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Windows-specific wireless troubleshooting

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Windows-specific troubleshooting

There are four wireless connectivity problems which are common for Windows users. (These problems have not been reported on Macintosh or Unix systems.)

They include:

• Windows frequently changes which access point you are connecting to (which can break your VPN connection when one of those access points belongs to a network other than UIUCnet Wireless).
• Windows will not automatically connect to the UIUCnet Wireless network.
• The network connection status reports "connection unavailable" in an area which has UIUCnet Wireless network coverage.
• Your computer disconnects from the wireless network although it still claims to be connected with excellent signal strength, and any attempts to reconnect will cause networking problems that often require rebooting. (Intel 3945 WiFi driver problem)

Frequent changes in selected access point

In areas which contain both UIUCnet Wireless signals and departmental wireless signals, Windows may change back and forth between networks by homing in on whichever signal is stronger. To solve this problem:

1. In the task bar, right-click on the wireless connnection icon and choose View Available Wireless Networks. In the window which appears, make sure UIUCnet is on the list of available wireless networks.
2. Click the Advanced button. In the window which appears, click the Wireless Networks tab.
3. Check the box beside "Use Windows to configure my wireless network settings."
   (Note: This procedure works for most cards, but a few wireless cards' drivers will not allow Windows to take control from them. In this case, you will need to find the equivalent of a preferred networks list and disable auto-connecting to non-preferred networks in your wireless card's software rather than in Windows itself.)
4. If you wish to connect to UIUCnet Wireless most often, move it to the top of the Preferred Networks list. If you wish to use UIUCnet Wireless exclusively, remove any other networks from the Preferred Networks list.
5. Click the Advanced button in this window.
6. In the next window, remove the check mark beside "Automatically connect to non-preferred networks." (This will do the most to reduce the interference from unwanted neighboring signals.)

With this configuration, you will automatically connect to UIUCnet Wireless and will not swap back and forth between networks depending on which signal is stronger at the moment.

Windows will not auto-connect to UIUCnet Wireless

When more than one wireless network is available in an area, your wireless connection may expect you to choose which of them you wish to access. Depending on the configuration, it may also resist auto-connecting to a network which is not using the WEP protocol. (CITES uses the VPN server instead of WEP, because WEP has been proven insecure and there are simple exploits available to break it. However, WEP is the security standard which Windows XP is built to expect.)

Mouse over your wireless connection icon and pause until it pops up a message (like this image or this image, both taken in areas with partial coverage from multiple networks).

If the message says

Wireless Network Connection
One or more wireless networks are available.
To see a list of available networks, click here

or, in some circumstances,

Wireless Network Connection
Wireless Connection Unavailable

there are two remedies available.

1. Set your preferred network to UIUCnet as described above under the solution for frequent access point changes.
   
   
2. In the task bar, right-click on the wireless connection icon and choose View Available Wireless Networks. In the window which appears, place a check mark in the box beside "Allow me to connect to the selected wireless network, even though it is not secure." (As mentioned above, UIUCnet Wireless is secured by the campus VPN server; however, Windows XP is unaware of the VPN server's existence.)

After this, you should be able to auto-connect to UIUCnet Wireless in areas where it's enabled. If you can't, check the settings on your wireless card's own configuration interface (it may be attempting to override the settings you select in Windows XP).

"Connection unavailable" in a wireless area

There are three common conditions under which you may receive the "Connection unavailable" error message from your wireless network connection in an area which has UIUCnet Wireless available.

One of these situations is described above.

The second is when your laptop has a specific on/off switch to enable your wireless device (or antenna). Most laptops do not have an on/off switch for the wireless device; however, for those that do, make sure that the wireless device is turned on before attempting to connect. (An on/off switch is most common with laptops which have wireless networking built in.)

The third common situation is when the wireless signal is being interrupted by interference. (Possible sources of interference include microwave ovens or 2.4 gigahertz cellular phone users, among others.)

There are two error messages which indicate an interruption of the wireless signal in a mouse-over popup (like this image):

Wireless Network Connection
Connected to: UIUCnet
Signal strength: No signal

or, in some circumstances, simply:

Wireless Network Connection
Wireless Connection Unavailable

In these cases, open the Wireless Network Notification Status window (found by right-clicking on the wireless connection icon in the task bar and selecting Status). With this window open, walk around and/or try turning the laptop a different direction to see if reorienting the wireless card allows it better access to the UIUCnet Wireless signal.

No networking despite a connection and "excellent" signal strength

After a short period of time, laptops with the Intel 3945 WiFi driver eventually lose network connectivity, despite the network settings still showing that it is connected to the network with excellent signal strength.  Attempts to disconnect in the network settings causes further problems, ultimately requiring a restart in order to reconnect successfully.

In order to determine if your computer is using the problematic driver, see Troubleshooting the Intel 3945 WiFi driver for more details