i-fi Companion signal strength issue

[thefiredude]

I'm running Wi-fi companion on my X51v. I like the program and it's a colol utility and makes a great wi-fi finder as well. I like it better than my Canary.

The one and only problem is that the max signal strength reads 61% max I can be sitting in front of my WTR54G which I havwe pumped up and all it reads is the 61% when I know it's 100%. I searched Socket Communications forum and see others mention it, but never saw a reply from Socket Communication on a fix. I think I read a post somewhere regarding some patch? Anyone know of a fix or if Socketcom has admitted the fault and working on a fix? Thanks in advance!:)

Tony

Patch released 3-14-07. See last page!

[mxLars]

This thread silenced after the link at the end.. maybe it's your solution also?
http://www.socketforum.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3794

Just gotta love wifi companion.. use it alot with both a x50v and a HP hx4700, nice piece of software, haven't had any problems with it still.
There will be a x51v on my doorstep in a few days, did a little research in advance and hope this will help you with your problems o)

[thefiredude]

Thanks for the info. I had seen that thread as well however the updates listed are system updates for Dell and the X51's. The problem with Wi-fi Companion reading 61% max is a problem with socket communications. I was hoping someone here would already have a fix. After a half dozen emails to Socket communicationas on this qwith no answer I thoufght I'd try here.

The program is great and I love it, but to be a true wi-fi finder it needs to reflect the real time signal values. If that was fixed you couldn't beat the thing for what it does. Sitting on the shelf next to my pumped up WTR54G it still only reads 61%. I would think thay would have not released it with this issue until a fix was found and at least have one by now??

Anybody??

Tony

[mxLars]

Da%¤! shouldn't have posted that all works fine here... got jinxed!

Today I've had all kinds of problems with wlan on my x50v (w2k3se A05).. companion some times can connet and authenticate with my hotspot but not get a ip through dhcp..
Setting ip manually (hate to do it!) helps nothing, and after I tried that I cannot connect whatsoever. Deleted all configurations, added again, no go..

Deleted configs another time, soft reset again, dinked around in the registry and removed previous dns, wins, gateway, and dhcpserver info stuck there under 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Comm\ODIM\TIACXWLN1\Parms\TCPI P' and 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Comm\Tcpip'

First time I noticed it, ipconfig had ALL parameteres except ip adress...? domain name,dns, wins, gateway, dhcpserver and so on was in place!?!?

Still learning, and will spend a little time with it before I do a hard reset..
No other config has changed, and my wireless laptops and my hx4700 connects and uses the wifi/wlan just as before...

*edit*
Btw. have the graphs from wifi companion loaded in the HP hx4700/wm5 - and I sometimes see it at 61% quality for 10-15 seconds before it jumps back to 75/87/100%.. could be a powersaving/throttle setting beyond our regular control. Will investigate ;o

If NOTHING else works I'll try this application on it before the hard reset - http://www.scarybearsoftware.com/tc_overview.html

[thefiredude]

I've been in contact with Socketcom today several times. Great fast replies and I believe their enginneering team has now bcome involved. What we discoverd was the 61% signal strength we're seeing is in fact NOT the signal strength, but signal quality. We want signal strength ishowing on that screen instead. IN WFC click on "statistics"then graphs and you'll see on the top graph where it says "signal quality and to the right its says 100%

It looks like to me they reversed them. When on the main page with the pda and tower it should show signal strength instead of quality. I'll keep everyone posted as I here more from socketcom. The more people who send this issue into tham the faster i imagine they'll work up a fix. they are great to work with by the way and fast! I sure give their tech support folks an A+. We'll see.

Tony

Thanks, Tony. I think mine is doing the same thing--I sort of wondered why I got low, fixed numbers.

[mxLars]

Maybe if you look at the 'rates' (above graphs) window you are seeing the correct values?
SignalQ at top and Signal strenght beside the current rates..? I really think it's the other way around - read the lower bars as signalQ at current rate. Will read up on the manual sometime o)


Anyhoo... I'm satisfied with my views.. always consider signal quality as the best measure. And it isn't static on either my hx4700(wm5) or the x50v (wm2k3) If it's erratic dynamic values, there's noise from video transmitters, bluetooth, wireless thermometers/weatherstations, microwaves etc. and a first to try should be swapping channels in the AP to try finding a cleaner one. 2,4ghz is getting noisier and noisier by the day..

