[HeyKCG]

Mine has just decided not to re-connect to the home network here at the in-laws. Working great, then... not working. Refuses to reconnect. I'm annoyed.

[HybridGT]

It's probably software
If it was hardware, RIM would've fixed it by now.
People usually say that updating messed their PBs wifi up.
New updates that fix things usually also break things

[The FOZ]

I'm going to speculate a bit...

...Could this issue be caused by a power saving feature? Somewhere along the line I installed "settings.bar", which is an Android settings menu, and under "about phone>battery use" it shows display at 53% and wifi at 48%.

Clearly, the wifi chip knows that you can't have 101% and is trying to cut back a bit to bring it down some :P

Seriously, though, with that kind of power use, it stands to reason that a power saving mechanism would exist, but since we can't access it, don't have a way of overriding it.

Let's try another approach. From BlackBerry PlayBook Teardown: Texas Instruments WL1283 and TriQuint Semiconductor TQP6M9002 | 79 of 80 , we know the two pertinent chips on the PB are the "Texas Instruments WL1283 WLAN/Bluetooth/FM" and the "TriQuint Semiconductor TQP6M9002 802.11a/b/g/n + BT front-end module"...

...And I have not clue where to go from there. I was hoping to find other devices that use the TriQuint, and didn't succeed. I'm unsure why the two chips coexistence, as their functions seem to overlap significantly. Both have different provisions for future development, which could be RIM's way of hedging their bet on which chip to use? Device architecture isn't really my strong suit.

Theories from this research:

1) Some sort of power saving feature gone awry.
2) The TriQuint and TI chips are fighting to the death.
3) Both chips have direction sensing features
4) TriQuint has something called "Temperature compensated bias network", I suspect may regulate performance vs temperature.
5) Triquint also has "integrated directional detectors" - may have some bearing.
6) As Slashd0t pointed out, frequent de-authentication may suggest switching from one wifi chip to the other??
7) The PB was designed to work as a bridge/repeater??

I haven't got a clue which chip is doing the actual wifi work - someone else could perhaps compare the frequencies each works on, and also the signal strengths of each chip at each frequency?

[JayInNJ]

I have had problems working with my Dlink N router. The problem has been that it will work fine for half a day and then at some point drop the connection. After that it won't even be able to find the signal again (SSID not listed), even if I switch wifi off and on. The only fix has been to go into the router and reset it. Note all my other devices work fine.

I have been messing with all the settings and found putting it in G only mode does the trick so far. I havent dropped and all my other devices have continued to work great. In fact havent noticed any performance difference in range or speed (and I do a lot of streaming on the local network between devices). Most of my devices were N capable but a few were only G, so maybe some issues were occurring with the mixed network.

[pallav_gupta]

Do you have full bars all the time? How far can you get from your router? Any ideas on router type?

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

i use cisco e4200 and have tested my pb upto a distance of 85 feet and i still had 1 bar in my bedroom that is around 40 feet i get full bars.

[anthogag]

I'm getting 4 bars on my pb at 30-40 ft from my router and it seems to hold the connection really well to my pb.

I have the D-Link 645 300N+ router from Staples.

I was going to get a Cisco router but the good one was about $80 more

[duffer900#CB]

I'm getting the exact issue as omega supreme. connection strength perfect, lots of random failures,still shows green strong connection. I have to turn off and back on wifi to make it function again. I use a dlink router. I have lots of devices that run flawlessly on it. If i leave the pb sitting for a while, im assured it wont be working....

[duffer900#CB]

**update
i had to turn wifi on and off to submit my post... it died while i was typing lol

[gnirkatto]

I have a brand new PB with the latest SW installed.
Wifi connection drops very often at my home. I have no WiFi problems at all with 2 different PCs, an iPad, and a few Androids and Nokias that I tested.
Unfortunately I am experiencing the same WiFi issues as on the PB with my 9900 - however that did not bother me a lot in the past as I did not surf the web on the 9900 when being at home, and 3G reception is decent.
One of my favourite bars offers a free WiFi hotspot - so far I have not succeeded to connect my 9900 due to "server errors" - despite the signal always being at full strength. Friends of mine succeeded to connect with their (non-BB) devices. Until now I believed it was the hotspot that had a problem, now I doubt that.
Will keep on testing in other locations - but I'm starting to believe that RIM might have a general Wifi problem, based on the experiences that I made so far with both 9900 and PB (and also based upon what I'm reading here).

[zorecati]

Forget about RIM standing behind their product!

