Studio 15 Wifi catcher again - advice please!

Hello folks,
OK so I got my s15 a few months ago. All was well except that I noticed my wifi catcher doesn't work properly. The manual says it should work like this:

Flashing white: Searching for networks
Solid white for 10 seconds and then turns off: Network found
Off (flashing white turns off after 10 blinks): No signal found

Also my catcher never even does '10 blinks' as above, it is always just 3.

When windows is running, the same button works and launches the available networks utility so the physical button works.

I've tried my catcher (always with laptop off) in numerous places including my own home (where my home wifi network is available) and coffee shops where there is a public hotspot. On numerous occassions I have gone into a coffee shop with the machine off. I've pressed the catcher and got

Flashing white: Searching for networks (well, 3 blinks)
Off (flashing white turns off after 10 (well, 3 in my case) blinks): No signal found

After this I've booted up and found / connected to a network straight away.

Last night I tried 'dell chat' with a support teccy and I got absolutely nowhere. Although they admitted that the catcher should work as I've said, they refused to accept mine wasn't working. They basically said they cannot help me.

I am looking for advice here if possible please folks. OK, so I know its not the end of the world but I hate having a feature on my laptop that does not work. I've effectively got a useless button that does nothing but flashes a pretty light 3 times when I press it.

I recently did a road trip in the US and booked my hotels as I went. The catcher would have been very useful here.

My suspicions with this are that it is either a) my laptop came with the higher
DELL WIRELESS 1510 (802.11N) card, or that its got 4gb of ram on vista 32 (home premium).

My g/f s inspiron's catcher works fine but she has the lower intel card.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I do about this? Really I think Dell should be fixing this as its one of the advertised features of the s15. I think I'd like to escalate this further but not sure who to speak to.

Has anyone else had this problem?

Thanks in advance,

KaiConfuzzled.

 

I don't get it... so the Wi-fi Catcher works, but displays with 3 blinks instead of 10?

edit: right, so what you mean is regardless of whether there are or aren't wireless networks present, your wifi catcher light will blink 3 times and then -nothing-

possibly related: link quote: "Because the Wi-Fi Catcher Network Locator is disabled and not configured for use when your computer is shipped to you, you must first use Dell QuickSet to enable and configure the switch to control WiFi network connections. For more information on the Wi-Fi Catcher Network Locator and to enable the feature through QuickSet, see the Dell QuickSet Help. To access the Help file, right-click the icon in the taskbar."

So have you got the Wi-Fi Catcher enabled? (this might only apply to the latitude d820)

edit3: had a look at the s15 manual - "The Wi-Fi Catcher Network Locator is enabled and configured for use when your
computer is shipped to you. For more information on the Wi-Fi Catcher Network
Locator and to enable the feature through Dell QuickSet, right-click the QuickSet
icon in the notification area, and then select Help."

 

I'm having exactly the same problem as the thread starter. The indicator only blinks 3 times regardless of whether there are wireless networks or not. I just emailed Dell Support and I'm waiting for their reply.

 

namaiki - thats right, 3 blinks only, wherever I go.

ps89 - I notice you have the dell wireless N card and 4gb of ram. Wonder if anyone out there has a studio with a working catcher and what is their spec?

Thanks.

 

I'm using same card (1510) and WiFi Catcher is working fine. It must be configured using Dell QuickSet (check the attachment for config).

Before it starts searching for networks it blinks 3 times - then a pause, a few seconds, searching for active networks - then it blinks multiple times if no network is found / solid white if a network is found.

 

KaiConfuzzled: I'm not sure. It should be either the Dell 1397 Wireless-G Card or the Dell 1510 Wireless-N card.

TeodorX: Hmm... No matter what. Mine only blinks for 3 times and that's it. Below are the screenshots of the settings. Apparently they are the same as yours. Wonder what's wrong with it.

 

My Studio 17 has the same problem, I've seen posts about it on here before but so far no resolution. It was suggested that it could be something to do with the network security type but as my wife got an Inspiron 1525 at the same time I got my S17 I was able to test her wifi catcher and it worked fine so ruled that out.

 

Too bad the quickset for the studio 15 doesn't work on xp.. so the wifi catcher doesn't work at all now :-(

 

TeodorX - how much RAM do you have please?
I have the 1510 wireless n card and my catcher config in DELL quickset is the same as yours. Also in the past I have tried experimenting with these config settings to no avail.
I'd really like to get this matter resolved but I am starting to lose hope.
I might try temporarily removing 2gb of ram just to see if it a RAM issue. I know some have reported other issues when running Vista 32 with 4GB.

