UL30a Wireless Issues Poll

anyone? ....

 

someone must know this

 

I have an UL30A-QX159V and it has Intel Wifi Link 1000 BGN. Till now there seems to work ok: the signal is good with a Trendnet TEW-633GR router, the connection is stable.
The only problem seems to be the fact that it doesn't connect at 300 Mbps, usually only 135/150. I have the latest Intel driver 13.0.0.107.

 

Did I miss something or did someone mention that they were able to unscrew the two screws and swap out the card? I have the UL50vt and have the same issue with the weak atheros card.

 

I had the wireless problem on my UL30-A2. I finally got it RMA'd and they replaced the atheros card. Now it's as solid as a rock.

 

hey spacetruckn,

how did u go about getting the new network card? how long was the rma process and what card did u end up receiving? I have the ul30-a2 (a1 combusted on me O_O and i am getting dropped signals often which really urks me cuz i am on campus from 8-5 and I'd like to be able to connect wirelessly on the go ;(

thanks,

 

I had the BIOS for my UL30A-A2 updated to the latest version 211 and my wireless connections are not dropping anymore. It is a very noticeable difference. Updating drivers and doing OS recovery did not help at all before.

The BIOS change log did not mention anything about addressing the Atheros wireless issues but it did seem to fix something related to the wireless card. Go figure.

 

Thanks for sharing. This is good to know!

 

Did anyone ever hear a definitive answer as to what the problem was? It seems like there are various "solutions" mentioned here, such as BIOS changes, Atheros card swap-out. It seems like there were many complaints here, yet I never saw a resolution mentioned that seemed to please everyone. Did everyone just call the number that ASUS gave, get it fixed, and not come back here to tell what happened?

 

I posted a few pages back - my reception was weak but not horrible. I installed the cheapo second antenna (it's sitting coiled up in the drive bay) which helped and I also found that the updated driver (from October I think) improved the situation. If I could easily get the card out of the machine without taking the body apart I would probably test out an Intel 5100 or something. But I'm not willing to go nuts with a screwdriver.

A few days ago I booted into Ubuntu (9.10) for the first time in a while and noticed that I was having problems with reception again - from the same spot on my couch that is now fine with Windows. So there's something going on that can be improved by updated software it seems. I'll probably try the BIOS upgrade tonight and I'll report back.

 

Thanks for responding. I've kept up with this issue for a while, and I was curious to know if there was a general consensus on what fixed it. So I'd love to hear what happens with your BIOS upgrade.

 

I'm wondering if anyone still looks at this link???

Anyway, I'm considering the A2. Found the following info re: the one I may buy

Integrated 802.11 b/g/n, Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 5100 ABGN Atheros AR8132M 10/100Mb

Is this a good card or is it the same POC this link has been discussing?

 

To be honest, I read more old threads than new ones - especially if a new post comes into a thread I had read previously. E.B.E. was doing you a favour linking to this thread.

Maynard_55 - Chances are no one answered your question as it has either been answered before and repeating answers gets boring, or no one is sure of the answer so they just keep quiet.

As far as I can tell, most people have found the wireless in the UL30 series to work fine. A small few experienced issues but I suspect they have been resolved by driver / bios updates as not many people lately have reported any issues.

 

^ BIOS and driver update did not fix the wireless issue on my comp.

I don't know what the general consensus is, but if you are having issues, call the tech support number on the bottom of the laptop and request an RMA to replace the wireless card. The CSR might not know about the problem, so do not give him or her a hard time. Instead, when sending the laptop for RMA, include a note requesting a replacement card.

When I went through the RMA process, they replaced the original Atheros AR9285 with another AR9285 card. The dropouts have stopped and a couple more APs are visible. They did not add a second antenna.

 

edit: nevermind..

 

Wireless Issue Solved w/ firmware upgrade?

My wireless connection connected with ease @ the same spot where trouble was had (before firmware upgrade), connected stable, fluctuating speeds - at times getting normal 1+mb/s speeds, then down to a crawl @ 20kb/s

-UL30A-A2

 

With only one post in the past week, sure seems like this is a dead issue, but with no consistent resolution.