After 4 calls and hours on the phone with support I was informed that "Yes" there is a problem with the 32g Playbook I rec'd. That was after the Tech support asked me to go to a local retailer to check out the Playbook demo. I went to the local Staples where they had a 16g as a demo. I connected to the stores wifi on the demo, which was at least 80' away, and the signal strength was -41dBm. I then brought my 32g in and tried to connect to the stores wifi from the same location as the demo. No connections available. I then went directly underneath the router (<10') that was hanging from the ceiling. Wifi was detected, but at -69 dBm. I called back Playbook support and after 45 minutes on my cellphone running through the same tests and re-boots done previously, I was transferred to "Chris" to issue an RMA. Unfortunately, RIM's solution is to send you a box that you put your Playbook in and return it for repair. I have only had the unit for a week and now they want to repair it???

Any other company would admit that they shipped faulty units and replace them with equipment that was tested and worked. Chris's explanation why they would only repair the Playbook and not replace it was that they had no way of knowing if the unit was dropped or damaged. If you read the previous posts it would be apparent that poor Wifi is not an isolated occurance.

I should have purchased an Ipad2.

I'm sorry, but no company I have ever heard of would do what you are demanding RIM to do. I'd just be greatful you didn't have to pay for shipping too. I have 3 playbooks 16, 32, and a 64 and the wireless works fine on all of them.

You got a defective unit, I know it sucks but it happens.

On too my findings. I have a cisco (higherend linksys) router that i have absolutely no troubles with. I can go anywhere in the house and have no issues. The linksys unit here at work has been troublesome but believe that may have something to do with the DSL line being the issue as I get disconnected using other devices here as well. If it helps, I connect to G on all my devices.

[siefer999]

my wifi is horrible on my playbook. I even upgraded from my crap router to a linksys e3000 and I can't get a solid signal in my room but I can get a stable signal on my touchpad , pc, 9780, laptop and netbook.

[FF22]

I have a brand new PB with the latest SW installed.
Wifi connection drops very often at my home. I have no WiFi problems at all with 2 different PCs, an iPad, and a few Androids and Nokias that I tested.
Unfortunately I am experiencing the same WiFi issues as on the PB with my 9900 - however that did not bother me a lot in the past as I did not surf the web on the 9900 when being at home, and 3G reception is decent.
One of my favourite bars offers a free WiFi hotspot - so far I have not succeeded to connect my 9900 due to "server errors" - despite the signal always being at full strength. Friends of mine succeeded to connect with their (non-BB) devices. Until now I believed it was the hotspot that had a problem, now I doubt that.
Will keep on testing in other locations - but I'm starting to believe that RIM might have a general Wifi problem, based on the experiences that I made so far with both 9900 and PB (and also based upon what I'm reading here).

re: pb - have you attempted to tweak your router? Either update its firmware and/or change the settings. Some folks find changing the channel can help, especially in apartments or close-in single family homes. Or change the settings on b/g/n routers to limit it to b/g (NOT "n"). Or if 2.4/5.x, change it to one or the other.

[gnirkatto]

re: pb - have you attempted to tweak your router? Either update its firmware and/or change the settings. Some folks find changing the channel can help, especially in apartments or close-in single family homes. Or change the settings on b/g/n routers to limit it to b/g (NOT "n"). Or if 2.4/5.x, change it to one or the other.

The router came from the cable company and I only have very limited options to tweak anything.
I suspected the router to be defective, that is why I tested so many other devices, and all worked well: Galaxy S2, Desire S, Nokia E7 & E6 & X7 & 701 & E72, iPad (1), an Android tablet, even a PalmPre if I remember correctly...
And then both my 9900 and PB show the same faulty behavior. I don't think it's the router's fault.

[joe592]

The wifi on the playbook is garbage, i bought the PB to use at work and because my work uses WPA2 the wifi wont stay connected for more than 5 minutes at a time. At my home it works perfectly no dropped connections whatsoever. But the thing is just a gloified paperweight if it wont connect at my workplace. I used to recommend the PB to people, now I would not recommend it at all. Next time i buy an android tablet.

[hpjrt]

Sorry you're all having so many inexplicable wifi problems! I can't understand it since I've had zero problems connecting at home, at work or at my son's place. This is over different routers with different carriers.

I have a 32 gig that I purchased at the end of November.

Of course, if I had experienced connection problems I'm the sort that would assume it was my fault. So it's fortunate for me that I had no problems! LOL

[kbz1960]

The wifi on the playbook is garbage, i bought the PB to use at work and because my work uses WPA2 the wifi wont stay connected for more than 5 minutes at a time. At my home it works perfectly no dropped connections whatsoever. But the thing is just a gloified paperweight if it wont connect at my workplace. I used to recommend the PB to people, now I would not recommend it at all. Next time i buy an android tablet.

