4:04 p.m.
I'm having terrible problems with my modem/router at the moment.
The WiFi connection on my Thinkpad laptop drops every 10 minutes or so.
I have to restart the network service to get the connection back.
I'm not sure what exactly wakes the modem/router up when I do this?
I presume some packet my WiFi driver sends has this effect?
I haven't found anything similar with NetworkManager;
when I restart the NetworkManager service it just says it is re-starting,
but I'm still not connected.
Windows XP is even worse, as the same thing happens there
and I don't know of any way to re-start the network.
At least, there is a way with Lenovo's ThinkVantage tools,
which offer a crude map showing visible access points;
and if you click on an access point it tries to connect to that.
This seems a great idea to me.
Under Fedora, "iwlist scan" lists the access points that are within range;
surely it wouldn't take a guru much time to convert this into a map,
and add an option to click on an access point to connect to it?
I'm not sure, incidentally, what the position of the AP on the map conveys.
The nearer points correspond to stronger signals, I think,
but I don't know if the position on the circle of that diameter means,
if anything.
The wireless device on my present Thinkpad T60 laptop is
Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 3945ABG, with the iwl3945 driver.
If anyone can throw any light on my problem, I would be eternally grateful.
I assumed the problem was in the outside line to the modem,
but my ISP assures me the line is perfect.
I tried using another modem (Billion), but it needs a password
and the password my ISP sent me does not seem to work.
(It is their modem.)
--
Timothy Murphy
e-mail: gayleard /at/ eircom.net
tel: +353-86-2336090, +353-1-2842366
s-mail: School of Mathematics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland
8:12 a.m.
On 02/15/2011 05:04 PM, Timothy Murphy wrote:
I'm having terrible problems with my modem/router at the moment.
The WiFi connection on my Thinkpad laptop drops every 10 minutes or so.
I have to restart the network service to get the connection back.
I'm not sure what exactly wakes the modem/router up when I do this?
I presume some packet my WiFi driver sends has this effect?
I haven't found anything similar with NetworkManager;
when I restart the NetworkManager service it just says it is re-starting,
but I'm still not connected.
Windows XP is even worse, as the same thing happens there
and I don't know of any way to re-start the network.
At least, there is a way with Lenovo's ThinkVantage tools,
which offer a crude map showing visible access points;
and if you click on an access point it tries to connect to that.
This seems a great idea to me.
Under Fedora, "iwlist scan" lists the access points that are within range;
surely it wouldn't take a guru much time to convert this into a map,
and add an option to click on an access point to connect to it?
I'm not sure, incidentally, what the position of the AP on the map conveys.
The nearer points correspond to stronger signals, I think,
but I don't know if the position on the circle of that diameter means,
if anything.
The wireless device on my present Thinkpad T60 laptop is
Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 3945ABG, with the iwl3945 driver.
If anyone can throw any light on my problem, I would be eternally grateful.
I assumed the problem was in the outside line to the modem,
but my ISP assures me the line is perfect.
I tried using another modem (Billion), but it needs a password
and the password my ISP sent me does not seem to work.
(It is their modem.)
I work on the IEEE 802.11 standards, so know what follows from working
closely with the engineers that build the products. I am a major
contributor to 802.11i, and am now working on 802.11ai. I am a security
protocol wonk, but am quite conversant with MAC issues, though only know
how to filter PHY talk...
A VERY common problem with WiFi is channel selection. If 2 APs have
overlapping coverage and on the same channel, this can cause a station
to drop its connection.
You need to use the discovery tools to see what channels are active in
your coverage area. Then you need to work with your neighbors so that
you are not stepping on each other.
Each country has its own specific allowed channels and with 802.11j (or
was that 11h? ARGH!) we got smart and it is now table driven. 2.4Ghz has
wider coverage, slower speeds, and fewer channels than 5.4Ghz that has
more channels, smaller coverage, and higher speeds. Choose your poison.
Many users just use the default channel and never change it and are
always complaining about lost connections.
6:43 a.m.
