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Wifi Solutions - The ultimate guide

8 replies · 4,218 views · Started 08 September 2006

yidakee 08 Sep 2006, 18:14

I think I got cocky with the title, but not with it's intentions!

This is the best thread for anyone who has programming skills and wants to get rich fast. Listen up, adapt, adopt and improve!

Before I start... I have no idea what I am saying. 😮 In a tecnical sort of way. :redface: Appart from that, I am heavy on getting the best out my equipments.

Dont take the piss at me if you violently disagree, or use the wrong lingo, make yourself useful and make this thread NON REDUNDANT.. there is something like 200 million lost "wifi problems, help!!" - "N80 is shit! Can use it" - " No gateway reply - taking the phone back" - and quite frankly, it's getting boring!

This little bugger is so packed full it's got flaws. Nokia, got to pull your ears for that, but that does NOT MEAN WE CANT GO ROUND IT OURSELVES !!

But above all that, I believe 90% complaints are due to

- Very early, hasty, keyboard trigger-happy un-selfinvestigated whines.
- Over expectations in tecnological advances - like my n80 would outperform my laptop wirlessly...
- Lack of tecnical knowledge, added to poor wifi implementation, leads to false conclusions (like I did)

So lets get our hands dirty.

N O G A T E W A Y R E P L Y - the common man's theory :

I heavily tested my n80 for 2 weeks before I flashed it to v4 firmware to start fresh and perp the phone for the long run. I was deeply dissapointed with everything, bugs, battery, yadda yadda yadda. Now I absolutely changed my opinion, except for the camera - that was plain stupidity by nokia

I concluded the following.

- The "available network" in device manager has a minimum refresh rate of 1 minute. This way it's impossible for anyone to walk around and find a "sweet spot". Trial and error forcing the browser to search is painfull, because one or two false pings would give you a "no WLAN found" and lead you to think there is no network. Last year I heard a new about wardriving, and the name just made me so curious... Wardriving (not the best nomenclature) is when you go around with your laptop in a car (of walking) looking for an open wireless connections, marking them on a map, and telling the whole world where it is for when they need it on a trip or something. For that, developers created software to max that experience. I got a programme called "Network Stumbler" - what it does is mask your device anonimously (unnecessary, it's not illegal to do this) and search for networks with 1 second pings. It also displays signal strength along with signal flow constance and noise (errors).

When I moved in with a friend and found and open network, just 1 week before I found the stumbler, I was only able to google a word ONCE that whole week, then connection failed. The whole week trying. I found the stumbler, and after just half an hour walking around the house, I was able to find the ONE spot in my house that enabled me to have a really good stable connection. If I moved the laptop just 50cm off, if would drop. This meant not just finding wifi, but leaving the laptop alone for 3-4 minutes to see if it was just a signal boosted fluke, or a steady flow. It also displayed the router channels, type, brand, locked/open, name, etc etc... I do not have a GPS reciever, but if I did, it would map the signal origin on the GPS map software.. how cool is that ?

A simple app like this would absolutely solve 90% of people's justified complaints. I really thought I had a bug, because my laptop and the stumbler gives out near maximum values where I am right now, but the n80 is on and off the router constantly. Then I went on a trip, stopped for coffee somewhere, saw someone with a laptop and gave it a try... checked my mail, visited some sites and WOW, was that connection stable and fast! I was BLOWN away by the n80. I never thought it would be so good for browsing. I did nothing, just open the browser and BOOM!

- The phone has poor reception compared to laptops/wirless cards. I go to a free hot spotted cafe everyday, reception is excellent. The n80 picks it up but errors gateway easily. I thought it was a bug, but I find that when it looses coverage and trying to ping the router/gateway, it just quits and you have to start over. If the signal really is good, like a home setup, I will work without problems. If the n80 weren't to quit so quick, it would eventually do it's job... slower and painfully, but it would.

