souperdoo

Hi -

I posted this to another forum, but no takers. Anybody here have an idea of what the problem might be?

A co-worker and I have identical hx4705s and are having issues with the WiFi.

Here are the symptoms.

In an area where there is known to be NO accessible network the following frequently occurs:

Turn the IPAQ on and the blue light comes on "automatically" (we didn't turn it on via the WiFi screen). Check the WiFi screen, and the WiFi icon is amber. However, there is NO WiFi in the area.

Clicking on "Settings" on the WiFi screen I can see my home network listed, and it intermittantly switches between "Connected" and "Unavailable", but that network is 15 miles from my office, so obviously it is not really connected .

Going back to the WiFi screen and clicking the WiFi icon starts the process of shutting down WiFi and, after a bit, it will show as turned off. However, the blue light stays on.

Attendant to this is a malfunction of the on/off switch. It will turn the unit off, but will not turn it back on again. A soft reset is required to turn the unit on.

Note that the soft reset (or two or three) will cure the above problem and the unit will start normally without the blue light coming on.


In the presence of a network:

The blue light is on as a result of being deliberately turned on through the WiFi screen. The WiFi icon is green. Everything works normally.... Or,

The blue light comes on "automatically". The WiFi icon is amber or may even show "turned off". The connection is present and the network can be accessed normally. However, the blue light cannot be shut off from the WiFi screen and the other malfunctions mentioned above are present.

The only third part software that is presently loaded is Pylon, which allows us to sync to a Lotus Notes server.

Thanks!

Tom

swhoutx035

Originally Posted by souperdoo

Hi - I posted this to another forum, but no takers. Anybody here have an idea of what the problem might be? A co-worker and I have identical hx4705s and are having issues with the WiFi. Here are the symptoms. In an area where there is known to be NO accessible network the following frequently occurs: Turn the IPAQ on and the blue light comes on "automatically" (we didn't turn it on via the WiFi screen). Check the WiFi screen, and the WiFi icon is amber. However, there is NO WiFi in the area. Clicking on "Settings" on the WiFi screen I can see my home network listed, and it intermittantly switches between "Connected" and "Unavailable", but that network is 15 miles from my office, so obviously it is not really connected . Going back to the WiFi screen and clicking the WiFi icon starts the process of shutting down WiFi and, after a bit, it will show as turned off. However, the blue light stays on. Attendant to this is a malfunction of the on/off switch. It will turn the unit off, but will not turn it back on again. A soft reset is required to turn the unit on. Note that the soft reset (or two or three) will cure the above problem and the unit will start normally without the blue light coming on. In the presence of a network: The blue light is on as a result of being deliberately turned on through the WiFi screen. The WiFi icon is green. Everything works normally.... Or, The blue light comes on "automatically". The WiFi icon is amber or may even show "turned off". The connection is present and the network can be accessed normally. However, the blue light cannot be shut off from the WiFi screen and the other malfunctions mentioned above are present. The only third part software that is presently loaded is Pylon, which allows us to sync to a Lotus Notes server. Thanks! Tom

Hi souperdoo. Welcome to the forum. I have no idea what would make two 4705's behave that way. If it were one, I would say it was a problem with the device. You don't work near a microwave or RADAR tower do you?

imported_CiscoKid

Keep in mind the blue light is also on for Bluetooth...

__________________
Compaq C810 --> iPAQ h5450 --> Toshiba E800 --> HP hx4700

souperdoo

Hi -

No, I don't live or work near enough to MW or RADAR to cause problems. I work two miles south of LAX, but that RADAR tends to focus east-west. At first I thought the problem might be the 2.4GHz phone at home, but it turned out that it happens wherever.

The Bluetooth is working perfectly - in fact I'm real happy with the HP BT keyboard.