Timothy Murphy wrote:
I'm having terrible problems with my modem/router at the moment.
The WiFi connection on my Thinkpad laptop drops every 10 minutes or so.
I have to restart the network service to get the connection back.
Just to keep the story up-to-date,
a third modem/router from TI (Telecom Italia)
seems to have solved the problem completely;
the connection has held up for a day so far.
The history is a little puzzling to me.
The connection worked perfectly for a couple of years,
until last December when it suddenly stopped completely.
A technician came round (a very rare event)
and tested the line.
He said the line was fine and told me to change the modem
at a TI agent in a neighbouring town.
I did this, and the new modem could at least make a connection,
but it kept dropping the line, on both WiFi and ethernet.
I rang TI innumerable times (a painful business on each occasion),
and they replied each time that the line was fine,
and "the problem lies between modem and computer"
(a phrase they seem to like).
I didn't really believe them about the line,
as it goes along a rather odd route,
down a pipe (like a drain-pipe) for about 5 metres,
and then under a road.
It seemed to me very likely that there was water in the pipe,
and this was the cause of the problem.
However, I have been proved completely wrong;
the line _is_ good, as TI repeatedly told me.
My present conjecture is that TI changed their feed in some way,
perhaps from ADSL to ADSL2, and the first modem was unable to cope.
All 3 modems look the same; they have no marking except TI,
but research leads me to think that the model is Pirelli AH4021.
I was amused to find a site devoted entirely to rants about TI
<http://www.beginningwithi.com/comments/2006/08/30/share-your-experiences-
with-telecom-italia/>
which leads me to think that I have been relatively lucky.
Though I have had similar problems communicating with ISPs about modems
in Ireland and England (Telecom Eireann and Onetel).
I'm not sure which of them was the worst.
One would think that companies involved in communication
would be good at communicating, but the opposite seems to be the case.
Sadly, I've come to the conclusion that the ADSL modem
is just another neuron in the brain,
and its failure is tantamount to a minor stroke ...
--
Timothy Murphy
e-mail: gayleard /at/ eircom.net
tel: +353-86-2336090, +353-1-2842366
s-mail: School of Mathematics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland
12:10 p.m.
On 02/17/2011 04:43 AM, Timothy Murphy wrote:
they replied each time that the line was fine,
and "the problem lies between modem and computer"
(a phrase they seem to like).
A convenient cop-out IMAO. I did tech support for a major ISP for over
seven years and we were always expected to help our customers track down
issues like that as best we could.
11:22 a.m.
On 02/17/2011 09:02 AM, Tim wrote:
On Thu, 2011-02-17 at 11:23 +1030, Tim wrote:
> Ever been annoyed by visitors with mobile phones? Keep a metal
> biscuit tin handy to seal them into. ;-)
Addendum: Seeing as nobody took the bait... Yes, it was intentional
that I didn't say whether you seal the visitors, or their phones, into
the box.
A large portion of your audience lives in the USA, where you can be sued
for even THINKING of doing such a thing...tempting though it is.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- Rick Stevens, Systems Engineer, C2 Hosting ricks(a)nerd.com -
- AIM/Skype: therps2 ICQ: 22643734 Yahoo: origrps2 -
- -
- "Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick" -
- themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened." -
- -- Winston Churchill -
----------------------------------------------------------------------
11:02 a.m.
On Thu, 2011-02-17 at 11:23 +1030, Tim wrote:
Ever been annoyed by visitors with mobile phones? Keep a metal
biscuit tin handy to seal them into. ;-)
Addendum: Seeing as nobody took the bait... Yes, it was intentional
that I didn't say whether you seal the visitors, or their phones, into
the box.
--
[tim@localhost ~]$ uname -r
2.6.27.25-78.2.56.fc9.i686
Don't send private replies to my address, the mailbox is ignored. I
read messages from the public lists.
11:01 a.m.
On Thu, 2011-02-17 at 13:43 +0100, Timothy Murphy wrote:
Just to keep the story up-to-date,
a third modem/router from TI (Telecom Italia)
seems to have solved the problem completely;
the connection has held up for a day so far.