Right. Now got off and code this damn idea! :tongue:

- I find no difference between 100mW, 10mW, 4mW - 100mW I believe is the maximum the European authorities allow. Somehow I dont trust these values are right on the phone.

- RTS threshold - This only works if the router is programmed or activated with this function. What it does is traffic control when many users are logged to one router. The default 2347 is the numerical equivale to "OFF", whilst lowering that threshold theoretically means that the router will only handshake the phone and transmit to it by taking turns with the number of users, but at a very fast rate, instead of using the whole bandwidth to please everyone, thus jamming data flow. Theoretically, when many many users are using the one gateway, this will increase the speed for everyone, but I also read this is a function that is rarely activated or used. Also this theory is heavily criticized as usable.

- Long/Short Retry Limit - I was unable to find info on what it is and how to use it. I messed around alot with these settings, but couldn't feel anything different.

- Radio measurements - What is this exactly? Is it the signal strength indicator? Why would on other threads people advise to off to reduce power consuption if it is only a software algoryth that interprets a signal that is already powered up to recieve/transmit - or is it something completely different?

- Power Saving - say again? You mean, I'm going to force the n80 to fluctuate the power usage on an antenna that on full power does not do it's job as efficiently as say, a laptop? - no thank you, I opt to put "Show Availabilty" to Never so I dont drain my battery fast, and when I am up for it, then search for WLAN

Well, I wont be selfish and stop right here 🙄

Please keep this tidy, it would really help reduce the forum's overload of useless threads to existing member, plus give the new user quick and efficient info and clear the way for more advanced topics

cheerio!

yidakee 08 Sep 2006, 19:29

Thank you for posting without reading

Thank you for, on first reply, spoiling the whole point of this thread

I will not go out and buy another router for and already perfectly working router on a public library that gets me downloads at 150Kb/s but no WLAN network on the phone. If I would, it would do nothing to improve the phone, if it did, the whole planet would have to buy new routers for specifically for the n80.

But above all, where is the drama? Where did I complain or whine?

Did I do you any harm? Why post nothing of relevance?

Thank you for perpetuating arrogance and lack of good will towards others that do not have the time, means or knowledge to improve their experience.

Thank you for not helping find new solutions to the community, for being selfish and dissing other people's efforts, instead of supporting them and showing a better way if you knew one.

Thank you for making me feel so good I will want to spend my own precious time again in trying to help others like others helped me.

Thank you fdxd, you really seem like a nice person to hang out with...

cmlewan 08 Sep 2006, 21:00

Very nice thoughts, yidakee. Those are the questions I've asked myself too on many trips to different places in Europe! How to find the sweet spots in/outside cafés/hotels etc is quite interesting. It's a science. Also, thanks for digging through those advances settings. Why are they not in the manual!? I think, though, that it might serve to tell others where to find them. (I started in the wrong place.) They are in Tools/Settings (Control Panel in English?)/Connection/Wireless LAN and then Choose (Choice in English) and Advanced Settings.

I myself find one problem that I don't think you mentioned. I may have eg. 57% WLAN strength in one moment, the next I have nothing. In one place! (This is actually similar to 3G reception sometimes.) Only when I have a very strong WLAN signal, then I can count on a _continuous_ strong reception in the phone as well.

You have some nice ideas for (3rd party) apps that (indirectly) would solve many of the problems. The WLAN part of N80 certainly has its problems. It feels like a first draft almost, sometimes. Another problem is that I want the phone to _automatically_ search for WLAN first, then _automatically_ connect to 3G if it doesn't find a WLAN connection. As it is, I often use my flatrate 3G (€220/month, maximum 1 GB) even where there is a free WLAN spot! Even in my own home with my own router. Too much trouble otherwise. If I stay a longer time, only then, I connect via WLAN. WLAN _is_ notably faster, after all.

