Getting Worse Range with Intel 4965AGN?

Just got my T61 today! I love everything about the computer except one little problem --

I seem to be getting worse range with the Intel 4965AGN on this computer than I do with my previous Dell with just the Dell 802.11g (forgot the exact model number). I have the 2 computers side by side and the Dell gets about 1 to 2 bars of signal while the T61 can't find any wireless networks within range. Granted I live in a room detached from the house and when I get into the house the wireless works flawlessly. I updated the drivers on Intel's website and still no luck Is there anything else I can do with my current setup?

 

get a range extender?

 

That's interesting. What if you swapped the positions of the two laptops?

I'm thinking of buying a T61p as well. And this makes me wonder if I should opt for the "ThinkPad 11a/b/g Wireless LAN" or the "Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG" Does anyone know if these two offer any substantial boost in performance over the 4965AGN? As they're $89 and $99 more expensive respectively.

 

I've got the Intel 4965AGN and it works just as well if not better on my 802.11g network than my 3945ABG card on my HP laptop.

Try checking the device settings, especially related to power management, etc. to see if you can improve the performance. I reset some of the settings on a co-workers 2200BG card and it completely fixed any connectivity problems.

 

Thanks for the responses guys.

I tried switching the positions of the laptops, but still the same problem =( . I also tried messing with the power management so that the card is always on, but same results.

I'm thinking since most people do get better results from the 4965AGN, the built in antennae for my card might be of issue especially since I saw that in the house, I was getting consistently a bar or 2 less than the dell, even when I was next to the wireless router (only got 4 bars on the T61 according to the Windows wireless meter).

Zephyrus: Unfortunately I can't accurately account for the boost in performance on the 4965AGN over the non-wireless N varieties because this is my first one. I do have reason to believe it is defective though for the above reasons. But if it helps, I opted for the card because I think it'll be more standardized in the coming year especially on my college campus. Maybe some others can chime in about their experience with the card.

 

Almost anything works better than 3945. In my experience it has a really insensitive front end. I think the 4965 is only a little better but the antenna array in the T61p is pretty comprehensive.

 

What about the Thinkpad 11a/g/b?

 

I have that and my friends all have the Intel 3945. IMO, I think mine get better reception; it's also easier to use I think. No fancy software to it.

 

But that's about $89 more expensive. If there's no substantial increase in speed or reception, I'll just take the 4965AGN. Thanks for your help.

 

Huh? The ThinkPad a/b/g is the least expensive of the wireless choices.

 

The ThinkPad ABG is an Atheros card. Its way better than the Intel offering and is also cheaper!

 

Well, on the Lenovo Australia Website, for the T61p that I intend to buy, the Intel 4965AGN comes as standard. And in customization, I'm given two extra choices of 'upgrades':
A) ThinkPad 11a/b/g Wireless LAN Mini-PCI Express Adapter [add $89.00*]
B) Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Mini-PCI Express Adapter (AP) [add $99.00*]

Am I mistaken, or are they trying to scam me?

Here's what they said after I clicked "Help me decide":

 

Well that's odd...the Intel 4965, as far as I know, is the latest offering from Intel. Strange that their older model and even an atheros card costs more.

I would suggest you stick with the Intel 4965AGN. The additional prices are outrageous, IMO.

 

i have never had better reception from a built in card than with the 4965. My orinoco proxim is the only one that i ever got better reception with which was solely setup for wifi "testing/auditing" seems i would check some of the settings in the router, or possibly test some of the parameters with the intel software. i have full signal from basement to attic in a 3 story home using the crappy fios router from actiontek.

 

You are not mistaken...

Judging from the fact the extra memory you buy is not installed in the machine but comes as seperate, I suspect they actually want to sell you a separate WiFi card in addition to the 4965AGN.

 

I got the AGN (Intel) adapter and it may indeed be a bit trickier than my BG adapter on the old Toshiba I have but it still goes well overall. It more consistently connect automatically after hibernation / sleep than the old laptop. The reason to go Intel is to be better future proof IMO. Keep in mind that the N standard is still preliminary. Once they come up with the official revision, I feel it will be easier to update firmware etc. It is also safer and easier at this point to use Intel as you can find Intel certified routers etc.

