Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Why Is WiFi Less Stable Year by Year?
Posted by Jason Dunn in "Smartphone Talk" @ 11:00 AM
I then switched to my backup router, also a D-Link (DI-624). It kept dropping my connections, both wired and wireless, so I swore I'd never buy another D-Link router. I went out and bought a Belkin 802.11n router, another brand I've had trouble with in the past and never wanted to buy again - but there are only so many choices on the market. The Belkin router worked perfectly when I swapped it into place, but now my Fujitsu P7020 laptop running Windows XP refuses to connect to it regardless of which mode I put it in (WPA, WEP, no security, 802.11n/g, or 802.11g). The HTC Touch won't connect to it either - it can't even see the network. The AT&T Tilt locked up the Wireless Manager trying to connect to it, so I reset it. Trying to even remove the wireless network setting locks up the wireless manager on the Tilt. When I did manage to get it to connect to the Belkin router and prompt me for the WPA password, it would try to connect for a few seconds, then come back and show me a list of networks again. My Dell XPS M1330 can connect to the Belkin router if it's in 802.11g/n mode, but not if it's in 802.11g only mode. I'm in wireless hell.
The ultimate frustration here is that whenever I can't get wireless working properly and I'm in desperate need of a connection, I always connect to a neighbour's unsecured network called "default" - and almost every device can connect to it (the Tilt can't however). I'm tempted to go knocking on some local doors to see who's router it is, and ask if I can buy it - because clearly whatever old, unsecured hardware they're using is superior to all the modern, expensive routers that I keep buying.
Jason Dunn owns and operates Thoughts Media Inc., a company dedicated to creating the best in online communities. He enjoys mobile devices, digital media content creation/editing, and pretty much all technology. He lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with his lovely wife, and his sometimes obedient dog. Why can't WiFi work better?