it forever. Try to unplug the ethernet, re enroll fingerprints, and logon a few times. It will probably work everytime. Then plug in the ethernet, logon, and it won't. My bet is even after you unplug it now it still won't work very well.

rfalter · #13 Post by **rfalter** » Sun Aug 28, 2005 3:24 pm

Okay, thanks for the feefback.....but what's a girl to do to make it work while I am connected? I might hope if the problem has been determined a solution might be in the works?????? Maybe by IBM??? Wishful thinking???

c333 · #14 Post by **c333** » Sun Aug 28, 2005 3:54 pm

Well, you could unplug the ethernet everytime at logon, but as I said I think the first time "corrupts" it and it won't work well after that. I would do what I did, call customer service and demand that this problem find its way to the programmers of updates. They might try to say its your fault, and suggest a reinstall. But remind them that others have this problem. Once they know it is THEIR problem, maybe they will fix it.

STS06 · #15 Post by **STS06** » Sun Aug 28, 2005 4:13 pm

I agree with c333, we should do as he says. Thanks c333.

c333 · #16 Post by **c333** » Sun Aug 28, 2005 6:13 pm

Thanks for the support STS06. I tried to find an email address of someone higher up than customer service but didn't find anything. I don't even know who is handing updates now, IBM or Lenovo?

#17 Post by **RonS** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 1:30 pm

On many Thinkpads, The fingerprint reader also won't work while the Thinkpad is docked in a docking station. The problem has been confirmed by IBM, and they've also confirmed that they won't fix it.

Getting them to acknowledge that there's a problem doesn't guarantee a solution.

STS06 · #18 Post by **STS06** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 2:28 pm

But failing do so almost does guarantee that the problem won't be fixed. Its worth a shot.

Filip · #19 Post by **Filip** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 3:49 pm

Today my fingerprint was rejected 6 times

.
Twice on power-on (I can't believe this)

STS06 · #20 Post by **STS06** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 5:32 pm

Though its not an ethernet cable thats screwing with mine, I suspect a program is launching thats eating my memory. When the computer launches and asks for my fingerprint, the computer is processing something and when I swipe my finger, nothing happens (not accepted nor is it rejected..just sits there thinking). So i'll need to shut whatever it is off and if there's nothing, I'm in trouble.

rfalter · #21 Post by **rfalter** » Tue Aug 30, 2005 9:39 am

I called IBM tech support and spent 30 minutes with helpful chap. Issue has been escaled up the ladder, I will let everyone know what I find. My reader does not work in the dock or out, I have not tried the ethernet solution as I cannot remove the computer from the dock everytime I log on.

jjlists123 · #22 Post by **jjlists123** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 6:06 pm

I am also experiencing problems with the reader not recognising my frantic swiping.... but I stumbled on a solution that works for me.

As funny as it sounds, my fingerprint reader doesn't seem to recognise that I am swiping my finger, it's not complainging about a bad swipe, rather it just doesn't recognise that I even have my finger over the sensor.

In despiration, I licked my finger and tried again... and I got in on the first swipe!

Now, everytime I have problems, I wet my fingertip and swipe. My fingers are quite dry and adding moisture seems to work. Perhaps the reader needs some conductivity to get a read?

I know this sounds crazy and I will probably catch some disease from my keyboard, but this is the only thing I've tried that works.

c333 · #23 Post by **c333** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 5:20 pm

jjlists123, thats an interesting situation, but most of us are having a "Match Failed" problem. The scan works, but the ethernet or dock prevents a Match. If anyone knows of an email of anyone in the software department, please post so we can get this problem fixed. Also, this is an IBM problem, right? I believe IBM still handles software, not Lenovo. Correct me if I'm wrong!

-C

STS06 · #24 Post by **STS06** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 1:35 am

jjlist I had the same problem where it just wouldnt recognize my swipes for a good minute as the computer booted. What I believe was the cluprit (since now my swipes register) is that the programs that started up with the computer really slowed down the fingerprint reader software. So it would register my swipe but wouldnt tell me until 30secs after...so I went in and shut whatever was causing the lag and now the fingerprint reader works. I still haven't tried the ethernet thing...but I'll check it out.

jim58 · #25 Post by **jim58** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 1:56 pm

In my experience this problem goes away if the machine is grounded. For instance, if I attach an external, grounded, CRT it works great. I usually use wireless, so usually there is no problem. For times when I do have a wired connection, the grounding seems to help, though.

TimWang · #26 Post by **TimWang** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 2:14 pm

Hmm... I don't seem to have any problems with my fingerprint reader when it is in the port replicator. My ethernet cable is plugged into the replicator so I don't have any issues with it.

zhu8jie · #27 Post by **zhu8jie** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 9:05 am

Here I encourter another similar problem:
If my T43 use external power ,then the fingerprint reader works perfect.
But if I unplug the external power,using battery, no matter how clean my fingers are or how many times I've tried , the fingerprint reader just doesn't work correctly. Sometimes it says "Match failed" , sometimes it says "try again" or something else like that . BTW , please forgive me that I don't exactly know what it will display in an English OS ,mine is Chinese

I've already send an E-mail to IBM technical support. Hope they can solve this problem soon.

zhu8jie · #28 Post by **zhu8jie** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 9:05 am

Here I encourter another similar problem:
If my T43 use external power ,then the fingerprint reader works perfect.
But if I unplug the external power,using battery, no matter how clean my fingers are or how many times I've tried , the fingerprint reader just doesn't work correctly. Sometimes it says "Match failed" , sometimes it says "try again" or something else like that . BTW , please forgive me that I don't exactly know what it will display in an English OS ,mine is Chinese

I've already send an E-mail to IBM technical support. Hope they can solve this problem soon.

zhu8jie · #29 Post by **zhu8jie** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 9:06 am

Here I encourter another similar problem:
If I use external power ,then the fingerprint reader works perfect.
But if I unplug the external power,using battery, no matter how clean my fingers are or how many times I've tried , the fingerprint reader just doesn't work correctly. Sometimes it says "Match failed" , sometimes it says "try again" or something else like that . BTW , please forgive me that I don't exactly know what it will display in an English OS ,mine is Chinese :(

I've already send an E-mail to IBM technical support. Hope they can solve this problem soon.

BTW,my T43 model No. is 26681BH.

padpad · #30 Post by **padpad** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 10:15 am

no such experience on my T42

ethernet port causes fingerprint reader problems

ethernet port causes fingerprint reader problems

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