Possible for iphone to interfere with laptop wireless?

Hello all. I just got an iPhone, and since then I've experienced random hanging on "Acquiring network address" and frequent (maybe 1 per hour or two of use) drop outs. Obviously, the timing may or may not be a coincidence. I have looked at some of the hundreds of threads about wireless drop-outs, but I've tried almost everything they suggest and I'm still having drop-outs. It's a Lenovo laptop with Intel 3945abg wireless, and a Buffalo WHR-G54S router. Both are about three years old and have worked near flawlessly all that time. I won't go through all the attempted fixes I've tried but rest assured, I've tried nearly everything except using DD-WRT on the router.

Repairing the connection almost always works, but this is such a frustrating problem because so many applications assume you are connected all the time. Is it possible that the iPhone is the culprit? It's hard to check (by shutting off the iPhone) because the problem is random. The connection on the phone seems solid all the time, but of course I'm not monitoring it when I'm using the laptop. When the laptop disconnects, the iPhone is still connected, so obviously the router is working. Any ideas would be gratefully appreciated.

 

I've had similar problems with an almost identical setup. I have the exact same router model, one Intel 3945abg network device, and a Nexus One (i.e., a smartphone that's better than the iPhone--just kidding).

I solved the issue by installing the tomato firmware on the router. If you go that route, make sure you follow the instructions for the WHR-G54s (which are somewhat different from the instructions for Linksys routers).

 

Haha, no doubt the One is better than my as yet un-jailbroken iPhone Thanks for the suggestion. I'd like a simpler solution but I'm not sure one exists. I'm sure I'll get fed up with this and try it sometime when I'm sitting around with some free time.

 

Installing tomato doesn't take more than 10-15 min. I know these alternative firmwares appear to be geared towards techies/nerds... But really, the installation of tomato is just slightly technical. And once tomato is installed, everything (web interface etc.) is very user-friendly.

I just think you're dealing with a bug in the stock firmware (btw, I had the same issue with my previous smartphone, too). Buffalo won't fix it since the support for this router ended a long time ago.

Anyways, if you decide to give tomato a shot at some point, just post here or shoot me a PM and I'll write up a little installation guide. Obv trying to encourage you a little bit. I had some reservations about tomato initially. But I couldn't be happier about it.. features and performance are better than the default firmware. and it's stable as a rock.

 

See below...can't figure out how to actually delete a post

 

I saw this coming so far away, it's splattered all over my face. I decided I'd go for it and "installed" the Tomato firmware. It appeared to install, but it won't respond to the 192.168.11.1 address. Yes I waited a lot longer than 2 minutes for it to flash. In addition, no internet passes through the router even if I connect cables directly. The router is bricked and I have no wireless at all. I know you meant well jasperjones, but this sucks. Help would be appreciated...

 

calm down, man, I doubt the router is bricked.

We need a bit more info: what is your OS? Did you use an ethernet connection to flash the firmware? Did you follow the instructions in the readme that comes with tomato exactly? Did the firmware flash complete successfully? Which lights on the router are lit (after power-cycling once)?

and most obviously, the routers ip address after flashing is 192.168.1.1, NOT 192.168.11.1

 

Hey jasper, thanks for responding. In order: WinXP; yes; yes; not sure (command window came up, said process had begun but no confirmation dialog, and the command window disappeared during the flash. It would be nice if the Tomato readme could be a little more descriptive but whatever); all lights look normal; hmmm now we are on to something, I think I typed 11.1 as that was the address with Buffalo firmware. Will check when I get home. But wouldn't the router at least pass wired internet through, even if it hasn't been set up for wireless? Thanks again.

 

Yeah, try entering "192.168.1.1" in your web browser. Login/password should be root/admin or admin/admin. Assuming you have cable, I think you might have to renew your lease (click "renew" in the WAN section of the welcome screen) before you obtain any internet access (even over wired connection).

Troubleshooting: If "192.168.1.1" gets you nowhere, make sure that you have restore your network interface configuration such that it automatically obtains an IP address and DNS server address (this is described in the readme). Then open a command window and execute "ipconfig." Look for the default gateway. This is the address you want to enter into your browser.

 

OK, will do. Yes, I have Comcast cable and their modem. Oddly, after the flash I did have to reboot the cable modem to get internet when connected directly to the laptop. Not sure why, but it does work. I definitely set the Ethernet back to "obtain automatically" (actually set it back and forth a few times!). This is the only way I can get internet right now. Thanks for the ipconfig tip. I know little about networking, as you can probably tell.

 

Success! After entering the correct address (doh) I saw the Tomato firmware screen. You're right, it is nicer and more detailed than the Buffalo. I again had to reboot the modem and then everything worked perfectly. Thanks so much jasper. So one last question: did you tweak any of the default settings to optimize the signal or reduce interference? So far it's been ten minutes and no dropouts :-|

 

hope the problem with your iphone will be gone now (it should be)

1.) Some people recommend you wipe the NVRAM before you configure anything. Administration->Configuration->Restore Default Configuration->Erase all data in NVRAM memory (thorough) I think this step is optional. If you do it, don't be surprised that it takes the router a minute or two to reboot.

2.) Important: for security reasons, change the admin password. Administration->Admin Access

3.) Change the router's security for wireless under Basic->Network. I recommend using WPA2 with AES.

4.) (Optional) If your host's DNS server is slow in resolving addresses (i.e., you enter www.some-site.com and it takes a while before the page starts loading), you can change the DNS servers. I like the ones from Level 3/verizon which are popular due to being very fast.

If you want to do this, go to Basic->Network. Under static DNS, put in one of the groups of DNS servers. I recommend Level 3/Verizon:
4.2.2.1
4.2.2.2
4.2.2.3
Click save.

5.) (Optional) I configured QoS to improve performance for VoIP. This is a little more involved so I'm too lazy to write up a guide. Google should point you to a number of guides if you're interested in that.

EDIT: the only thing I'd change to optimize the signal is to choose a good channel (typically 1, 6, or 11). This depends on the channels used by your neighbors. I believe there should be some wifi-analyzer app for the iPhone that shows you what channels your neighbors use and that recommends you which channel to pick.

 

OK jasper, this is all very interesting. Here's why: I came home tonight and the wifi was disconnected. I had to repair the connection, just like before. When I left the apt. I left on a p2p connection, more as a test to keep the connection open and keep the computer from sleeping than anything else. There had been virtually no activity (download) from it. I had my phone with me, so obviously it wasn't the culprit. Who knows, maybe the three year old router really is dying? Earlier tonight I was browsing with the phone in my hand and the laptop on my lap, just to be unreasonable, and it worked perfectly.

I did set up the router with WPA2/AES on channel 1. Thanks for the tip on changing the admin password, I wouldn't have thought of that. Web browsing seems quite fast so I will probably leave the DNS servers alone for now. Thanks again, this really is beyond the call.

Update: I have a nice new router interface, but I can definitely say that the problem is not fixed. Just had a drop out while working on the laptop and the phone a few feet away sitting idle. I'm inclined to think this is something with the wireless card on the laptop. Oh well.