Intel WiFi Link 5100 AGN problem - disconnecting

[idata]

I'm having a problem that just started with my 2 year old laptop. The Intel WiFi Link 5100 AGN adapter keeps dropping connection.

On my laptop there is a light that shines blue when connected and orange when not connected. I boot the computer and the light will be blue. After awhile it switches to orange. I go into device manager and disable the adapter and re-enable it and it works fine for a bit and then disconnects again. A few weeks ago it was disconnecting one or two times a day. Now it is disconnecting as often as every minute or two.

Sometimes when I go into device manager the adapter isn't even listed. I try scanning for hardware changes and sometimes that will find it and I can re-enable it. Sometimes the scan will not find it and all I can do is re-boot.

I have tried using the latest version driver from the Intel site (13.4.0.9) and that has the same problem as the version that is the latest on my laptop vendors site (13.0.0.107).

I have not made any changes in the last 12 months to my wireless network settings in the router or on the computer. There are three other laptops in the home which work just fine and never drop connection.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Bill

[idata]

Thanks for the suggestion. After my first attempt at disabling the n connection I couldn't hold the signal. But I've since restarted and haven't lost the connection in a few hours. Will see if this holds. You mention something about the 'new protocol' so I'm wondering if there was an update at some point in the last few months. I never had a problem with my adpapter or connection before this time and have never changed routers.

[idata]

The 802.11 n and the 802.11 Draft N is not exactly the same protocol. It is called "Draft" because it came up before the 802.11 n protocol was standarized and maybe there are some small differences tha create incopatibility issues. With my 5100 AGN I cannot keep a connection with my router more than 10 minutes. When I am dissabling 802.11 n ftom the router settings there is no problem. The thing is that 802.11 n is supposed to be much faster than the older 802.11 a/b/g protocols. I have downloaded the latest driver from the Intel site but it makes no difference. I believe that such a problem could only be solved with a firmware update. I did not manage to find sth in Intel's site.

Regards

Kostas

[idata]

Same problem here with this adaptor in an Acer laptop. Like Kostas, I discovered that disabling 802.11n on my wireless router stopped me getting disconnections.

Cheers,

Russ

[idata]

Just to be clear here .. I tried to disabling the option on the adapter via the device manager. But you seem to be saying that you disabled it on the router itself. Was my method incorrect?

[idata]

A new router that supports all the 802.11 a/b/g/n protocols can permit all wireless cards/PC's with all kind of cards to connect to its WLAN. I think the problem is the compatibility with the 802.11 n. If your computer is trying to connect with the "n" then you are having the problems. I sent mail to Intel and they replied to me to ask my computer manufacturer (Acer). But what we see from this forum all of us are having the same problem with different brands of computers. Their reply is unacceptable for me, since they probably know their card is having the problem. By the way I have installed the latest driver for 5100 AGN from the Intel site and no from Acer but the problem persists.

Here is the reply from Intel.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for contacting Intel Technical Support.

I understand that you have some issues with the Intel(R) WiFi Link 5100 installed in your Acer* computer.

The information you have provided indicates that you have an OEM computer. Once that an Intel® component is integrated and customized by the computer manufacturer it is considered an (OEM) Original Equipment Manufacturer product.

The support provided through this channel is for Intel® retail boxed adapters only.

Intel sells components to various OEM's (Original Equipment Manufacturers), such as Dell* or HP* who then integrate them with other system components (motherboards, power supplies, disk drives, add-in cards, software, etc.). These products may be customized to the OEM's specifications.

It is recommended for you to contact your computer manufacturer or your place of purchase for support, as they are familiar with the total configuration of your integrated system and the way all the features interact with each other as well as drivers support.

For support for your Acer* system you may refer to the following link:

http://support.acer.com/us/en/default.aspx http://support.acer.com/us/en/default.aspx

NOTE: This links is being offered for your convenience and should not be viewed as an endorsement by Intel of the content, products, or services offered there.

We are sorry for the inconvenience.

Regards

Sergio G.

Intel Technical Support

[idata]

I have disabled 802.11 n from my router but it will probably have the same result if you disable it from you wifi card.

I also told them that all of us are having this issue and sent them the address of this forum-discussion but.. you see their reply n the previous post.

Kostas

[idata]

You could have sent them a link to any of dozens of forums with long threads complaining about the 5100 agn. I'm sure it's an issue they are reluctant to address because of the cost of the fix, particularly if it's a physical problem that can't be remedied with a driver upgrade, etc. I'm still troubled by the fact that this unit ran perfectly for over a year before failing. But it has nothing to do with the computer brand (Lenovo in my case) because users of all brands are reporting the same issue. Having exhausted most possible ideas to repair (driver updates, various settings adjustments, etc) I'm thinking now that it's a design flaw that appears over time with the adapter and once it does the thing never works right again. A definitive solution to the disconnect problem definitely isn't readily available over the Internet .. I've checked.

[idata]

The card works fine under linux (particulary, Ubuntu 11.04). And it works fine under Windows 7 if the encryption is totally disabled. Under fine work I mean stable connection.

It seems to be a driver-only issue. It sucks.

[idata]

Dear Kostas

Thank you , thank you , thank you!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been suffering with drop out for about a year now, I never knew why it started and I couddl never work out why is it was always spasmodic

After recent issues were I could not even stay on-line for more than a minute and the computer was close to being ejected out of the window I found this forum and your suggestion

At first though it was the router so I changed the channel to another that was not being used in the area and it still did not work so i googled the issue and found it was not just me

I went into the router and disabled the 'n' type and since then, I have not had an issue!!! It is always connected , no longer do I have to reset the adaptor every few minutes.