The history is a little puzzling to me.
The connection worked perfectly for a couple of years,
until last December when it suddenly stopped completely.
A technician came round (a very rare event)
and tested the line.
He said the line was fine and told me to change the modem
at a TI agent in a neighbouring town.
And had anything else changed in your system at that time?
A friend of mine would consistently lose connection every time he
started burning a DVD.
I would lose connection whenever I had a USB hard drive plugged in. It
had one of those crappy power boxes in the middle of a cord, and it just
radiated crud. I could cause the fault to happen with 100% reliability,
just by having the drive plugged into a computer.
e.g. Take a computer system off the network, just plug the PC into the
mains, a monitor into the PC (and the mains), and the USB drive into the
PC (and it's power brick into the mains). The OS didn't even have to be
booted. The moment the connection was made, or the power turned on, the
modem would disconnect. And continuously fail while trying to
reconnect. This test computer wasn't connected to anything else, and
the fault would occur no matter where I plugged into into power in the
house. Yes, all the gear was earthed (PC, monitor, and USB drive all
had equipment ground going to mains earth), and the mains earth line is
working.
I could even do it by plugging the USB drive into a laptop running off
batteries, so the USB drive was the only thing connected to the mains,
in any way.
I'm rather loathsome of switchmode power supplies being put into
everything, these days, especially where they're not really needed.
--
[tim@localhost ~]$ uname -r
2.6.27.25-78.2.56.fc9.i686
Don't send private replies to my address, the mailbox is ignored. I
read messages from the public lists.
8:30 a.m.
On 02/16/2011 11:09 PM, Robert Moskowitz wrote:
On 02/16/2011 11:42 PM, Robert Nichols wrote:
> On 02/16/2011 09:54 PM, Robert Moskowitz wrote:
>> On 02/16/2011 07:56 PM, Tim wrote:
>>> On Wed, 2011-02-16 at 15:54 +0100, Timothy Murphy wrote:
>>>> But I'm not in a built-up area.
>>>> I do see one other (hidden) network, but it is quite weak.
>>> As Patrick said, cordless phones can interfere. Plus leaky microwave
>>> ovens, wireless home security equipment, gigaHertz video senders,
>>> lighting dimmers and switchmode power supplies. Whilst the latter two
>>> don't, directly, work in the frequency range of WiFi, they can radiate
>>> an awful lot of hash that disrupts many things.
>> We often mention at the 802 wireless sessions (both 802.11 and 802.15)
>> how amazing it is that this stuff works at all!
> For quite a while I could see, from my home, 3 wireless networks, all
> on channel 6, all with SSID "Linksys", and all with decent signal
strength.
> How that managed to work for those people I have no idea.
You could have been in the middle, seeing them, and they not seeing each
other. The hidden node problem.
Or they just lived with things going blewy. Or they were all open so it
did not matter which AP any of the used!
I neglected to mention that they were, indeed, all unencrypted. I'm
pretty sure at least two of them were in roughly the same direction.
Whatever. That was a couple of years ago, and I don't see any of those
networks now.
--
Bob Nichols "NOSPAM" is really part of my email address.
Do NOT delete it.
7:07 a.m.
On Thu, 2011-02-17 at 13:43 +0100, Timothy Murphy wrote:
Sadly, I've come to the conclusion that the ADSL modem
is just another neuron in the brain,
and its failure is tantamount to a minor stroke ...
----
just an FYI - ADSL is the most common used technology in the US by the
telephone companies and it works rather well considering that some of
the copper cables have been tolerant of poor design and systemic neglect
which POTS seems to mostly ignore but can make a high frequency digital
signal fade in/out. You would probably be better off not drawing large
conclusions based upon a single anecdotal reference/incident.
Craig
--
This message has been scanned for viruses and
dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
believed to be clean.
6:45 a.m.
On 02/17/2011 03:01 AM, Tim wrote:
On Wed, 2011-02-16 at 22:54 -0500, Robert Moskowitz wrote:
> We often mention at the 802 wireless sessions (both 802.11 and 802.15)
> how amazing it is that this stuff works at all!
