2013 Archives

[Xellic]

Just bought my brand new R7 today and immediately experienced connectivity issues upon setup. Same problem as everyone else, terrible internet connection if more than 10ft away from router. Pushing max 0.18 mb/ps. Currently installing all of the Windows updates, will keep everyone posted if I find any kind of solution. Hopefully this will be addressed by Acer in the near future, as it would be a shame to have to return this beautiful machine.

UPDATE: All of the Windows updates have been installed, still no change.

UPDATE 2: Hmmm, very very strange...all of the sudden, after signing out of my profile and signing back in, the internet connection increased to lightning speeds. My R7 is extremely fast(considerably faster than any other computer I have) all around my house now. EDIT: Internet speeds are flicking back and forth from terrible to perfect..very weird

[AndreeaM]

I'm an ubuntu user and was curious to know if anyone tried running linux from a usb drive. From the Ubuntu forum I understand someone tried and didn't had issues with the wifi. It's recommended 13.04 though. I know it won't work for everyone and it won't be with all the features Win 8 has on tablets, but it might clarify if this wifi thing is really caused by Windows.

[Xellic]

Hey everyone, found a temporary solution that works flawless for me. Although it is not permanent, it definitely makes the connection work perfectly.

Note: This does not fix the problem with the laptop itself, it just makes your internet work up to speed until the problem is addressed and fixed by Acer.

USB network adapters work wonders. In my case, I remembered that I had an old D-Link USB network adapter (DWA-130) and plugged it in. Once the device registers, you can connect to your wifi under 'Wi-Fi 2' and you're all set. So if you guys have any of these old things lying around, dust them off and plug them in.

Hope this helps some people, good luck.

[dragosd2000]

What Xellic said is true, it works, but hopefully a fix will be found soon. I'm getting to the service here in Romania on Wednesday, so I hope someone from Acer will give me an answer to my previous question, whether I'd be able to change it for a new one that works properly or get it fixed here.

[phileyoung]

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to confirm what others have been saying. Acer is on top of this now if you call them and talk to a level 2 tech. They'll ask a few questions and will issue a replacement if the issue is consistent with what the rest of us have been experiencing. 

Special thanks to Acer-Cory and many of the other community members for helping out in this thread and pointing us in the right direction.

[tillutillu]

So if Xellic's workaround really works, does that mean R7's network adapter is an issue, not Windows 8? This still does not rule out driver though...
Acer R7 is using Broadcom dual band WiFi (i googled hope it is correct), so is this a Broadcom chip? and is this chip on laptop motherboard integrated with motherboard design - not an external plugin to motherboard? I dont like the sound of motherboard design flaws (just speculating sorry)... 

[garter]

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Quote from philleyoung:

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to confirm what others have been saying. Acer is on top of this now if you call them and talk to a level 2 tech. They'll ask a few questions and will issue a replacement if the issue is consistent with what the rest of us have been experiencing. 

Special thanks to Acer-Cory and many of the other community members for helping out in this thread and pointing us in the right direction.

 _____________________________________________________________________________________

The problem with this is that we have very little information that the replacement R7 from Acer solves the original wireless problem. Can those who have gotten a replacement directlly from Acer (NOT from Best Buy) confirm that the new laptop has a functional wireless? I beleive only one person has actually confirmed this so far, which is pretty thin evidence to go on.

[Xellic]

I really don't think Windows 8 is an issue. I am thinking that the internal network adapter signal has some sort of interference due to the metal Ezel or some kind of magnets/material near the wifi antenna. I have seen this sort of connectivity problem happen in another instance with my iPhone. I purchased a metal case off eBay and immediately after putting it on, my wifi signal was gone. Upon removing it, my wifi signal was 5 bars - perfect strength.

Now after doing some tests with speedtest.net, I've uncovered some interesting results that may back up my theory that the Ezel is partly to blame.

Test #1: Laptop position: Notebook (the Ezel is back into the regular laptop position, not covering the keyboard or the computer where the internal network adapter is located)

Download: 1.38 mb/s

Test #2: Laptop position: Tablet (the Ezel is all the way down, covering the laptop)

Download: 0.28 mb/s   hmm..strange right?

Test #3(immediately after test 2): Laptop position: Notebook, same as test 1,

Download: 1.29 mb/s

This could mean that the wifi issues could simply be a design flaw? I would be interested in anyone elses results who perform this little test.

[R7]

Well, I as well have this issue.  My Dell from work performs flawlessly & this fancy R7 won't load the simplest webpage.  Unbeleivable...I'm gonna attempt to contact Acer & see where I get.  Spent alot on this dang thing...SUPER FRUSTRATING 

[mlindstrom]

I should be receiving my replacement laptop from Acer in ~5 days. (This is after I already sent mine in to be "fixed"...which obviously didn't work.) I will report on the status of the wifi issue as soon as I receive the laptop that Acer assured me was fully tested against the issues we are all facing.