Cisco WAP4410N and Surface RT - 802.11N and no connect

[sebastian]

Hi there,

I've a new Microsoft Surface Tablet since two weeks and I'm very happy with it. But unfortunately it has some trouble connecting to my WAP4410N.

I've set up the WAP4410 as a B/G/N Mixed Mode AP, WPA2 Personal with AES. All clients (Android Phone, Macbook, Mac Mini) can connect without issues to the AP. Only the Surface can't connect.

Found on the web a similar issue but it's an very old blogpost:

http://blog.mpecsinc.ca/2012/12/microsoft-surface-rt-wifi-connection.html

When I change AP Mode to B/G only I've no issues connection to the AP. Switching it back to B/G/N oder N only the Surface tries to connect, then it shows "connection takes longer than normal" (my translation) and last he says that he can't connect.

Newest firmware is on the AP, have reseted both AP and Surface but no luck. Don't know if it's an driver issue or an issue with the AP. Maybe someone has similar issues?

Greetings,

Sebastian

[Eric Moyers]

Hi, My name is Eric Moyers. I am a Network Support Engineer in the Cisco Small Business Support Center. Thank you for using the Cisco Community Post Forums.

From the way the article reads, "

It seems that the recent December updates that were supposed to _fix_ WiFi connectivity issues on the Surface RT actually broke ours that had nary a problem before."

The WAP's were working and then an update to the Tablet caused the issue.

Are you able to go to other AP's and connect at N speeds or at all?

Can other devices connect to your WAP when set to BGN?

A quick Google search found this:

http://microsoft-news.com/solution-for-wi-fi-limited-connectivity-error-on-the-microsoft-surface/

But let me state, I am no way saying you have to follow these instructions, or trying to give advice on the tablet. I am just pointing you to some sites so that you can make your own decision as to possible solutions. My first advice would be to contact Microsoft Support, however I know that they most of the time ask for money up front with phone support. Maybe you could post something on their forum as well.

Thanks

Eric Moyers    .:|:.:|:.

Cisco Small Business US STAC Advanced Support Engineer

CCNA, CCNA-Wireless

866-606-1866

Mon - Fri 09:00 - 18:00 (UTC - 05:00)

*Please rate the Post so other will know when an answer has been found.

[sebastian]

Hi Eric,

thank's for your reply.

I can't test the surface on another N-Network because I don't have access to another AP which is supporting N-Speed. But my mobile phone (HTC One) and my Macbook can connect without any issue to the WAP4410N in N-Mode.

My Surface is new, so I've a 90 day phone support. I've opened a case and explained the situation to them. Maybe it's only a driver bug but on RT it's not possible to update drivers manually.

Anyway I will test the solution posted in your link, maybe it's helping.

Thanks again.

Sebastian

[Eric Moyers]

No problem

Please keep us informed, glad to do anything I can to help.

Eric

[sebastian]

Hi Eric,

some news - at the moment there are no news from Microsoft. They offered me to swap the Surface Device but this isn't the solution I think.

Very interesting thing - a friend worked in a company where also a Cisco WLAN is present. They have many Cisco LAP1142N access points in the company and also have some new Windows 8 Tablets from ACER with the same Broadcom 802.11 a/b/g/n SDIO Card in it and exact the same behavior like my Surface.

The good thing is that these are regular Intel based tablets so we can play with the drivers. But maybe it's an important fact that the same WLAN NIC has the same issues on several Cisco devices?

Regards,

Sebastian

[sebastian]

Ok - it seems that a new driver has fixed the issue. We're using this driver:

http://support.lenovo.com/de_DE/downloads/detail.page?DocID=DS033165

and after a reboot (and a firmware update?) the issue is gone on the Acer tablet.

Regards,

Sebastian

[Eric Moyers]

That is great news. I really appreciate you keeping the forum informed as to what solved your issue. I will pass this information along to our development teams as well.

It is an interesting note that same device had similar issues across multiple devices.

even tough I personally did not provide you with the solution, could you mark this post as answered in case other people have a similar issue. That way they can see that your issue was resolved when surfing the forums.

Thanks

Eric Moyers    .:|:.:|:.

Cisco Small Business US STAC Advanced Support Engineer

Wireless and Surveillance Subject Matter Expert

CCNA, CCNA-Wireless

866-606-1866

Mon - Fri 09:00 - 18:00 (UTC - 05:00)