I feel much the same. It's all well and good when you're not sharing
airspace with anybody, but in a crowded location, I'm surprised if it
works well.
Years of having to deal with hassles of multi-transmitter interference
while using wireless microphones and walkie-talkies has made me
reluctant to use anything wireless when I could plug a cable in.
Oh, the you should be following TV-white space! 802.11af
Check out the 802.11 document server
https://mentor.ieee.org/802.11/documents?is_group=00af for all the fun
and games that are going on there to 'intelligently' share the spectrum...
Also 802.22
What defines a crowded location is variable. You could be in the
middle
of a few access points, and few clients, spread fairly widely, where
it's merely a case of which one too choose, and you can use any of them
without *too* much trouble. You could be in a block of flats, with
access points and multiple clients behind every wall, floor, and
ceiling, with several on the same channel, blocking each other.
2:01 a.m.
On Wed, 2011-02-16 at 22:54 -0500, Robert Moskowitz wrote:
We often mention at the 802 wireless sessions (both 802.11 and
802.15)
how amazing it is that this stuff works at all!
I feel much the same. It's all well and good when you're not sharing
airspace with anybody, but in a crowded location, I'm surprised if it
works well.
Years of having to deal with hassles of multi-transmitter interference
while using wireless microphones and walkie-talkies has made me
reluctant to use anything wireless when I could plug a cable in.
What defines a crowded location is variable. You could be in the middle
of a few access points, and few clients, spread fairly widely, where
it's merely a case of which one too choose, and you can use any of them
without *too* much trouble. You could be in a block of flats, with
access points and multiple clients behind every wall, floor, and
ceiling, with several on the same channel, blocking each other.
--
[tim@localhost ~]$ uname -r
2.6.27.25-78.2.56.fc9.i686
Don't send private replies to my address, the mailbox is ignored. I
read messages from the public lists.
11:09 p.m.
On 02/16/2011 11:42 PM, Robert Nichols wrote:
On 02/16/2011 09:54 PM, Robert Moskowitz wrote:
> On 02/16/2011 07:56 PM, Tim wrote:
>> On Wed, 2011-02-16 at 15:54 +0100, Timothy Murphy wrote:
>>> But I'm not in a built-up area.
>>> I do see one other (hidden) network, but it is quite weak.
>> As Patrick said, cordless phones can interfere. Plus leaky microwave
>> ovens, wireless home security equipment, gigaHertz video senders,
>> lighting dimmers and switchmode power supplies. Whilst the latter two
>> don't, directly, work in the frequency range of WiFi, they can radiate
>> an awful lot of hash that disrupts many things.
> We often mention at the 802 wireless sessions (both 802.11 and 802.15)
> how amazing it is that this stuff works at all!
For quite a while I could see, from my home, 3 wireless networks, all
on channel 6, all with SSID "Linksys", and all with decent signal strength.
How that managed to work for those people I have no idea.
You could have been in the middle, seeing them, and they not seeing each
other. The hidden node problem.
Or they just lived with things going blewy. Or they were all open so it
did not matter which AP any of the used!
9:27 p.m.
On 02/15/2011 04:04 PM, Timothy Murphy wrote:
I tried using another modem (Billion), but it needs a password
and the password my ISP sent me does not seem to work.
(It is their modem.)
It is quite common for a router to be configured to prohibit
administrative access from a wireless connection. Try using a
wired connection to log in and configure that modem/router.
--
Bob Nichols "NOSPAM" is really part of my email address.
Do NOT delete it.
10:42 p.m.
On 02/16/2011 09:54 PM, Robert Moskowitz wrote:
On 02/16/2011 07:56 PM, Tim wrote:
> On Wed, 2011-02-16 at 15:54 +0100, Timothy Murphy wrote:
>> But I'm not in a built-up area.
>> I do see one other (hidden) network, but it is quite weak.