 

@KaiConfuzzled
2GB (2x1GB) RAM.

I've studied S15 service manual today, and (interesting!) I didn't found anything about WiFi Catcher ...

 

TeodorX,
Thanks for that, it may be a red herring but its worth a try.
I'll pop some ram out and let you guys know the outcome.
Thanks, have a good weekend,
Kai

 

I sent Dell an email and they are sending over an engineer to diagnose and replace necessary parts for me. Hope the catcher will work again!

 

ps89 - WOW - an engineer. I wait in anticipation. Best I could get was a semi stroppy 'dell chat' session.
Please post your results once the engineer has been.
I was away this weekend but I will try to take some of my RAM out and try it (to see if 4gb is the problem).
Thanks
Kai

 

Folks:

Last night I turned on my home wifi router. I pressed my catcher, 3 flashes, then nothing.

I turned on the laptop, connected to the network straight away.
So I powered down, removed the battery and the back cover.

I removed 1 stick of RAM, (my config is 2 x 2GB), and re-attached the battery.

I pressed the catcher and HEY PRESTO - 3 flashes, a brief pause and then constant light for about 10 seconds.
I repeated this several times to confirm, then I replaced the ram and tried again.
Then with 4GB present, I am back to the 3 flashes then nothing scenario.

So, finally, after all of Dell's efforts failed , with the help of this great site, I have found the cause.

Obviously I prefer to have more ram than a wifi catcher, but I guess ideally Dell could release a bios update or something to cure it.

I will be emailing dell to advise them of this.

Thanks to all who have helped.

Kai.

 

Hello KaiConfuzzled. A Dell engineer came over to my place yesterday. He changed the front cover of my laptop. But the catcher still is not working. The catcher still blinks for 3 times only and nothing else. He ran out of ideas and just left. I guess the problem lies in somewhere else. Well, at least I got a new front cover. It's easier to flip the cover now as the hinge is looser. It used to be very tight and I needed to hold the base of the laptop to flip open the cover or else I'd risk lifting the whole laptop instead of the cover itself. Besides that, there is no more squeaking sound when I press certain parts of the cover, which is good news.

So, according to your observation, the problem lies with one of the RAM slots? I'd try to remove one of the RAM sticks and see whether I'm facing the same problem as you. I'd also convey this to the Dell Customer Support staff and hopefully an updated BIOS would fix the problem. Thanks a lot for your effort. Really appreciate it!

 

ps89 - Just to clarify, yes, the problem lies with the RAM.

However, it is my belief that the problem is not with a ram SLOT as such, but more the total quantity of the RAM. For example I would theorise that the wifi catcher software (which I would guess is bundled into the BIOS) was written and tested on a 2GB build.

So to conclude I don't think it matters what type of ram configuration the machine has, but more the quantity of ram. I would guess however that most DELL studio laptops are configured with either 2gb or 4gb from the factory.

If anyone has a 3gb dell studio we'd be grateful to hear if your catcher works!
I am just penning an email to dell about the matter....

 

Folks:

If anyone is interested, here is the email which I have just sent to Dell technical support: (I'll post any response if it arrives).

=====================================================

Dear Sir / Madam.

I am contacting you in order to hopefully shed some light on a technical issue
which I am experiencing with my Dell computer. I have been having this problem for
some time, and despite several attempts to resolve the matter by yourselves, the
problem still remains.

I draw your attention to my product, which has service tag number: ***** / order
number *****. The machine is a Dell Studio 1535 laptop.

To recap, my issue is with an inoperative wi-fi catcher network locator. As you will know, this
button, mounted on the left hinge of my machine, is designed to allow a user to locate a wireless
network, without the need to power up the system. This should work in the following way (as quoted
from the user manual supplied with the machine):

Flashing white: Searching for networks
Solid white for 10 seconds and then turns off: Network found
Off (flashing white turns off after 10 blinks): No signal found

I also refer you to an electronic version of this guidance, from your website:

http://supportapj.dell.com/support/...8793~7~262233&lang=-1&doclang=en&toggle=false

After extensive trials, in several areas (including a different country, whilst on holiday)
I have been unable to locate a wireless network (including my home network) using this catcher
facility. I can confirm that the problem is only with the catcher, and that when the machine
is powered on I can easily locate and connect to wireless networks.

Firstly I refer you to call reference ******. After several messages between myself and
one of your technical support staff members, a call to myself was arranged for
between 08.00am and 10.00am on Saturday 27th September 2008. I waited for this call, ready with
my laptop powered on. The call never came and finally, at approximately 2pm I was called.
At this point I was driving and unable to answer.

