T61p wireless connection problem...any suggestions?

I have both a T61p and a X61t and have been experiencing some extremely slow internet via wireless. I am visiting family and have been connecting through their 2.4GHz D-Link router and my internet is running very slowly and some sites the browser times out on both my Lenovo laptops. When I connect via the cord, the connection is just fine. The interesting twist is that my sister had a brand new Toshiba laptop that runs just fine on the same wireless network?

I am not very tech savvy...but is there something wrong with my laptops or is it just the wireless router? Could it be the router if my Lenovos are both experiencing difficulties while my sister's Toshiba works just fine?

 

look at the connection itself, does it work fine and then drop? or are the download speeds just plain slow?

If you have drops it might be a power saving feature. You can turn this on/off as needed

If you have slow download speeds period, you might have an older driver. Run system update and look for any updates for your wifi card

 

If you are using wifi in an urban area, this could also be related to your issues. I live in downtown San Diego, and even with my WAP less than 20 feet from my T61p, and nothing but a hollow door or a bed between it and my system, I often get reliability issues using wifi. They usually occur at night, after 5pm (when everyone gets home from work). If I browse local wifi networks, I see 22 networks, and those are just the ones broadcasting SSID's. Overall, I've found my T61p gets significantly better wifi performance and reliability than the Dell laptops I'm used to working with (including my girlfriend's), and when I visit my parents (who live in a suburban area without much wifi interference), I get a very reliable, high performance connection from 50+ feet away, with several walls between my system and the WAP.

There are many other things that can interfere with wifi frequencies, including microwaves and even possibly street lights. If you have your WAP or system on a metal surface, or if they are seperated by a metal surface, that can block the signal. If your system gets too hot, that can also cause the wifi to lose signal.

 

Thanks for the quick responses...you all are great. I updated the wireless drivers for both the x61 and T61p from the Intel site...didn't make a difference. My family lives out in a fairly rural location with no other sireless networks detected besides the one in the house. The connection is just very, very slow and is so slow that at times, it 'times out." The two Lenovos are consistently slow, but the wireless on my sister's Toshiba (I am typing on it right now) works just fine. What would cause the difference between the Lenovos and Toshiba?

This is very weird and frustrating as I will be leaving the T61p for my parents to use. My Dad is getting skeptical of the glowing review that I gave the T61p! I don't think (and I hope that it isn't) a problem with the Lenovos, since they both are having the same problem (and they worked fine at my home before traveling). I just can't get over the fact that my sister's laptop is working flawlessly!

 

man i hate that, you have a good run with a product, recommend it and then this happens and people doubt you

lets go through the basics

1) are any background upload/downloads going (ie bit torrents?). kill those and then test.

2) Disconnect the t61 from the network

3) reboot the router (DO NOT RESET IT, just unplug it for 10-15 seconds and plug it back in)

4) reconnect and check

 

1) have already tuned up both the t61p and x61...the laptop is running efficiently

2) have disconnected both and reconnected both, with the same result

3) already did a router reboot...no change

...again the weirdest thing is that the toshiba works and my lenovos are having problems.

 

go to power manager and recheck your settings to make sure wifi performance is max when plugged it.

are you using lenvo's access connections to connect or windows vista's built in wifi service?

if using lenovo's access connections, try playing around with the settings for that network connection.

make sure in control panel -> device manager -> network adapaters-> your wifi card -> power management

you have "turn this device off to save power" unchecked. See if that helps

Good luck

 

I know some Dell wireless cards and Verizon Westell combo modem/wireless routers have compatibility issues. The solution is a firmware update to the Westell. Need to call Verizon and they will flash the modem/router.