> As Patrick said, cordless phones can interfere. Plus leaky microwave
> ovens, wireless home security equipment, gigaHertz video senders,
> lighting dimmers and switchmode power supplies. Whilst the latter two
> don't, directly, work in the frequency range of WiFi, they can radiate
> an awful lot of hash that disrupts many things.
We often mention at the 802 wireless sessions (both 802.11 and 802.15)
how amazing it is that this stuff works at all!
For quite a while I could see, from my home, 3 wireless networks, all
on channel 6, all with SSID "Linksys", and all with decent signal strength.
How that managed to work for those people I have no idea.
--
Bob Nichols "NOSPAM" is really part of my email address.
Do NOT delete it.
9:54 p.m.
On 02/16/2011 07:56 PM, Tim wrote:
On Wed, 2011-02-16 at 15:54 +0100, Timothy Murphy wrote:
> But I'm not in a built-up area.
> I do see one other (hidden) network, but it is quite weak.
As Patrick said, cordless phones can interfere. Plus leaky microwave
ovens, wireless home security equipment, gigaHertz video senders,
lighting dimmers and switchmode power supplies. Whilst the latter two
don't, directly, work in the frequency range of WiFi, they can radiate
an awful lot of hash that disrupts many things.
We often mention at the 802 wireless sessions (both 802.11 and 802.15)
how amazing it is that this stuff works at all!
6:56 p.m.
On Wed, 2011-02-16 at 15:54 +0100, Timothy Murphy wrote:
But I'm not in a built-up area.
I do see one other (hidden) network, but it is quite weak.
As Patrick said, cordless phones can interfere. Plus leaky microwave
ovens, wireless home security equipment, gigaHertz video senders,
lighting dimmers and switchmode power supplies. Whilst the latter two
don't, directly, work in the frequency range of WiFi, they can radiate
an awful lot of hash that disrupts many things.
--
[tim@localhost ~]$ uname -r
2.6.27.25-78.2.56.fc9.i686
Don't send private replies to my address, the mailbox is ignored. I
read messages from the public lists.
6:53 p.m.
On Wed, 2011-02-16 at 09:59 -0500, Robert Moskowitz wrote:
Yet another AP fighting over limited channel availablity.
In which case, you could try removing the offending AP's antenna, or put
it inside a tin box. That'll probably take it sufficiently off-air.
Ever been annoyed by visitors with mobile phones? Keep a metal biscuit
tin handy to seal them into. ;-)
--
[tim@localhost ~]$ uname -r
2.6.27.25-78.2.56.fc9.i686
Don't send private replies to my address, the mailbox is ignored. I
read messages from the public lists.
10:04 a.m.
On Wed, 2011-02-16 at 15:54 +0100, Timothy Murphy wrote:
Robert Moskowitz wrote:
> A VERY common problem with WiFi is channel selection. If 2 APs have
> overlapping coverage and on the same channel, this can cause a station
> to drop its connection.
Thanks for the suggestion.
I'll try changing the channel.
But I'm not in a built-up area.
I do see one other (hidden) network, but it is quite weak.
As I said earlier, you can get interference from non-Wifi sources,
particularly 2.4GHz cordless phones. Changing the channel is easy and
may be all you need.
poc
8:59 a.m.
On 02/16/2011 09:28 AM, fred smith wrote:
On Wed, Feb 16, 2011 at 09:12:56AM -0500, Robert Moskowitz wrote:
> On 02/15/2011 05:04 PM, Timothy Murphy wrote:
>> I'm having terrible problems with my modem/router at the moment.
>> The WiFi connection on my Thinkpad laptop drops every 10 minutes or so.
>> I have to restart the network service to get the connection back.
>>
Given all the other comments that have been made regarding channel
selection, etc., etc., etc., let me throw out another suggestion that
MIGHT allow you to simply bypass all those issues:
you could use a second wireless router:
Yet another AP fighting over limited channel availablity.
hardwire its input port to
the (an) output port on the modem/router you've got. configure your
"new" router to use dhcp, so it should "just work" when talking to
the vendor-provided router. configure YOUR "new" router to provide
services you need (firewall, etc.), channel selection, etc. If the
current problem(s) is(are) due to misconfiguration of the wireless
part of the modem/router you've got, this may allow you to simply
ignore the problems and set up wireless that works for you.
kind of a hack, but it may help you.