I am sure from what other people have said once I leave the comfort of my own home I will continue to suffer but....I found in work it was great , very rarely dropped out but in hotels and other places it was a nightmare, we will see as i can not see how i do it in my computer yet to disable it

I also updated the driver from Intel as per another suggestion, I should have waited to see if your answer was the item that solved it, but really I think it was as I managed to download the new driver without a drop out and only an hour before that would have been impossible

I believe it was the windows up dates last week that made the problem worse. I am on Vista and i updated a lot and since then it went really bad

So for me it worked !!

thank you again ,

[idata]

My Intel WiFi Link 5100 AGN no longer will connect at all, after two years of working fine. It stopped working about 6 weeks ago. The network is up, and I can connect with a wired link. The 5100 usually sees the network, but when I try to connect, it reports "Windows was unable to connect to this network." Dell has tried every option available, and they say it must be software. Their software support folks will charge me $140 for the consult if it turns out to be software, so I'd prefer to find out for sure before going to them. Sometimes the 5100 doesn't see any of the networks around, or they disappear from the list and then return. I've isolated the problem to my laptop/wifi card and not the modem. Any ideas?

[idata]

I am having the exact issues that Jackie is experiencing. If anyone can help I would greatly appreciate it. I've talked with Intel who didn't help at all. I've talked with Dell who told me the same thing as Jackie. I've tried USB wireless adapters without much success because I think this internal Wifie LINK 5100 Adpater is overiding it. Are there any suitable replacments?

[idata]

Went and bought another wireless internal card to replace this intel wifi link 5100 and my computer has started working perfectly. Definitely an issue with this card

[idata]

I was going to do that - replace the internal card. but I have a small lenovo laptop and was concerned about how simple that would be. Don't even like taking the thing apart.

Regarding the card, it has gone completely dead for me after first being erratic, coming back to work perfectly for about two days, and then shutting off (apparently for good.) I too am convinced this is a faulty product, and with the number of them Intel has sold they should be held responsible for admitting and identifying the flaw, if not for refunding end users.

[idata]

I had the same problem with my wireless card. I even went out and bought a new router until I read someones message to fix the problem.

It was very simple.

It was the power management settings causing the problems.

* Go to computer and right click it. Click on manage.

* Go to Device Manager

* Click on network adapters

* Right click your Wifi Link 5100 AGN, then properties and go to power management. Make sure the

(allow the computer to turn off this device to save power) is turned off.

* Go to your ethernet NIC, right click it and do the same.

Your wireless will work fine once again.

It took me weeks to find this out.

Steve

[idata]

I tried the power management solution, figuring it was too good to be true having read all the postings in this forum. It worked for about ten minutes and then dropped the connection.

I'm inclined to believe that this is a physical problem with the 5100 AGN card because it often diconnects when the computer (laptop) is grabbed and moved. But it still isn't that easy to pin down as it disconnected on me once for months at a stretch (I have a USB plug-in as a workaround) and then suddenly came back on.

It's been more than a frustrating problem and if someone were to build the perfect incarnation of "planned obsolescence" I'm beginning to thik they could do worse than to study this card. It never dies completely, doesn't respond to any setting changes, and apparently fails over a wide range of settings and machines. And by now Intel has to be aware of it .. so thanks guys.

[idata]

Following up on my above post, my wireless connection did drop shortly after I switched the power management selection to the setting you recommened. But then I restarted the computer and it's hung tough all day. (I've been careful about the manner in which I move the laptop as I still suspect it's a physical problem with the card.) I've had it work for stretches like this in the past and then cut out again, but it's been on all day so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

[idata]

Just checking if your wireless card was not the problem.

Make sure your power management is not set to conserve energy.

Steve

[idata]

I've determined that it was/is both a physical problem and a settings problem. When I changed the settings to not allow the wifi to shut off to conserve energy, this did help considerably. Now the 5100 will come on and stay on .. *unless* the laptop is moved in some way beyond carefully grabbing it by the edges. If I grab certain corners on the laptop the wifi will disconnect and the adapter isn't recognized until I restart the machine. I have a Lenovo X200. Somebody mentioned this a long while back on this thread. So the problem is improved, but the wifi card is still delicate and disconnects easily.

[idata]

Someday, probably when I'm about ready to toss this laptop, somebody will explain what's up with the 5100 AGN to me. I followed the suggestion of one of the above posters and went to device manager and unchecked "allow computer to turn device off to save power". For the first time in months the wireless card came back to life, and except for occasionally shutting off when I moved the computer, it worked better than it had in a long time. Then, a few days ago, it myseriously shut off again. I even opened up the laptop to take a look at the device, check for loose connections, etc .. everything looked fine. Now, after the thing working for for a long stretch of weeks, it will come on when I boot up and then cut off (and disappear from the 'network device' list) with the slightest movement. It's like it's got a life (and mostly death) of its own ..

[idata]

Hi I have started to have this week the problems described in the various messages on this forum where the AGN 5100 starts shuting down and then resarting itself!

As a result of googling for a solution I went through to the Intel site and clicked on the "check for up to date software drivers" link. The resulting list suggested I needed a new driver for my wireless adaptor, which I have downloaded and this appears to have fixed the problem.

Hope this helps anybody else. :-)

[idata]

I am having the same problem with my Dell Studio 1555 and the Intel 5100 agn card. It worked with no problems for over a year, then I started having intermittent problems connection to my Linksys router. For the past week, I have had to restart my router numerous times during the day to connect. In my internet search, all I find is complaints about the card, but no real solutions that work. I am almost to the point of purchasing another wireless card to replace the Intel 5100.