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Wireless Troubleshooting Tips

  1. If you are experiencing frequent disconnects or slow wireless service, try the following suggestions to see if connectivity improves. If not please contact Helpdesk (778-782-3230).
  2. Make sure the latest wireless client card drivers are installed. Drivers make a significant difference to the performance of your wireless connection. Please find the newest available driver for your chipset from the vendor's website. Note: This is especially true for users with the Intel Pro 3945 wireless adapter.
  3. Windows XP/SP2 users, please upgrade to Service Pack 3 (SP3)
  4. Vista Users, please upgrade to Service Pack 1 (SP1)
  5. Vista Users, try disabling IPv6 in your TCP/IP network properties configuration
  6. Check your signal strength to the nearest access point. If you are in an area with low signal strength, frequent disconnections may be unavoidable. A number of factors will interfere with wireless, such as microwaves, cordless phones, Bluetooth devices and other radio noise.
  7. Move to a less busy area. Wireless Access Points are positioned to distribute the load of many users, but it is still possible a given access point can become overloaded (15+ users).
  8. Use 802.11a if your wireless adapter supports it (and if 802.11a coverage is available in your area).
  9. For Windows XP users that have 3rd party wireless client managers, try using the built-in Windows 'Wireless Zero Configuration' instead. To do this, navigate to Control panel -> Administrative Tools -> Services -> Wireless Zero Config and change the startup type to "Automatic"
  10. Try disabling your wireless adapter, then re-enabling.
  11. Disable any power saving features on the wireless card. If you have an Intel Pro/Wireless 3945 adapter this is crucial (see http://support.intel.com/support/wireless/wlan/sb/cs-006205.htm) for details.
  12. Ensure that you are connecting to the correct wireless network (SSID). For SFU, the default network is SFUNET.
  13. Try using the SFUNET-SECURE Network. Setup instructions can be found at here

The following references may be of use for both troubleshooting and general information.