<snip>
8:54 a.m.
Robert Moskowitz wrote:
A VERY common problem with WiFi is channel selection. If 2 APs have
overlapping coverage and on the same channel, this can cause a station
to drop its connection.
Thanks for the suggestion.
I'll try changing the channel.
But I'm not in a built-up area.
I do see one other (hidden) network, but it is quite weak.
--
Timothy Murphy
e-mail: gayleard /at/ eircom.net
tel: +353-86-2336090, +353-1-2842366
s-mail: School of Mathematics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland
8:52 a.m.
fred smith wrote:
you could use a second wireless router: hardwire its input port to
the (an) output port on the modem/router you've got. configure your
"new" router to use dhcp, so it should "just work" when talking to
the vendor-provided router. configure YOUR "new" router to provide
services you need (firewall, etc.), channel selection, etc. If the
current problem(s) is(are) due to misconfiguration of the wireless
part of the modem/router you've got, this may allow you to simply
ignore the problems and set up wireless that works for you.
That's more or less what I plan to do,
if I can find the password so I can use my Billion modem.
I have a LinkSys WRT54GL in place if I can get the Billion working.
--
Timothy Murphy
e-mail: gayleard /at/ eircom.net
tel: +353-86-2336090, +353-1-2842366
s-mail: School of Mathematics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland
8:47 a.m.
Aaron Konstam wrote:
> But what is relevant to Fedora, I think, is the curious reaction
> to a temporarily dropped connection,
> which seems to differ between the network and NetworkManager services,
> which in turn differ considerably from behaviour under Windows XP.
> (I have to keep this option in place because the online Help service -
> Alice te Aiuta - requires one to be using Internet Explorer at some
> points.)
As an aside, there is an add-on called: Default User Agent
that if installed in Firefox on Fedora allows the Firefox to act as
Internet Explorer.
Thanks, I'll look at that.
Though I suspect Telecom Italia would see what I was doing,
and tell me that Linux is not supported ...
--
Timothy Murphy
e-mail: gayleard /at/ eircom.net
tel: +353-86-2336090, +353-1-2842366
s-mail: School of Mathematics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland
8:28 a.m.
On Wed, Feb 16, 2011 at 09:12:56AM -0500, Robert Moskowitz wrote:
On 02/15/2011 05:04 PM, Timothy Murphy wrote:
> I'm having terrible problems with my modem/router at the moment.
> The WiFi connection on my Thinkpad laptop drops every 10 minutes or so.
> I have to restart the network service to get the connection back.
>
Given all the other comments that have been made regarding channel
selection, etc., etc., etc., let me throw out another suggestion that
MIGHT allow you to simply bypass all those issues:
you could use a second wireless router: hardwire its input port to
the (an) output port on the modem/router you've got. configure your
"new" router to use dhcp, so it should "just work" when talking to
the vendor-provided router. configure YOUR "new" router to provide
services you need (firewall, etc.), channel selection, etc. If the
current problem(s) is(are) due to misconfiguration of the wireless
part of the modem/router you've got, this may allow you to simply
ignore the problems and set up wireless that works for you.
kind of a hack, but it may help you.
<snip>
--
---- Fred Smith -- fredex(a)fcshome.stoneham.ma.us -----------------------------
"And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government there will be no end. He
will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding
it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever."
------------------------------- Isaiah 9:7 (niv) ------------------------------
7:38 a.m.
On Wed, 2011-02-16 at 14:14 +0100, Timothy Murphy wrote:
Joe Zeff wrote:
> On 02/15/2011 02:04 PM, Timothy Murphy wrote:
>> I'm having terrible problems with my modem/router at the moment.
>> The WiFi connection on my Thinkpad laptop drops every 10 minutes or so.
>> I have to restart the network service to get the connection back.