Regards,

Tom

Raiderhp4700

WHAT you are describing is a very new and upcoming feature in some very cutting edge ppc softwares and wifi cards, its called WAKE ON WIFI , i somehow doubt that your lotus software has that ability, but in claiming that there are 2 of you with this bizzare problem, i am assuming that you both have this same software installed. I have experinced something very similar with one of the popular ppc wifi softwares..the part about how it behaves in the connection windows.. and the blue light.. that software messed it up terribly.. and it behaved just like yours did, and it took about 2 or 3 hard resets to finally get rid of it.. SO I AM GOING TO ASSUME THAT YOU AND YOUR FRIEND BOTH HAVE ONLY THIS LOTUS SOFTWARE INTALLED EXTRA ON THE PPC, NO OTHER INSTALLED SOFTWARE AS YOU SAID, AND THAT YOU BOTH EXPERIENCE THIS PROBLEM. I THINK THE SYNC SOFTWARE FOR THE LOTUS IS DEFINATLY THE PROBLEM. BUT WHAT ITS MESSING UP IS ANYONES GUESS... IT MAY HAVE A DEFAULT ( and ajustable ) setting in it that tasks or sets a certian time to search for a live sync up.. and that may be causing the sudden live sessions of wifi, it may have even put an event into the task section of windows.. to do so... and it certianly could cause the screwy software issue at the same time. ONE EASY WAY TO RESOLVE THIS, IS SIMPLY DO A HARD RESET SEVERAL TIMES..CLEAR IT ALL OUT.. AND ONE OF YOU DO NOT REINSTALL THAT LOTUS STUFF... WATCH IT FOR A WEEK..SEE IF THE PROBLEM HAS GONE AWAY... IM SURE IT WILL... IF IT DOESNT..THIS IS GOING TO GET VERY INTERESTING...PLEASE KEEP US UPDATED..

Raiderhp4700

follow up... it SEEMS.. that WIN 2003 MOBILE has integrated wake up for wifi by default in its simbiosis to being the smartphone o/s, I would imagine that this function simply lies dormant in the ppc... as there is nothing to initialize it in the registry, as its related to syncing up for mail, and other data xfers on a smartphone, it would appear that maby your lotus sync software has some functions that are trying to make this feature operate on your ppc...thnking its a smartphone.. there is technical data i found which supports this ...very kool ! now if we could just harness it..and control it.

souperdoo

I think I've figured it out.

First off, it seems I was mistaken when I said the only third part application was Pylon. I had removed an application called MovianVPN but had not done a hard or soft reset, so it must have been partially resident.

Anyhoo, I did a hard reset and installed only Pylon. Worked great. Then I added BT Keyboard. Worked great. I added MovianVPN and the thing imediately went bad.

MovianVPN is what we use to access the wireless here at work and is what allows us to access the Lotus Notes server when we are out of the cradle. Not a big loss, but annoying.

Thanks to all who responded.

Cheers,

Tom

swhoutx035

Originally Posted by souperdoo

I think I've figured it out. First off, it seems I was mistaken when I said the only third part application was Pylon. I had removed an application called MovianVPN but had not done a hard or soft reset, so it must have been partially resident. Anyhoo, I did a hard reset and installed only Pylon. Worked great. Then I added BT Keyboard. Worked great. I added MovianVPN and the thing imediately went bad. MovianVPN is what we use to access the wireless here at work and is what allows us to access the Lotus Notes server when we are out of the cradle. Not a big loss, but annoying. Thanks to all who responded. Cheers, Tom

Hi Tom, although it's not optimal, I'm glad you got it figured out. Hope to see you around the forums again. Maybe we can be more helpful.

souperdoo

Originally Posted by swhoutx035

Hi Tom, although it's not optimal, I'm glad you got it figured out. Hope to see you around the forums again. Maybe we can be more helpful.

Hey, thanks for the welcome. I'll be around - this forum seems quite active and knowledgable.

My IPAQ is replacing an Axim X5. Leaps and bounds better; I'm impressed.

I'll have to get after our IT folks to come up with a replacement for MovianVPN. Movian was software they selected because it worked on a broad range of PDAs, but it has since been sort of discontinued. Our IT issues it with the codicile "If it works, it works, if it doesn't it's not supported anymore, so give up."

Cheers,

Tom

Raiderhp4700

tom...thats great..i looked at your vpn software..it would cause a conflict in the 4700's embedded wifi software. it constantly wants an "on" connection fed to it..it doesnt seem to understand on/off wifi ...so it tries to reset the wifi connection.. this is where it gets hariy ...as windows is controling that function so they confilict..hence the odd behavior seen in the 4700's wifi software and its turning itself on and seeking a connection for an active wifi program...lotusnotes. sync up.. or outlook..anythign that monitors for an active connection... win moble is vpn capable.. but microsoft reccomends another brand of vpn program for it.. i forget the name.. but it is available. and i think its free.. read about it couple days ago. glad its fixed.

souperdoo

Raiderhp4700 -

Thanks for the explanation of what's going on in there, that helped a lot. I don't really understand WiFi and VPN yet and every little bit helps. I sure wish that VPN could be a generic thing, or at least standardized, so that you could use any VPN software to access a network that requires VPN.

Tom