You seem worked up about the reply of 'fdxd'. Indeed it was a unnecessary reply without a content. Maybe he was kidding.

fdxd 09 Sep 2006, 12:41

yidakee wrote:Thank you for posting without reading

Thank you for, on first reply, spoiling the whole point of this thread

I will not go out and buy another router for and already perfectly working router on a public library that gets me downloads at 150Kb/s but no WLAN network on the phone. If I would, it would do nothing to improve the phone, if it did, the whole planet would have to buy new routers for specifically for the n80.

But above all, where is the drama? Where did I complain or whine?

Did I do you any harm? Why post nothing of relevance?

Thank you for perpetuating arrogance and lack of good will towards others that do not have the time, means or knowledge to improve their experience.

Thank you for not helping find new solutions to the community, for being selfish and dissing other people's efforts, instead of supporting them and showing a better way if you knew one.

Thank you for making me feel so good I will want to spend my own precious time again in trying to help others like others helped me.

Thank you fdxd, you really seem like a nice person to hang out with...

Ok it did sound like you were leaching from someone's else unsecure connection. But a public library is fine i guess. 😊

Dont expect too much from a signal if you are using WiFI that is not on your site. Its not comforatable if you have to keep looking for sweet spots.

cmlewan 10 Sep 2006, 10:08

There are free (legitimate) spots everywhere. In my (100 000 people) home town, in Sweden, there are about 15. Every McDonalds in Sweden has it. I know many caf�s in Nice and Barcelona. Etc. There's so much. Just a question of finding them. And then there are other spots that you pay for. On Starbucks for example. I have wondered around many Starbucks looking for the best area. And then there is the fonero movement...

The idea of the original posting was exactly that: to make it more comfortable finding the spots within an area. (Even where they say they have a free connection, they may have only 20-30 % strength in one part of the bar or whatever. Then you sit in the other end.) And have a steady fast connection when you've found them. It's when traveling that I use WiFi the most on my N80. At home, I usually don't need to, I have my computer. Without the WiFi, I'd never bought the N80.

yidakee 11 Sep 2006, 13:52

Hey, since fdxd spoilt it for everyone rendering this thread useless, why not just steer off topic anyway..

if you like to run around naked in your house, there is no law that will stop people from looking in throught the window, but if you start taking pictures or stuff like that, then yeah, that ain't right...

...if you contract a internet connection and plant a wifi setup in your home/business, it is your responsability (or the IT professional) to lock it. If I have no knowledge of computers, buy a laptop, turn it on and automatically log in to an open wifi - am I a criminal?... but if I start downloading stuff, then it's abuse.

About HotSpot Finder by Psiloc... well, it's cute but it does nothing that the n80 by itself wont. You can also set it up to search on 1 minute intervals for hotspots... whats the big deal with that? that way, you CANNOT walk around in search for the optimum signal stregnth position. Heck, I'm typing right now from a hotspot, leaving the Psiloc software searching, every 5-7 minutes it finds this WLAN, but for only 1 minute or so until the next refresh... lets say I say "yey!! I found a hotspot!" ... try to connect, maybe even get the google page and type a search and 30 secons later "No Gateway Response" or "No WLAN found"

The refresh rate for these type of apps are only useful if you think in terms of mobility. Mobility as in celular phone... Whats the point of a 1 minute refresh rate? I can walk more than 200 meters in 1 minute. Network Stumbler has a impecable 1 second refresh searching for access points. That is usefull. Every second you have a reading on available AP + their signal strength. It is VERY normal with my laptop to very quickly find a good AP, most of the time taking ONE step at a time until I have optimal signal strenght. Before Network Stumbler, using only WinXP SP2 wifi refresh, it was very much like trying to find an AP with the n80, being the n80 a bit ... a lot harder due to weaker signal reception.

What I, and all n80 users need (due to weak signal pickup), is an app that would help find a sweet spot to connect. Due to the massive quantities of iron we live among, it is soooo natural that signals be deflected, amped, reduced, concentrated, dispersed, whatever! It is very important to be able to find that one spot where signal flow is constant. Otherwise, before you buy an n80, be sure to KNOW you have certain palces where you are absolutely sure signal is strong and healthy.

giddy up...