T400 - Wireless 5300 Issues

Does anyone have trouble connecting to wireless signals?

I've had trouble connecting at home and in public places. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Shows "Limited Connectivity"

 

trouble connecting or trouble staying connected? If it's the latter try this:
launch the power manager (right click the battery icon), switch to advanced settings, under power plan click on advanced settings, and change the wireless adapter settings to maximum performance. good luck

 

k, well i'm using windows xp.

I think I found the settings you're talking about in Device Manager. No help though. Still shows "Limited Connectivity" after doing a 'repair'

 

sorry, I can tell you that I was having similar problems so you're definitely not alone. good luck figuring it out

 

that's good to know. if i'm not alone then it's a driver issue which will hopefully get resolved soon.

 

Vista brain damage. I have been trying to resolve these intermittent "identifying network" and "access: local only" problems for years. Tons of discussion all over the web. No clear resolution or even explanation of why Vista is so broken.

 

rxblitzrx, lol
yep me too... I am using intel 5300 win xp pro with intel connection manager, I get this problem when I open the lid after waking my laptop from standby. The issue lasts even if I restart my laptop, repair my connection or use ipconfig.
I didn't post about this topic as there are already lot of posts for t400 problems, lol... I think this should be driver issue though.

 

I'm using Windows XP.

Parijat: awesome! At least that's more confirmation that my wifi card isn't defective.

 

I have had the same experiences with Broadcom cards it which it would not reaquire an IP address after it goes into standby or hibernation.
The only way I know to fix this is to replace the Vista drivers with XP drivers - apparently it was compatible and fixed the issues I have.
Not quite sure about the compatibility for the Intel card though..

 

interesting, usually drivers are very stable for win xp, maybe we've to wait as this is a new card.

 

true that.... it's a little frustrating because i'm forced to use my Palm Treo connected to my laptop for internet access... it'll get me by until they figure out the drivers issue

 

I think I am having similar problems the 5300 holding a solid signal. Signal strength changes often even thou the laptop isn't moving. I don't have this problem with the T42.

Waiting for one of you guys to figure it out

 

My connection keeps changing speeds. I'll connect to a G network at 54... then it drops to 42... then later to 18, 12, 54, 42...

anyone else?

 

Same here. I thought it might be utorrent running in the background (from the other thread) but it seems like you guys are having similar problems.

I'm vista ultimate 32 by the way.

 

XP Pro SP3
WiFi 5300

Connecting to Wireless-G networks

 

This behavior is normal as the wireless adapter cannot maintain the speeds it is connected at. This is usually caused by interference nearby or a weak signal. Thus, for the very reason, you will see your adapter change to different speeds as it tries to find a speed that it can transfer the data without much errors or retransmission. (The more data you are trying to send, the more "perfect"/clear the channel has to be)

If you want to test this, try setting up two computers on the network and transfer a big file over the wireless LAN. You will see that the data rates will start to drop when you start the transfer but raise back up when the connection is back on idle. (The drop does depend on how clear the channel is - The more clear the channel, the less drop(s) you should experience - sometimes you will see it going between speeds)

Let me know of your findings.

P.S. Technically you can force the adapter to use a certain speed iwthout "retraining", but doing so might actually result in a slower connection as the amount of retransmission needed is far too great and it would be faster to just transfer the data at a lower speed.

 

You are correct sir Just to have more knowlegeble people around. However, the signal strength does change even when NOT downloading large files. Just not as much.

 

i had the same problem before. i disabled the 802.11n mode of 5300, and now it's working normally.

i guess it's because of incompatibility with my d-link wireless-n router.

 

For the past day i've been able to connect to 2 different routers running Wireless-G with 100% success. No loss of signal, limited connectivity, etc...

Maybe the coffee shop I was at yesterday had terrible wireless. I'm not writing this issue off yet though because it seems to be reproducible amongst many people here.

I've changed several settings for the wireless card:
Disabled - Wireless N stuff, changed to G only networks, and maximum performance. I'll try changing this back to default to see what happens.

 

hmmm. now i have all default settings and i'm doing just fine.

 

ThinkPad Intel WiFi 5300 Wireless Connection Drop Problem and Solution!!!

I have read about Intel WiFi Link 5300 wireless connection drop problems on many different forums, including ThinkPads and many on other computer systems. In the end, I was able to solve this problem using a simple approach documented below in the SOLUTION DESCRIPTION section.


************
PROBLEM DESCRIPTION:

- Wireless connectivity works but drops connection after a few minutes, sometimes as quickly as just a few minutes, other times taking as long as 30+ minutes.