One thing you should check inside the AGN adapter settings is the power output level setting. I deliberately put mine to minimum to limit RF radiation I get when using the laptop but this can negatively affect your range of course. The fixed location router will still output at full power / range but this is useless if your laptop emits a weak response to it. I think that the power strength bar graph actually reflect a combined estimation, that is from and to the main base. So try boosting your laptop power TX level and see if it fixes your range issue.

Regards

 

I have a T61p and a T61R both with the Intel 4965AGN and they both work great all over my place with D-Dlink 5ghz draft N mode settings. (300mgbps reading)


What configuration and wireless router are you using? This might be part of your problem.

 

Ahhh.. I see. And I think that the 2GB of RAM is actually 2x 1GB sticks, right?

 

Go to http://www.crucial.com and scan you notepad to see information about your RAM.

 

boredtaylor,

A lot of variable involved. To eliminate all of them related to the PC, use a spare PCMCIA WIFI card to test both PCs in the same position. Use the same router also. If both PCs show the same strength using the PCMCIA wifi software that comes with the PCMCIA, then you have narrowed it down to the 4965 and its subsystem. For the 4965, the antenna in the PC lid is very directional so try different positions of the PC to see if you get a signal.

If no signal apparent....get next to the router to see if the 4965 is actually working at all.

By the way, the 4965 transmit power is low (25.1mw) so once you can see the router signal....you still might have difficulty transmitting to it.

 

download cpu-z and find out for sure. this will give you your ram specs

 

Thank you for your replies guys.

Alacrityathome: I will definitely try it out this weekend. Unfortunately I don't have a PCMCIA on hand right now, but i think I can get one from my friends. I'll let you know how it goes.

Marcbe: How do I increase the TX power? I have the power settings on High Performance, anything else I can do?

I appreciate the help.

 

Did you install new driver for 4965AGN (Ver. 11.5.1.15). It's improved overall.
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Det...&OSFullName=Windows* XP Professional&lang=eng

4/11/2008 released

 

I have the 4965agn card and it receives better signal than my 3945abg card. Just my 2 cents, haven't updated or anything just straight out of the box.

You might want to check if there are any instruments that may be causing interferance (i.e. 2.4/5.4ghz phone, try getting a 6.0 dect) or I've found that sticking a GPS inbetween the adapter and wireless router can really degrade the connection quality fyi.

Reinstall the driver may also help and you may also want to try to power cycle your modem and router, sometimes that will help too. GL!

 

Note that there are a number of settings for Intel Wifi cards that can be found from the "Configure" button within the properties for the network device.

Changing some of these may help, such as increasing output power, turning off power saving for the WiFi card, etc. These are normally default-set at the compromise settings that reduce range but extend battery life. When I had my Intel 2915ABG card I had to play around with them a bit to improve results (though they weren't bad); the 3945 and 4965 use similar controls.

I got the Atheros ABG card with my T61, mainly because I figured it would have better compatibility with non-Windows operating systems. While I have a bit of buyer's remorse on not getting wireless-N, the Atheros card has excellent range and throughput.

 

Thanks for all the replies.

I have played around with the settings without much luck. I even uninstalled and reinstalled the driver it came with, then I upgraded to the latest firmware. Not much luck with that.

One thing I did notice is that I have a Linksys router that transmits(?) at 54mbps, but the computer first connects at 54mbps but then it goes down to either at 24, 36 or 48mbps and it randomly varies. For example, say I just turned on my computer and connected to my network, I get 54mbps as stated by the Windows Wireless popup when I connect. I wait a little bit and Windows Wireless pops up again saying its connected but now at a different speed (any one of the ones I mentioned above). This is all while I'm surfing the net. I don't actually feel that it drops the signal and reconnects. Kind of weird. I did check the router settings and I have it transmitting at G-speeds only. Anybody know why it does this? Is this related to my problem with the range on the 4965N? Thanks again

 

Forgot to mention that the dell connects from the same location at 54mbps all the time.

 

Yes. The speed drops when the connection is poor.