 

Sorry sga - the kids got sick and I totally forgot about this. This BIOS update (211 not 212) didn't really make anything better. I"ll try 212 and see if that makes any difference... But the reception is acceptable now (my iPod Touch is having issues with my router at the moment too) so I'm happy enough. I noticed that I'm using a different power scheme recently and that might be helping too (it has wireless power saving turned to Maximum Performance). Good luck with the decision.

 

did no one ever try taking out the 2 screws for the card and seeing if it slides out???/ That seems easy enough to me, just try! I would test this myself, but it's my gf's laptop and it's not here. If it slides out, i'm going to try a half-size 5100 off ebay or something. If it doesn't slide out, i guess i will try an extra antenna first.

btw, RMA is not an option, too much time away from the laptop when we need it 24/7 it seems like during school

Also, are all half size intel 5100 wifi cards the same???

 

the card does not slide out

 

haha thank you! finally, after all these pages, a clear answer...

i just ordered one of the Apple mini pci-e antenna's, and i will see how that work's out. If that doesn't help, I'm going to call Asus and see what our options are. She loves the UL30 overall, doesn't want to send in for service, and also doesn't want to void the warranty. Hopefully the 2nd antenna does the trick like it did for a few others here!!

 

Just in case someone is interested, in my family we have UL30VT-X1 (Intel 1000) and UL30A-X5 (atheros AR9285), and i was checking the Wireless between both and intel seems be get much stronger signal with both G routers i have at home. The below pic is not that great but has Intel 80% (droped to 50%) while the Atheros 38% (droped to 18%)



I haven't experience any disconnects or connectivity issues, but seems the intel gets better reception, not sure if there is anything else different (antenas or placement etc).

 

Thanks for sharing this comparison. Just to play devil's advocate here, is there a chance that the difference in indicated reception strength has more to do with software programming or Intel's presentation of data (vs. actual hardware performance)? Just like how signal strength bars are not created equal on cell phones (Motorola vs. LG vs. iPhone, etc.), or even worse, could the signal strength meter be damped (like your car's fuel gauge, which will "hover" around full for the first 50 miles before dropping like a rock the rest of the way to Empty)?

Again, I'm not discrediting your conclusion, I'm just trying to determine if this is truly an apples-to-apples comparison with a meaningful result. I wouldn't be surprised if one brand/vendor "padded" their signal strength, and another is more conservative/realistic. Regardless of those considerations, the most important aspect (for me) is which performs better (connecting and maintaining connection, throughput speed and stability) in the real world, and your test in the same controlled environment can help answer that question.

 

LOL wow... i'm glad i didn't get a black UL30. Severe case of fingerprint magnet!!

 

So has anyone successfully been able to slide out the Atheros card and pop a new one in easily?

 

my samsung netbook N138 with AR9285 has two ant.

 

Just got the UL30A-X5 from amazon for 599.00

The wireless is rock solid so far in windows 7 but it drop out all the time in Ubuntu 9.10.

 

$600 new??? I saw it for $700 there.

***

Hello everyone, I've been looking at this laptop (UL30A-X5) for several months now. In that time I went through a macbook and an asus G60JX (too heavy). I need a real laptop that is portable. Anyway I always check this forum before buying and finding the wireless issue does not make me very happy. I want this laptop because I also want compatibility with linux, so I don't want switchable graphics.

The macbook I owned, had problems with the wifi at my college, even though I replaced the wifi card. So I know wifi connectivity can be a deal breaker.

The G60JX was powerful but way too heavy and it got extremely hot, so I returned it.

I read up to thread 12 and the last thread, but has anyone tried a "USB" antenna instead? They can get expensive if they are high quality but it might be an easier solution.

Also, I've read a lot of complaints that when you type the trackpad gets in the way and registers clicks. Can anyone verify this problem?
Also if I get this laptop I am thinking of disabling the multitouch features I've heard about on amazon reviews. I've also heard this feature is buggy.

