problem with wifi catcher

just has a vista to xp reformat done on an xps m1210. Works great except the wifi catcher isn't working. Is there a driver for this?

 

I think you can find some driver/utility for it in the CD driver.

 

Hey, is the Wi-Fi catcher "smart"?

Meaning, does it tell you if the network is Secured or Unsecured?

 

thanks
have to get it working to see if its smart

 

I am the owner of a D820 latitude and also the wifi catcher does not work, i have all enabled in quickset and bios. however i have seen that the wifi catcher works in XP but in vista it is a nightmare, as an engineer the problem seems to be a software issue that only Dell. intel and Microsoft can solve as there is incompatibility in vista. i also beleive that because the wireless card used on a lot of computers ie 3495 intel/pro abg is not a good card for Vista especially now that draft n is comming and these components are all linked. so it is possible that dell and company will have a cure shortly, as here in portugal we have a lot of computers with this issue.

 

i have a820 with vista and wifi catcher works GREAT! make sure you have quickset for vista installed! it will work!

 

Works great for me. Besure to hold the slider back for a couple seconds.

Amber = Secured
Green = Open

 

with vostro 1400,it works only when power on, not in power off. disappointing.

 

I have all these components installed, and still it will not work. evrything in the Bios is enabled quickset also and still nothing. today i contacted Dell UK support and they advised me it is possibly a hardware issue as they explained it works fine there and personally i have seen it work on various D820 systems (XP or Vista) in the UK so why not mine? therefore lets see what happens with new motherboard installed.

 

The WiFi catcher is really tricky. I have struggled for a month with drivers, quickset, BIOS setting, and eventually it works. You may need to disable it in the BIOS, reboot, and then enable it again to get it to work.

 

The Wi-Fi Catcher cannot tell if the network is open or secured. It can only tell if there are wireless networks around and if so is the signal weak or strong!

 

I also just received my Dell Inspiron 1420 and the WiFi Catcher light does not blink when the computer is turned off and not connected to any power. If I have the computer off and it is connected to the AC adapter and the battery is charging then if I hold the switch for a few seconds and let go the LED will blink yellow for a split second while the battery indicator blinks off. I know how this feature is supposed to work because I went to the Dell Store and tried it on there Inspiron 1420 and it works perfectly. Just hold the switch when the computer is off and the light will stay on for a few seconds indicating if there is a wireless network around. Not sure why the newer models are having this problem but the Dell Technical Support are of no help and are not acknowledging that there is an issue.

 

It took me a month to get it to work. First, it did not work at all. Then I re-install the WiFi driver and turn on the real administrator account, it works only after I shut down from the administrator account. Finally, it works perfectly after I re-installed almost all the NSS, QS, and a bunch of drivers, diable the WiFi catching in BIOS, reboot, and then re-enable the Wi-Fi catcher. I have no problem since then.

 

I had the exact same problem, i contacted dell about it several times and they said it was working ok, but i found out different. I have an inspiron 1520, and i went into the bios under system info, and to my surprise it said: WiFi: none, Cellular: installed, Bluetooth: none. I knew something was wrong because i had no cellular. I took off the network card panel on the bottom, I WAS SHOCKED! DELL HAD PUT THE WIRELESS CARD IN THE CELLULAR CARD SLOT! SO I TOOK IT OUT AND PUT IT N THE RIGHT one: the slot labeled WLAN. IF YOU HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM, DELL WIFI CATCHER NOT WORKING, DO THIS! Before doing this in vista i could slide the slider and it would bring up a wifi catcher window. Now wifi catcher works with it off or in standby(i dont know about hybernation because its disabled in my system.) Symptoms: WIFI light next to keyboard doesnt work, B or S logo shown when wifi switch is toggled, constant internet connection issues, error message shown when windows tries to configure it automatically. THE WAY IT SHOULD WORK: WIFI logo is shown when wifi switch is toggled, no internet or network issues, windows can configure it automatically, and most important of all Dell SAYS wifi catcher light should work regardless if the system is on/off, sleeping, or in hybernation.
High signal: 2 green blinks, then solid green
Moderate or low signal: 2 green blinks, then solid amber
Questions email me @ [email protected]

 

I have an inspiron 1525 (shamefully!) A short while after getting the machine my wifi catcher disappeared, following reading these threads, i opened quickset, all the settings were as they should be, so I left it alone, but the wifi catcher now works?! Not a lot of help for anyone else, but it worked for me!

 

Please do not revive old threads(6 months or older), you're better off starting a new one.
Thank you. Thread closed.