Finally, after returning from a vacation, I contacted Dell via the online chat facility. I draw
your attention to incident session id: *****.

After well over an hour of fruitless discussion, the operator refused to accept that my laptop
was not functioning correctly. Despite reciting to me the way the wi-fi catcher should work, he
disagreed with my view that it is not working on my machine.

As I feel at a total loss with Dell's technical support, I decided to research this matter myself.

I did some on line research via discussion forums. Of particular use was

www.notebookreview.com.

I found from this research that many users of Windows Vista 32bit who have got
4GB of RAM in their machines have encountered various problems.

After speaking to numerous Dell Studio laptop owners on the forums, I learnt that
many have exactly the same problem as me: an inoperative wi-fi catcher network
locator button. I also learnt that each one of these people had their laptops configured with
4GB of RAM.

Suspecting the RAM to be the cause, I performed a test on my machine whereby I temporarily removed
2GB (1 stick) of RAM. After doing this I was surprised to see that immediately the wireless network catcher
locator found wireless networks. To confirm, it behaved like this:

Flashing white: Searching for networks
Solid white for 10 seconds and then turns off: Network found

I repeated this test many times, in some cases replacing the 2GB stick to make the machine once again
have 4GB. Each time, with 4GB the catcher did not find any networks, but with
2GB it found networks.

I therefore would like to suggest that the software which the wi-fi catcher runs on was originally
developed and tested using a machine with 2GB of RAM. I suspect DELL engineers
have never tested the wi-fi catcher on a machine with 4GB of RAM. I would also suggest that a BIOS revision
needs to be written by DELL, in order to resolve this matter. As you know, the DELL studio is a popular product line,
spanning all corners of the globe. I suspect every single machine with 4GB of RAM will have this problem
and therefore a solution is required.

I would ask you to try this for yourselves. Simply test the catcher locator on a DELL studio laptop with 2GB and
then 4GB of RAM.

As your website clearly advertises this feature, on the 'design' tab of the Dell Studio pages:

'Dell Exclusive Wi-Fi Catcher
Find a wireless network without even powering up your system.'

I would be very grateful if you could provide a fix for this problem.

So far I have been very disappointed with Dell's inability to resolve this matter. Furthermore, I have
been particularly dissatisfied with Dell's reluctance to believe me when I say my machine is not working as it
should. I sincerely hope Dell can restore my faith in their technical competence.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards

Kai Armer.

 

KaiConfuzzled: Cool. It's very well written. Explains the problem clearly. Hopefully they take this seriously and come up with a proper solution (e.g. BIOS update). A customer service staff even said that the Wi-Fi Catcher is only used to pop-up the window which shows available wireless networks in Windows. I guess she didn't do her homework well. Thanks a lot for your hard work!

 

ps89 - thanks for that.

I specifically structured the email to make it as clear as possible: I fear that it will be initially read by one of the front line support staff at dell. Whilst these people do their best to help, they are just simply versed enough in the product details. For example, when you mention wi-fi catcher trouble, they go straight down the standard 'script' of reinstall network card drivers etc.

Its madness. I just hope that the addition of the link to that page on their site shows them in no uncertain terms how the thing should work. I am prepared to take this to the highest level, more out of principle than anything else.

I paid GBP 800 for my machine, and I expect it to work as designed!
Keep you posted,
Thanks
Kai

 

Update:
I've finally had a response from Dell, wholeheartedly thanking me for the steps that I've taken in diagnosing this issue. They've come back to me and said they will send an engineer to fit a new wi-fi catcher switch to my machine.

I initially questioned this diagnosis with them as I would expect the software for the catcher to lie in the BIOS (just a guess). They came back and re-iterated that the technical team acknowledged that the issue is with 4GB machines and that a new switch will fix.

All I can assume is that the catcher software lives on a chip built in to the switch, and that a new switch has updated catcher software, well, firmware I guess.

I'll post what happens as and when....

 

Hello, KaiConfuzzled. Thanks for the update. May I know if the Wi-Fi Catcher switch you are referring to is the button itself? If yes, then I'm afraid it might not work. The engineer that came to my place changed it and it is still not working. The switch is part of the front cover and to change it you must change the front cover as well. The switch has wires and they are connected to the wireless mini card. At first, I thought either the wires or the switch is faulty. It turns out that none of them are the cause of the problem.

 

ps89 -
Thanks for this. Yes, it is the switch / top cover that they wish to replace.
This is a worry. I have forwarded your experience to the chap dealing with my case at Dell, to see what he says. At this point no engineer has been arranged, but its on the cards.
I'll keep you posted.
Thanks
Kai(very)Confuzzled.