[dr benway]

following up on a wifi disconnecting problem

http://forums.crackberry.com/f146/97...ml#post5919454

I received a new Bold 9700 from Tmo, with no fuss. However, the new phone is also unable to hold its wifi connection, and drops randomly. 5mins, 2 hrs etc

I have noticed that if the connection is set to "auto" vs "manual" then you dont really notice that the Wifi drops as the whole disconnect/reconnect cycle is only about 15s in total and the UMA indicator only cycles on/off for maybe 5s [and its even harder to notice if you're not on UMA, then just the wifi logo changes color-- grey/white]

you only really notice it, if you are on a call [and dont have any cell reception to switch to], browsing, or streaming slacker/pandora etc ie actually using the phone at the time of the disconnect

so I'm wondering if all 9700s might drop wifi like this, but that it goes mostly unnoticed?

So if some folks would set their wifi connections to manual, we can see if the wifi drops [as it won't just auto reconnect] and go unnoticed

the setting is; manage connections/wifi options/your active wifi profile/menu-edit/ then set connection mode to manual [from automatic] and save.

thanks for your help.

[Phill_UK]

Are you talking about UMA or wifi connection dropping?

If wifi, then mine never drops... ever. If UMA, then my carrier doesn't support it.

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[dr benway]

thanks for the reply

Wifi.

but if Wifi drops, then UMA drops also.

How do you know your connection is 100%? can you try the "manual connect" and see?

Thanks

Are you talking about UMA or wifi connection dropping?

If wifi, then mine never drops... ever. If UMA, then my carrier doesn't support it.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Phill_UK]

thanks for the reply

Wifi.

but if Wifi drops, then UMA drops also.

How do you know your connection is 100%? can you try the "manual connect" and see?

Thanks

I understand that if wifi drops then UMA drops, but is it UMA that's causing your wifi to drop?

And I know my connection is 100% because my wifi symbol never greys. I only use wifi when browsing, and I can always see my wifi icon from the browser.

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[dr benway]

no it isnt UMA causing the problem [pls see the thread in my first post for complete info]

the wifi even drops without a SIM card in the phone.

The wifi symbol only greys for a few seconds in the reconnect cycle. the ssid stays there also-- as its the connection thats dropped, not the signal

If you could do the "manual conection" test, and have your phone connected to wifi for at least 4/5hrs, that would be great.

Thanks

I understand that if wifi drops then UMA drops, but is it UMA that's causing your wifi to drop?

And I know my connection is 100% because my wifi symbol never greys. I only use wifi when browsing, and I can always see my wifi icon from the browser.

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[theSouthernAsshole]

im on tmobile too and use UMA religiously in my house since its hard to get a signal in certain parts. At times, i do see the wifi drop out for a brief period but thats only when im coming home from work. Do you think it could be that your router's strength is too weak for the phone to stay connected?

oh, and i have to refresh the connection every now and then too. turn wifi off for about 30 seconds and then turn it back on.

[dr benway]

I did extensive trouble shooting here

http://forums.crackberry.com/f146/97...ml#post5919454

its not the signal/router/isp/Tmo etc. its the phone.

ok-- so basically your wifi connection drops too-- which is why you need to "refresh" it

thanks for the info

im on tmobile too and use UMA religiously in my house since its hard to get a signal in certain parts. At times, i do see the wifi drop out for a brief period but thats only when im coming home from work. Do you think it could be that your router's strength is too weak for the phone to stay connected?

oh, and i have to refresh the connection every now and then too. turn wifi off for about 30 seconds and then turn it back on.

[theSouthernAsshole]

I did extensive trouble shooting here

http://forums.crackberry.com/f146/97...ml#post5919454

its not the signal/router/isp/Tmo etc. its the phone.

ok-- so basically your wifi connection drops too-- which is why you need to "refresh" it

thanks for the info

sorry didn't read the first post...wow, you did do some extensive testing. i hope the "refresh" helps.

[psiclne]

I was having the same issues around New Years. Figured it was my router (Netgear) - today I replaced that router with a new one, and problem still exists. Like you said it drops for a few seconds (grayed out) and then reconnects (white). It never used to do that for me, until recently & I havent made any changes on my 9700.

[fusioncal]

Since you've replaced your old 9700 with new one, did it ever occur to you the current wi-fi could be the cause? Could be the router, surrounding electronic devices with similar wi-fi channel, etc? Have you tried another wi-fi connection in other places, maybe?

[dr benway]

yes-- if you read the thread linked in my first post you will see I have done extensive troubleshooting

I also now realize that the 9700 has always done this, in many different locations [NYC Miami LA]-- UMA dropping to cell reception etc, but I did not notice it as much before because now, I have zero cell reception/signal and I was not streaming media before.

moreover, the phone does not lose the wifi signal, just its connection and my thinkpad has not dropped a connection once with the current router-- and its on for 14hrs a day.

I have also removed the modem/isp as a cause, because it drops its signal to the router, without the modem connected.

this phone also does not hold a 3G signal well, and in a side to side test with my old 8800, it has worse reception and also dropped [2G] calls where the 8800 did not.

thanks

Since you've replaced your old 9700 with new one, did it ever occur to you the current wi-fi could be the cause? Could be the router, surrounding electronic devices with similar wi-fi channel, etc? Have you tried another wi-fi connection in other places, maybe?

