Acer Iconia A500 WiFi Problems
- Thread starter edm949
- Start date
- Mar 24, 2011
- 15,785
- 1,813
This is a fairly common problem for many tablets, not just the Acer. Other than trying changing router settings there doesn't seem to be any real solution out there. You could try changing from WPA/WPA2 to WEP and/or switching to a channel below 11. Good luck.
Douvie
Senior Member
- Jun 10, 2011
- 1,030
- 71
You router and your tablet are doing a refresh - actually happens to all wireless devices. If your router has certain security features, like having all your devices secured by their MAC address. This feature has a certain timed feature - also depends on the make of router.
It seems to mostly be with dlink routers. I have the DIR-825 and my A500 would drop the connection every 3 to 5 minutes. I ran a Linksys wrt54g in to it and connected to that and it worked great. So I updated the firmware on my Dlink and all is well so far and I no longer need 2 routers. Good luck and hope it works for someone else too. I should add that I turned off all the ALG settings since I dont connect to a business VPN. I also disabled Short GI too so im not sure if that did it cause I did it when I updated the firmware.
I have a similar problem which started occurring immediately after updating to stock OS 3.2 a few weeks back. It didn't occur with stock OS 3.1. If I'm very close to my router, then the problem doesn't occur. But when I get a little farther away, say 1.5-2 rooms away, then the wifi connection will continually drop and reconnect every 5-10 seconds. When I'm in the same location (1.5-2 rooms away) using numerous other wifi devices (Android 2.2, iOS, linux), the problem doesn't occur.
It could be affected by the router, but it's definitely some sort of OS bug, since it didn't occur with previous OS versions, all other things being equal. For some reason, my A500 running OS 3.2 can't handle anything except for the strongest of wifi signals (practically on top of the router, lol). Before that, I had used previous OS's (3.0 and 3.1) for many months without problems.
I've tried all sorts of things including using a static IP, but it doesn't solve the problem. I feel like I should report this to Acer, but I'm loathe to go thru the pain of 10 levels of level 1 tech support just to get them to report a bug to engineering. I'm just hoping 3.2.1 or ICS will fix this issue.
It could be affected by the router, but it's definitely some sort of OS bug, since it didn't occur with previous OS versions, all other things being equal. For some reason, my A500 running OS 3.2 can't handle anything except for the strongest of wifi signals (practically on top of the router, lol). Before that, I had used previous OS's (3.0 and 3.1) for many months without problems.
I've tried all sorts of things including using a static IP, but it doesn't solve the problem. I feel like I should report this to Acer, but I'm loathe to go thru the pain of 10 levels of level 1 tech support just to get them to report a bug to engineering. I'm just hoping 3.2.1 or ICS will fix this issue.
I'm having the same problem. Everything was hunky-dory in OS 3.1, then 3.2 comes along and the problems starts. I thought it was my router but this doesn't happen on my laptop. Thnaks for the confirmation that I'm not losing my mind totally.
Don't know if this will help anyone else, but I had that same annoying dropout of WiFi connectivity too. In my case, I fixed it by reprogramming my wireless router to broadcast the SSID. Probably most people have this on as default, but I didn't and my Acer didn't like that apparently.
the issue is that this new patch has power management for wifi, where it lowers the power of the signal if you are close to save battery (in theory). anyone know how to disable this? is there an app for it? it is clearly bugged and lowers the power too low, and once it loses signal it brings it back to max to reconnect, then lowers it too low and drops again. the signal strength is all over the place when i tested it on my commercial routers at work. i'll try to find an app to disable this "feature" if someone else finds it first please share.
Found a widget that will disable the high performance mode: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.ratcash.wifiperf&feature=search_result
You can test this widget by using your computer to ping your tablet before you turn it on, and then ping it afterwards. It lowered my ping rates from 300ms+ down to about 5ms+. That's a hella good improvement. I'll have to keep an eye on it to see how effective it is overall... it might just kill the battery. I wish I could just revert back to 3.1
You can test this widget by using your computer to ping your tablet before you turn it on, and then ping it afterwards. It lowered my ping rates from 300ms+ down to about 5ms+. That's a hella good improvement. I'll have to keep an eye on it to see how effective it is overall... it might just kill the battery. I wish I could just revert back to 3.1
When I power up the A500, I have no problem accessing my Linksys WRT54G running DD-WRT. But after some time in sleep mode, the tab keeps on scanning and trying to reassociate repeatedly, but does not succeed, except sometimes after about 5 - 15 minutes. If I want quick access, I have to power it down and restart. Upon restart, I have access almost immediately. None of my other portable devices have this problem, so I don't think it is my router.
I've set the WiFi disconnect policy to "Never", but this does not help.
Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this problem.
I've set the WiFi disconnect policy to "Never", but this does not help.
Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this problem.
Douvie
Senior Member
- Jun 10, 2011
- 1,030
- 71
Static IP? or DHCP?
It is the router. The A500 uses the 2.4GHz band only. It will not connect to the 5GHz band.
There is a sure fix procedure that will rectify the issue. Then start with your router, connect all your wireless devices - not the A500. Turn on your A500. Go to settings and get the A500 to forget the connection. Turn A500 OFF. Turn A500 ON. Go to settings, WIFI, search for connection, force it to pick another IP further away from the other used IPs. It will then connect and you will never have another problem.
i had the same issues wifi with a500 after I upgraded to android 3.2.1 kernel version 2.6.36.3+ set my router wireless mode from mixed mode 802.11g/b to 802.11g only, channel 2 (bec this has the least "noise" in our area), dhcp and wpa2 enabled. the mode setting was the kicker here since the other settings were already in place.
this seems to have stabilized and sped up the connection and expanded the range.
download the app wifi-analyzer to get a good view of your home wireless network
this seems to have stabilized and sped up the connection and expanded the range.
download the app wifi-analyzer to get a good view of your home wireless network
Similar threads