- The ability to replicate the problem is consistent, in that it always stops working in a relatively short period of time. However, it is impossible to predict how long before the connection drops, although it usually happens in less than 30 minutes, sometimes even quicker.

I received a W700 2 weeks ago, loaded with Windows XP Professional and the Intel WiFi Link 5300, etc.

This connection drop problem happened to me while running Win XP SP2 as well as SP3.

Note: I've heard that SP3 vs. SP2 matters and I've read some forum entries that indicate rolling back to SP2 fixes the problem. However, I've seen other evidence/posts that indicate it doesn't make a difference. Regardless, I am running Win XP Professional SP3.

I tried updating to the latest Intel 5300 driver (12.1.2.1) alone and the problem did not go away.


I also tried updating multiple drivers via the Lenovo site.

The latest Intel WiFi Link 5300/5100 drivers available on the Intel website are newer than those found on the Lenovo support and download site.

In the end, a posting on several forums by jposner led me down the right path, which was to update my ThinkPad with three things: (1) Intel WiFi Link 5300 driver (2) Intel WiFi Link PROSet software (3) Latest ThinkVantage Access Connections

The specifics of these three parts of the solution are described below in the "SOLUTION DESCRIPTION" section.


************
SOLUTION DESCRIPTION:

1) Update Intel® PRO/Wireless and WiFi Link 5300/5100 Drivers-Only (12.1.2.1)

AND

2) Update Intel® PROSet/Wireless WiFi Connection Utility (12.1.2.0)

using one of the following links:

support.intel.com/support/wireless/wlan/5300_5100/index.htm
(Multiple downloads for different Operating Systems)

downloadcenter.intel.com/filter_results.aspx?strTypes=all&ProductID=3062&OSFullName=Windows*+XP+Professional&lang=eng&strOSs=44&submit=Go!
(XP Specific)

downloadcenter.intel.com/filter_results.aspx?strTypes=all&ProductID=3062&OSFullName=Windows
(XP 32/64 & Vista 32/64)

3) Update ThinkVantage Access Connections V5.0.2

Use Lenovo Downloads and Drivers for your model ThinkPad, via the following link:

www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/homeLenovo.do


The combination of ALL three of these has fixed my wireless connection drop problem, which would happen anywhere from 3 minutes to 30+ minutes after an initial wireless connection. I have run for days now without a wireless connection drop, across 802.11a/b/g connections.


***********
POTENTIALLY IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL DETAILS:

I also found it useful to configure the Intel WiFi 5300 Wireless Driver with the following details:
(This is based on reading many other posts across many internet Wireless 5300 & ThinkPad forums)

o Power Management "Highest" and Roaming Aggressiveness "Lowest"

Start > Settings > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Computer Management > Device Manager > Intel WiFi Link 5300 AGN Properties > Advanced Tab

o Power Management "Highest"

o Roaming Aggressiveness "Lowest"

o Power Saver mode off (don't let Thinkpad/Windows Power Management turn wireless off to save power)

Start > Settings > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Computer Management > Device Manager > Intel WiFi Link 5300 AGN Properties > Power Management Tab

o Un-Check "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power"

o ThinkVantage Access Connections > Manage > Edit Profile for your connection > "Wireless Settings" Tab

o 5. Advanced Configuration "Settings" button > "Power save mode:" > "Low (best network performance)"


Please feel free to comment here or email me with questions.

P.S. I am extremely happy and impressed with my ThinkPad W700 > It is FAAAAST, awesome display, great drive bays, and much much more...
This W700 system totally ROCKS!!! (especially now that my WiFi is rock solid

 

if you don't have N router, you can try to disable N function of your wireless card

My new T400 came with Access connections Version 5.1

 

I find that the drivers from intel work better vs lenovo's releases

 

I just ordered a T500 with the 5300 card also. It should be here next week. I currently have a wireless g router and was thinking of upgrading to a new wireless n router. Can anyone suggest one that seems to work well with the 5300 in the lenovo?

 

I also had the same problem. Called Lenovo, tech #1 wanted to replace the mainboard...on a 1 week old t400. Tech #2 told me to turn off power savings like described in earlier post, but that drains alot more battery, 12 watt on idle vs 8.5 watt.

My solution: Switched out my NetGear router to a Linksys and everything worked beautifully. So far I tried 2 NetGear routers both don't work, of the 2 Linksys models I tried, both worked flawlessly. I am currently using max powersavings and all power saving features turned on in the wifi card config page with zero problems.
Gonna give wrhahn's solution a shot.

 

Thanks for the valuable post wrhahn, your 3 part update solution solved the problem for me on my T400 recently after many hrs of other failed solution attempts.

 

Its a great relief from a very frustrating problem. Thanks a lot.