Periodic Loss of Signal

[bgibson]

I am trying to set up a wireless network in my office. However I am having a problem where approximately every minute or two I lose my signal for about 5-15 seconds.

I locked down the channel on the AP but I am still experiencing the same problem.

This is probably a simple question but I haven't found anything in the design guide. Any help would be appreciated.

[scottmac]

It sounds like interference (like from a wireless phone).

Try moving / shutting down other wireless devices (including cell phones) within range and see if the nature of the problem changes.

You can also try other channels. Channels 1, 6, and 11 are usually recommended (in the USA).

Give it a shot and let us know....

Good Luck

Scott

[srdja]

Maybe you are at the AP cell edge. Try to measure signal quality and strength with Aironet Client Utility (link status).

Also, if you are using Windows XP on client PC, try to remove Windows hotfix KB826942. I had problems with WLAN connection on some notebooks (with that hotfix).

Good luck,

Srdja

[stouati]

I noticed the same behaviour on a thinkpad X40 with the cisco a/b/g card. A compaq laptop with the same card same OS( XP) located at the same sppt as the thinkpad will lock on the signal without losing it.

I'm getting a signal of -72dbm on both laptops. Should I go and install the ibm wlan miniPCI card on the thinkpad as it will use the built-in antennas in the display instead of using the cisco pcmcia card?

Thanks.

Samy.

[jmagnusson]

I had the same problem - every 60-62 seconds i would see my signal drop out and association go away if I was watching the cisco client utility. I investiagated and found it to be an XP issue. XP's Wireless Zero Configuration service. It tries to look for an ap/better signal. I read this link and resolved the problem..

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=101103

I searched Yahoo for this "xp wireless zero drop" and found links about the issue...

[jmagnusson]

I had the same problem - every 60-62 seconds i would see my signal drop out and association go away if I was watching the cisco client utility. I investiagated and found it to be an XP issue. XP's Wireless Zero Configuration service. It tries to look for an ap/better signal. I read this link and resolved the problem..

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=101103

I searched Yahoo for this "xp wireless zero drop" and found links about the issue...

[chris.mears]

I have the same / similar problem on an IBM Thinkpad T41. Every minute or so I get a message that I have 'lost connection' and then I immediately re-associate. It's very frustrating. A bubble in the bottom right pops up every time it happens. Signal strength is 50-70%. Signal quality is good. Sometimes the cisco site survey tool looks fine-fine-fine then total disassociate/ loss of signal?/ and back on. All this while my laptop is stationary. I have latest greatest drivers on my laptop. Using Cisco 1200 WAP with IOS 12.x. If anyone has any insight --thanks.

[stouati]

Hi,

I still have the same problem, and ended up exchanging the cisco card.

I did more tests, and I found that an HP laptop with a miniPCI wlan card based on the same chipset as the cisco 802.11a/b/g card was reporting excellent signal quality consistently without any loss of AP association while my ibm and compaq laptops were having trouble authenticating with the AP in the first place.

I'm suspecting a bogus card in my case, as I do have 2 cisco cards and only one has this strange problem.

In the release notes of the latest driver for the cisco card there is a mention of a bug that describes these symptoms, and it's tagged as solved by the latest driver version for the card, but if you o check the bug description its still assigned and not solved.

Samy,

[jmagnusson]

Are you running XP ? if so read me previous post abpout Win XP Wireless Zero Configuration service..

[chris.mears]

(IBM ThinkPad T41 - Cisco PCI Wireless LAN adapter hardware, XP OS, Areonet 1200 WAP).

Yep. Running XP. And you are EXACTLY RIGHT.

I just found this solution yesterday and have been testing for hours now...

I disabled the "Wireless Zero Configuration" and I have had no annoying pop-up bubbles in my task bar regarding my wireless connection being lost, then found again.

Thank you for your post.