[rgorman]

I've had similar issues for a week or so. I did all the rebooting, resetting, editing and deleting/resetting of profiles. No change. Intermittent connections, drop outs, etc... Last night? Not an issue- worked fine. I usually wait a few days when something like this happens because 9 times out of 10 it has something to do with ATT sending service book updates overnight. things change all of a sudden, or may not work exactly the same until the next time when they fix whatever that glitch was. I'll keep an eye on it for a few days to see if it's fixed permanently.

[dr benway]

afaik, its not a TMO service book issue for me. the new 9700 never had a sim in it, so didnt download any TMO service books [I checked]

however the wifi service books are already on the device.

sometimes I can hold a connection for 3-4hrs.

thanks

I've had similar issues for a week or so. I did all the rebooting, resetting, editing and deleting/resetting of profiles. No change. Intermittent connections, drop outs, etc... Last night? Not an issue- worked fine. I usually wait a few days when something like this happens because 9 times out of 10 it has something to do with ATT sending service book updates overnight. things change all of a sudden, or may not work exactly the same until the next time when they fix whatever that glitch was. I'll keep an eye on it for a few days to see if it's fixed permanently.

[MRCCAT]

Unreal....mine worked great last night. I was constantly switching between the hotspot browser and regular browser. My 9700 also drops wifi connections as well. I switched routers and still does it.

[BeyondTheBox]

Had nary an issue with mine from the jump. Perfect connection to every WiFi network I use, both on WiFi & UMA. No idea why you'd get different results, perhaps just a bad model, perhaps a refurb that had the same issue when sent in and was never really fixed. I'd try another exchange because a girlfriend of mine also has the 9700 and her's has never had a problem with this either.

[dr benway]

then it would be great if you could change from auto to manual connect, to see that it doesnt actually drop.

ime, its hard to tell, otherwise

thanks

Had nary an issue with mine from the jump. Perfect connection to every WiFi network I use, both on WiFi & UMA. No idea why you'd get different results, perhaps just a bad model, perhaps a refurb that had the same issue when sent in and was never really fixed. I'd try another exchange because a girlfriend of mine also has the 9700 and her's has never had a problem with this either.

[BeyondTheBox]

then it would be great if you could change from auto to manual connect, to see that it doesnt actually drop.

ime, its hard to tell, otherwise

thanks

I'm thinking this might work...

Options > Mobile Network > (under Connection Preference) WiFi Only

That should eliminate the possibility of it switching to mobile networks, allowing it to concentrate it's connection solely on the wifi.

You can also try this...

Manage Connections > WiFi Options > (select network connected to) Menu > WiFi Tools > WiFi Diagnostics > scroll to signal level...

Even when I have three computers & my phone running off my WiFi at once my signal level is between -50 to -60 dBm. You can monitor it for a few and see how much it fluctuates. If you get much more than what I've reported above than you should try reseting your router, if you haven't already.

[BeyondTheBox]

I have found, in quite a few devices, that also under that Options > Mobile Networks section, if you change the "While Roaming" to Off, it prevents this constant switch-off and dropping from happening. Have yet to figure out why this affects it, other than eliminating any unnecessary extra functioning going on, but it has worked with several customers that have come in with the same issue.

[dr benway]

thanks for the reply

if you see my earlier post/link I have done extensive troubleshooting

signal level is not an issue, it drops at -40db.

I have tried the on/off roaming, along with pretty much every other toggled option.

maybe you can try yours on manual connect and see what happens. It also looks like I'm no the only one with this issue.

thanks

[BeyondTheBox]

When you say "manual connect" are you talking about going into Manage Connections > Setup WiFi Network > Manually Add Network? That's the only way I know how to manually connect to WiFi. Otherwise it's always automatic.

I'll admit that I didn't read through all of that thread because there's just far too much, but I can think of just one last thing you can try, if you haven't already. Go back to...

Options > Mobile Network > Network Selection Mode to Manual > Network Mode to 2G

You might be in an area where you're right on the cusp of a 3G & Edge network and it's causing a confliction with the WiFi connection in the switching-off between the two.

[BeyondTheBox]

Oh yeah, you can also try a different OS version. It's would be odd that .714, which is the stock T-Mo version on their phones, wouldn't work, as it's proven to pretty much be the most bulletproof OS on the 9700 since it's release, but doesn't trump the possibility.

[dr benway]

the setting is; manage connections/wifi options/your active wifi profile/menu-edit/ then set connection mode to manual [from automatic] and save.

is is not network related as it drops without a sim card in the phone, and with the radio switched off.

thanks

[BeyondTheBox]

Then it is the device or OS issues. That's your only two options.

[dr benway]

and I've changed both

Then it is the device or OS issues. That's your only two options.

[BeyondTheBox]

and I've changed both

Like I said before, sometimes you have to do more than one exchange before you get a good device. You'll often get a refurbished phone when you do those warranty exchanges, and you could very well have gotten a device that was sent in with the very same issue and simply wasn't fixed.