A very few wlan adapters actually comes with a utility to monitor/listen to the 2,4Ghz range from channel 1-11 (or 1-13 here in Europe) - where you get bars showing the quality/noise of each channel in the area.. would love to see this in a pda.. Makes selecting the right channel for the setup a breeze..

Any1 know of such a utility for windows mobile?


** Removed my jinx with a day-old spb-backup btw. o)) (restored registry) Dunno what crippled the wifi.. just glad it didn't happen onsite with a customer..

[thefiredude]

Lars,

I agree signal quality is an important factor. I conducted a test here and came to some surprising results.....

Both the graph section and the graph with the tower and lightning bolt display "signal quality". Nowhere does it state signal strength. I'm ok with that, but no matter what it never shows over 61% so there is a fix that needs to be made in the program. I know others who have the same issue so it looks like it's straight across the board.. Hopefully Socketcom's engineering team can come up with a fix.

It's a great little program and in my opinion would be the very best if they fix that issue. Like I said earlier I can sit my X51v next to my router which is pumped up which shouldn't matter and it still only shows 61%. I think they need to do a tad bit of program tweeking is all lol! Anyway folks, thanks for listening and I'll report back with anything I hear from Socket Communications. I just like things to work thwe way they are supposed to. ;)

If there is anyone who uses Wi-F-fi companion and get's a signal higher than 61% I'd sure like tio hear from you.

Tony

[mxLars]

Yup I almost totally disregarded your static <61% reading except from the link to the socketcom forum.. Im also eager to share and get info on your problems progress, My x51v is a few days away, and I'll be sure to test if this issue exists in mine.

What would be of interest in addition for troubleshooting this or other matters is the hardware version - eg. A02, A05 or similar. Components may vary slightly between versions causing things like these to happen in particular conditions.
Hardware version on the Ax's are under the battery next to the servicetag on the x50v, probably similar location in the x51.

Looking forward to a solution for you troubled souls.. :approve:

[gadget1]

The forum at Socket's web site shows them aware of this problem since August, but they are not listing any progress. I hope they have not forgotten about it.

[thefiredude]

gadget1 ...

I have been in contact with their tech support and are addressing the issue right now with their engineeering team they say. I saw that thread in their forum as well and even a post by the administrator several months back stating they had taken serious issue with this problem and he'd update and he never has. We'll see. One thing for sure if Socketcom doesn't find a fix or start listening to their customers then they'll not have any more of my business. I will give them benefit of doubt as they have been communicating on this issue with me on a daily basis. I'll update if I hear any further. Just seems like a LONG time to fix a bug they have known about for so long. Hopefully they'll develope a patch for it soon. I've also made them aware of this thread so for all of you having the same issue please chime in!

Tony

[gadget1]

Great info! I agree. Thanks

[gadget1]

Added info. I have gotten 61% on 5 different routers at three different locations which I think points right at their software.

[thefiredude]

Here is my last communication with them I sent today....

Additionaly Mario, here is a thread running I started in the Axim forum.....

http://www.aximsite.com/boards/showthread.php?t=143683

By the way you have a thread running on this same topic in the Socketcom forum on your website. An administrator acknowledged the problem and said he (Socket) was taking this issue seriously and would report back. That was May I believe. Many people are dismayed by him not reporting back meaning to many that Socket wasn't taking this issue seriously. 4 or 5 months with no info is not good at all and it's gonna hurt Sockets's busniness I'm afraid if something isn't done or at least acknowledged.

I can't thank you enough for your help and very speedy replies. #1 in my book. I won't bug you anymore on this and let you work it on your end. Please advise if there is any new info. Your engineering team can feel free as well to contact me any time in regards to this issue if they want. My email is tony.cornett@thefiredude.com Have a great holdiays!!

Here's their reply...

Tony,

I'll have our engineers look into it. Thank you for the information, hopefully we'll have an update for this soon.

Best regards,
Mario
Socket Communications Technical Support

[mxLars]

Got my x51v - Results so far :

Firmware v.A00 installed rom A06/WM5 : Easily connects to wifi with the wlan utility, companion reports 'no connection', no ip, cannot scan for networks - but wifi works fine...
After upgrade to rom A12 : same as you.. stuck at 61% quality within perfect coverage, and 100% signal at 11Mbit rate..
Haven't tried this on x50v w/WM5 yet, possibly the same issue there.

Works fine on hx4700/WM5 rom 2.01, and x50v currently with latest wm2k3se.
Guess it's a problem with the .dll's Dell have used for the wlan card.
Afaik these are not user replaceable without recompiling the rom.