>
> Everything you've written tells me that this isn't a Fedora problem or
> even a problem with your laptop. If, as you say, the password your ISP
> gave you for your new modem doesn't work, it's their problem. Talk to
> them again and, if all else fails, insist on getting that modem replaced
> with one that works. (From what you write, it was defective "out of the
> box," making this a warranty issue, and they shouldn't charge you for
> replacement.)
I agree that the modem password issue has nothing to do with Fedora;
it is just that my homicidal impulses towards Telecom Italia
are difficult to keep within bounds ...
But what is relevant to Fedora, I think, is the curious reaction
to a temporarily dropped connection,
which seems to differ between the network and NetworkManager services,
which in turn differ considerably from behaviour under Windows XP.
(I have to keep this option in place because the online Help service -
Alice te Aiuta - requires one to be using Internet Explorer at some points.)
As an
aside, there is an add-on called: Default User Agent
that if installed in Firefox on Fedora allows the Firefox to act as
Internet Explorer.
Googling for Default User Agent will allow you to find it's installer.
--
=======================================================================
Someone is speaking well of you.
=======================================================================
Aaron Konstam telephone: (210) 656-0355 e-mail: akonstam(a)sbcglobal.net
7:24 a.m.
Patrick O'Callaghan wrote:
> > I'm having terrible problems with my modem/router at the
moment.
> > The WiFi connection on my Thinkpad laptop drops every 10 minutes or so.
> > I have to restart the network service to get the connection back.
>
> Everything you've written tells me that this isn't a Fedora problem or
> even a problem with your laptop.
I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that it's a password problem,
especially as Timothy didn't say it was. A marginal Wifi signal can
cause connections to drop. I recently has a similar situation and fixed
it (touch wood) by fiddling with the signal settings in the router, e.g.
changing the channel to avoid interference with a cordless phone, using
802.11g instead of 802.11n etc. There's a lot of black magic associated
with Wifi.
Indeed, the two issues (modem password and dropped connections)
are completely unrelated, and I shouldn't have mentioned them together.
Unfortunately the modem/router supplied by my ISP (Telecom Italia)
has absolutely no options for the user
(I can't even change the encryption key),
or if there are any they are in the Smart Card
one has to insert in the modem.
But the WiFi interface seems more touchy than the Ethernet interface.
If the ethernet connection goes down the so does WiFi,
and I have to turn the modem off and on again.
But the WiFi connection drops much more often, every 10 minutes or so,
and I can usually re-start it by re-starting NetworkManager.
--
Timothy Murphy
e-mail: gayleard /at/ eircom.net
tel: +353-86-2336090, +353-1-2842366
s-mail: School of Mathematics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland
7:16 a.m.
Robert Nichols wrote:
On 02/15/2011 04:04 PM, Timothy Murphy wrote:
>
> I tried using another modem (Billion), but it needs a password
> and the password my ISP sent me does not seem to work.
> (It is their modem.)
It is quite common for a router to be configured to prohibit
administrative access from a wireless connection. Try using a
wired connection to log in and configure that modem/router.
I was actually using an ethernet connection for this.
I'm pretty sure Telecom Italia lied about their password
as part of their campaign to drive me insane.
--
Timothy Murphy
e-mail: gayleard /at/ eircom.net
tel: +353-86-2336090, +353-1-2842366
s-mail: School of Mathematics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland
7:24 p.m.
On Tue, 2011-02-15 at 16:01 -0800, Joe Zeff wrote:
On 02/15/2011 03:49 PM, Patrick O'Callaghan wrote:
> I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that it's a password problem,
> especially as Timothy didn't say it was.
Neither did I. However, the fact that the default password doesn't work
implies that the modem came mis-configured and that's what I'm referring to.
It didn't work for a different modem. I suspect this is a side issue.
poc
6:01 p.m.
On 02/15/2011 03:49 PM, Patrick O'Callaghan wrote:
I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that it's a password
problem,
especially as Timothy didn't say it was.