I'm working on WPA2 at home.

[Angus_CB]

I also use WPA2 on wireless N at home with no dropped connections.
I've also got a cheap portable access point that I use in hotels that don't have WiFi. No problems with it either.

The Playbook shows the connection at 11 Mbps wireless G but Internet speed tests from home show 30 Mbps. The PB software lies.

Hey kbz1960, maybe it's the Black Lab influence. I have one laying here beside me.

[Paulrobs7]

I am having sort of the same issue, wifi works like a dream at home and in many other places but for some reason it will not pick up the wifi I have at work, I am typing this on my laptop through works wifi and I have my Playbook next to me and it can not pick it up, it must be something to do with the router as my Torch 9800 cant find it either.

[xKrNMBoYx]

wrt54gxx routers are atleast 8+ years old. Out of memory they only have a 54mbps. Maybe old and new technology does not want to play nice with each other

[xKrNMBoYx]

The wifi on the playbook is garbage, i bought the PB to use at work and because my work uses WPA2 the wifi wont stay connected for more than 5 minutes at a time. At my home it works perfectly no dropped connections whatsoever. But the thing is just a gloified paperweight if it wont connect at my workplace. I used to recommend the PB to people, now I would not recommend it at all. Next time i buy an android tablet.

Maybe it's just "your" playbook? Maybe its the way wifi is setup at your work. Maybe too much people are using the wifi and your works router cant handle it, or someone may be torrenting. WPA 2 is no reason that wifi would disconnect. My home I use WPA2 and at school WPA2 Enterprise.

You sound like the type of people who buy cheap products and expect EVERYTHING to be perfect. With 3 posts did you even have a good thread/discussion trying to solve your problems?

[PatrickMJS]

my PB has not had any wifi connection issues and I have used it in all sorts of settings, at home (with my WPA2 d-link router), at airports, coffeeshops, restaurants, hotels. Yesterday I was having lunch at a beach-side cafe here in Puerto Vallarta. I had entered their wifi code to send some emails before the food arrived, then put my PB away. A few minutes later, my PB starts making the videochat tone, and I pull it out and it was my daughter calling me from Canada. The video chat worked flawlessly. So I say to all the trolls who frequent the CB forums, THE BLACKBERRY PLAYBOOK HAS EXCELLENT WIFI. If yours isn't working properly, ignore all the trollish posts here and just use the one year warranty for what it was intended for: to replace a defective hardware unit. If they can get it to work in M�xico, all you guys in the U.S. should be able to figure this out! It's not that tough.

Having said all that, I made a recent discovery about the PB wifi: here in my PV condo, the wifi is WEP and it works really well. But when I was on the balcony the other day, I found that the wifi would drop if I held the PB upside-down, i.e., with the camera at the bottom and BB name at the top. (This only happened while holding it in "landscape" orientation, not when held either way in the "portrait" orientation.) If I hold the PB with the camera on top and the BB name at the bottom, the wifi remains rock steady. At home where I have a solid wifi signal throughout my house, I never had this issue but I will test it when I get home (fortunately, my return to the frozen north is still weeks away!!!)

So this got me wondering, if I'm at the edge of the wifi range, or if I were dealing with an older, weaker router, and holding it "upside down", perhaps this would explain some of the wifi dropping issues being reported in some of these posts.

[conix67]

Your Router is notoriously horrible.

I ditched mine and a bunch of other peoples.

I would try a D-link wireless n router.

I'm a system admin/ network admin.I was having issues with my Wireless Router being in a corner of my basement.. (Ipad, Iphone, Playbook) so I moved it to the main floor.. It works perfectly now.

THe linksys at my Parents House (same model as you) Wouldn't even let the playbook hit the internet.. HAd to wifi tether to my iphone.

I believe a lot of people on this forum with WIFI issue had DLink Wireless N router, very popular model like DIR-655. I have one of those, and my PB generally works ok but range isn't great compared to other devices/PCs.

[Chaddface]

The wifi antenna seems to be top/left. If the PB is upside down and the way I normally hold it I go from 4 bars down to one.

[kbz1960]

Probably a combination of things. A few years ago when I got my then vista lappy it would constantly drop connection and have problems with my linksys wrt54g router. I ended up buying a new router and didn't have any problem after.

[Bluemoonjules]

I'm working on WPA2 at home.

Me too.

Garbage? Nonsense ...TROLL IN THE DUNGEON!!!!!!!!!