 

I have an X5, and I replaced the stock card with an Intel 5100 half height card (i first ordered a full height and it didn't fit). Works great now, with only one antenna.

A few things I learned about the wireless problem: there were no performance problem when I used ubuntu linux. There were no problem when I connected to a non-N wireless network. It was specifically Windows 7 in wireless N network that I had dropped connections. the connection was better after i updated to the latest driver from their site but the performance, especially upload speed, was still unacceptable.

so i ripped it off and plugged in a new intel card. unfortunately i didn't figure out that there's a tape that held the old card in place. i had cut a slot on the casing near the wireless card to realize that. I'm not sure if that was necessary. but the cut was small it doesn't bother me. I did it with a utility knife - the plastic isn't very hard and i only shaved off a few milimeters of it.

well i nearly disassembled the whole laptop body and still couldn't figure out how to separate the back casing from the card. so i cut off the part of casing that got in the way. i brute force pried off the card and ripped the tape off with it. (i was pissed and going to throw out the crappy atheros card anyway.)

so if you wanna try pull the card, just remove the hard drive cover, two screws that hold the wireless card, disconnect the lone antenna, and try to remove the black tape that hold the card in place. hopefully that will make it easy to pull the card without cutting the case. the card slides in/out. you might still have a problem with the thickness of the card, though.

I'm sure there's a way to properly separate the back casing from the mobo, but i couldn't figure it out after removing all the screws and keyboard. maybe somebody get a hold of the service manual?

thanks everyone for the tips here!

Edit: here's a picture of the slot i cut near the wireless card. not bad at all, right?

the white blocks, ignore them, they are peeled off its motherboard and i slapped them there to hold screws.

 

Thanks cfishy, how much gain did you get? also did you order from ebay? (i'm reluctant to buy them because they are likely engineering samples)

 

sillyrabit: funny you mentioned. Those cheap ones on ebay are some sort of pre-production product and linux driver would not load because the hardware version is lower than limit. Windows is loading the driver just fine and it's working great. (I'm using SSD drives so everything is on the network.)

So I ordred some other ones that are used, pulled from Dell. Will install it later and let you know.

 

By the way, I tried some realtek card off ebay, too, and it was too thick I had to disassemble a lot more to slide it in. and it didn't work, Linux driver problems again.

 

So here I am, just installed the used intel 5100 half height card off ebay from seller e-partsandmore07, who claims these are working pulls from Dell laptops. This one loads Linux and Windows 7 drivers no problem. I advise against buying the cheap pre-production cards. Although if you just use Windows 7, it might be ok.

The only way I test is to load and watch HD movies and transmit some big files over SMB and speedtest.net.

I am uploading a youtube video as I did the swap to show you guys what it looks like.

 

Here it is: video of card swapping on an X5. YouTube - Changin wireless card for Asus UL-30

 

Does this:
http://i54.tinypic.com/9hhziq.jpg

Mean that my UL30 comes with two antennas? My specific model is the JT version if you want to know.

P.S: Sorry for the quality, it was taken with a mobile phone.

 

Nazgulled: yeah, those are the antennae

 

getting 5 bars at home, but only 3 bars at school... anyone find an actual solution to this? cause this problem seems to have been persisting for over a year

 

I'm looking currently for the UL30-A2 (silver) to buy. Almost impossible or costs a fortune.

 

dude its 599$ at ncix for boxing day. But if I were you, I would think twice unless you want some crappy wifi

 

Hi guys
I wanted to tell here my personal experience with my ASUS UL30A and the wifi card Atheros.
I had this laptop from my company and I started to use at the beginning of Juanuary in the office without problems on the wifi connection.

When I moved later at home I faced a lot of problems with the wifi, The signal was almost ever at the top but there were a few seconds latencies in the data trasfer sometimes.

I started to look in internet about this problem and I found this forum and someone of you spoked about the Wifi mode. Then I associate that maybe the problem coulb be in the Wifi mode of my router (here at home Vodafone station) so I changed it from Mixed 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11gb to only 802.11b and now it works like a charm. NO choppy connection no latencies anymore.

I hope this could help somebody else.