Neither did I. However, the fact that the default password doesn't work
implies that the modem came mis-configured and that's what I'm referring to.
5:49 p.m.
On Tue, 2011-02-15 at 14:33 -0800, Joe Zeff wrote:
On 02/15/2011 02:04 PM, Timothy Murphy wrote:
> I'm having terrible problems with my modem/router at the moment.
> The WiFi connection on my Thinkpad laptop drops every 10 minutes or so.
> I have to restart the network service to get the connection back.
Everything you've written tells me that this isn't a Fedora problem or
even a problem with your laptop. If, as you say, the password your ISP
gave you for your new modem doesn't work, it's their problem. Talk to
them again and, if all else fails, insist on getting that modem replaced
with one that works. (From what you write, it was defective "out of the
box," making this a warranty issue, and they shouldn't charge you for
replacement.)
I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that it's a password problem,
especially as Timothy didn't say it was. A marginal Wifi signal can
cause connections to drop. I recently has a similar situation and fixed
it (touch wood) by fiddling with the signal settings in the router, e.g.
changing the channel to avoid interference with a cordless phone, using
802.11g instead of 802.11n etc. There's a lot of black magic associated
with Wifi.
poc
4:33 p.m.
On 02/15/2011 02:04 PM, Timothy Murphy wrote:
I'm having terrible problems with my modem/router at the moment.
The WiFi connection on my Thinkpad laptop drops every 10 minutes or so.
I have to restart the network service to get the connection back.
Everything you've written tells me that this isn't a Fedora problem or
even a problem with your laptop. If, as you say, the password your ISP
gave you for your new modem doesn't work, it's their problem. Talk to
them again and, if all else fails, insist on getting that modem replaced
with one that works. (From what you write, it was defective "out of the
box," making this a warranty issue, and they shouldn't charge you for
replacement.)
7:14 a.m.
Joe Zeff wrote:
On 02/15/2011 02:04 PM, Timothy Murphy wrote:
> I'm having terrible problems with my modem/router at the moment.
> The WiFi connection on my Thinkpad laptop drops every 10 minutes or so.
> I have to restart the network service to get the connection back.
Everything you've written tells me that this isn't a Fedora problem or
even a problem with your laptop. If, as you say, the password your ISP
gave you for your new modem doesn't work, it's their problem. Talk to
them again and, if all else fails, insist on getting that modem replaced
with one that works. (From what you write, it was defective "out of the
box," making this a warranty issue, and they shouldn't charge you for
replacement.)
I agree that the modem password issue has nothing to do with Fedora;
it is just that my homicidal impulses towards Telecom Italia
are difficult to keep within bounds ...
But what is relevant to Fedora, I think, is the curious reaction
to a temporarily dropped connection,
which seems to differ between the network and NetworkManager services,
which in turn differ considerably from behaviour under Windows XP.
(I have to keep this option in place because the online Help service -
Alice te Aiuta - requires one to be using Internet Explorer at some points.)
Then there is the question whether the iwl3945 WiFi driver on my laptop
may have some part to play in the reaction to a dropped connection.
I have seen comments on the web recommending the ipw3945 driver instead.
Just to recall, the connection is usually restored
when the network or NetworkManager service is re-started,
which suggests to me that something sent from the laptop to the modem
wakes the latter up.
I regard it as more or less miraculous that ADSL modem/routers work at all,
and I view dropped connections in much the same way as other visitations
by the powers that rule our puny lives.
I begin to realize why the ancients made human sacrifices.
Though we would gladly give
The Oxford colleges, Big Ben
And all the birds of Wicken Fen,
It has no wish to live.
(Auden)
--
Timothy Murphy
e-mail: gayleard /at/ eircom.net
tel: +353-86-2336090, +353-1-2842366
s-mail: School of Mathematics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland
4823
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32 comments
11 participants
participants (11)
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Aaron Konstam -
Craig White -
Fred Smith -
JB -
Joe Zeff -
Patrick O'Callaghan -
Rick Stevens -
Robert Moskowitz -
Robert Nichols -
Tim -
Timothy Murphy