Acer E1-572 laptop - wifi problem 'limited connection'

mjb1975

Hi all

Newbie here, just after some advice.

I've been having difficulty connecting to my normal home wifi. Based in the UK, I have fibre supplied by Virgin with their Superhub 2.

The Acer laptop now cannot connect to the router - says connection is 'limited'. Weirdly though, I can connect via a Netgear wifi extender (which obviously also connects to the Virgin router!).

I do note that this issue seems to be widespread - and possibly caused by the upgrade from Windows 8 to 8.1. However, of all the many possible solutions out there I've not found a single one which solves it. I have tried everything - DOS commands (flushing DNS, etc), changing, updating drivers, rolling back drivers, looking at the advanced settings on the router (reserving IP/MAC address) everything. Still 'limited connection'.

I've borrowed a USB wifi adapter and that seems to connect absolutely fine so it does point to the Qualcomm Atheros onboard card (model AR956x) but, as I say, it does connect ok via the Netgear extender. I did check it at my parents which was fine (they have Sky broadband and a different router).

So it's a bit odd as the onboard card works ok via the extender and other wifi (my parents). It's not the router as the wifi is fine via tablets, mobile phones, etc. I'm also pretty sure this only started when Windows updated to 8.1 so Acer could argue it's not their fault either.

Acer have agreed to take it back (have RMA, courier details, etc) but before I do, I want to rule EVERYTHING out.

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JordanB

mjb1975,

In my experience, wifi extenders (range extenders) are nothing but trouble. I know you said it actually works fine with your extender and the extender isn't the problem, but since they are on the same network, you should try unplugging your extender and then "forget your network" to your superhub and reconnect..... and then see how it works for a test period without the extender.

I will try to briefly explain my reasoning for temporarily turning off the extender. Often times "limited connectivity" is related to an IP address conflict. Or at least in the case of using an extender, you're not dealing with a typical IP address conflict that results from a misconfiguration of two routers (eg..double natting on the same LAN segment). I'm assuming that your Netgear is not actually a misconfigured router (with a NAT), but was sold with the single purpose of being a range extender. Some routers and range extenders are actually bridges too (smart bridges). And to make a long explanation short, sometimes these "bridges" have bugs or aren't compatible and get confused...which can commonly lead to something minor like an error in the log or possibly even the dreaded "limited connectivity". It's a very common problem when you are trying to sync wireless settings between two APs (same channel, same SSID etc) on consumer grade wifi equipment.

Having said all that, on one of my old computers, I have a newish Broadcom chipset wireless adapter. And my newish wireless router is also Broadcom chipset. At one point in time about about 18 months ago, the Broadcom wireless adapter wouldn't work properly on 5 Ghz with that same Broadcom chipset wireless router. However, that same Broadcom chipset wireless adapter worked perfectly fine with a different wireless router that had a Marvell chipset. Go figure. The wifi router manufacturer admitted that the problem was with their firmware (wireless driver) and subsequently fixed the problem 6 months later with a firmware update. Sometimes getting wireless to work right even when their chips are manufactured by the same company can be hit or miss.

These are the settings that I recommend for wireless settings when troubleshooting.

1. On the 2.4 Ghz band use "20 Mhz only" channel width

2. Use unique SSIDs

3. Use something like inSSIDer to *help* identify possible interfence.

4. Always use channels 1,6, or 11 and don't use AUTO.

5. If your trouble is on the upper 5 Ghz channels, then try the lower ones.

There's is a whole bunch of other things to check in Advanced Wireless Settings such as DTIM interval. Some AP's use 1 as default, and some use 3 as default. If you don't change one of them so that they use the same DTIM interval, you can easily get wireless drops, freezes, and limited connectiviy due to "confusion".

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/basics/wireless-basics/31576-the-best-way-to-get-whole-house-wireless-coverage

mjb1975

Ok, great reply - thanks. Much food for thought.

I did try turning off the wifi extender but it made no difference but it was only for a short time.

For the record, the Virgin router gives out two different SSIDs for the 2.4ghz and 5ghz services (ie: XXX-2G and XXX-5G). The Acer laptop only offers 2.4ghz connectivity anyway so I'm only ever trying to connect to XXX-2G. Oh and the Netgear extender SSID is XXX-2G-EXT so that's another unique one too.

As I say, I can connect the laptop to XXX-2G-EXT without issue.

Acer suggested a restore the laptop (shocker, didn't see that coming!), which solved nothing. In fact, I couldn't even connect to XXX-2G via wifi when setting it up fresh! I had to connect to XXX-2G-EXT to restore Windows. I'd already restored the Virgin router to factory prior to this.

Think XXX-2G is already set to channel 1.

I guess I'll try turning off the extender and run through your suggested steps before thinking about returning it to Acer.

JordanB

Ok, your response helps me rule some things out.

Here is a link to a free wifi analytics tool that can help you determine which channel would be best for the super hub. Sometimes you really have to experiment with changing the channel. Everyone's home environment is different in regards to 2.4 Ghz interference. Ideally you wouldn't want the netgear and the superhub on the same channel, but in some cases, having them use the same channel might be the only option depending on how close your neighbors are. And just because a channel looks heavily used by neighbors, it might actually be the best you have in your environmenmt. Anyway, experimenting with all of the channels is a basic troubleshooting step.

http://www.ampedwireless.com/wifianalytics/

As far as resetting your PC to factory defaults...unfortunately it is a troubleshooting step that I would recommend too.

If you ultimately decide its probably a compatibilty issue betweent the Atheros wireless card and the superhub, I would take this quick, relatively inexpensive fix:

I would disable the 2.4 Ghz radio on the superhub and put an AP about 2 feet away from it and connect the AP to the superhub with a CAT5E ethernet patch cable. And then use the AP (in AP mode).

http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-WA801ND-Wireless-300Mbps-Repeater/dp/B004UBU8IE/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8

I would be able to get away with the 150 Mbps model since my internet speed is only 30 Mbps. Since you have a fiber connection, you'd probably want the 300 Mbps model (which would give you up to about 170 Mbps download speed). 300 Mbps is the only the link speed. A 300 Mbps link speed usually translates to around 170 Mbps of actual throughput.

JordanB

Something else to check would be to make sure that superhub doesn't have any wireless MAC filtering enabled.

mjb1975

Truly grateful for the extensive suggestions.

Early days but I *think* I've fixed it. Connection has been solid for the last couple of days but I will continue to test it even if I don't need to use the laptop. Another interesting note is that the IP lease/renew time seems to be working/renewing when I log-in to the router. Previously the issue seem to last about 24 hours which would point to it not renewing correctly.

Either way the 'fix' may have been very very simple - I flashed the updated BIOS available via Acer's website. Seems obvious but none of the MANY threads on the issue seemed to suggest that. Plus, while I'm relatively IT savvy, I've always been a bit cautious about BIOS updates due to the massive warnings that often come with them. However, this was a simple .exe file - I recall booting into DOS to do updates in the past! - and it does seem to have fixed it.

Cheers.

JordanB

Excellent. I thought about the BIOS update but kind of assumed you had already went through Acer support channel with the RMA process and were at a dead end...... and they would have had you update BIOS.

I have Atheros wifi modules in both of my Acer desktops. They're probably not the same modules that are in your laptop, but I have found them to really good with all several brands of wireless routers/APs...

I've never had a drop or a failure to connect.

Yes, I have the DOS update mehod. I have UPS on one computer but not the other and live in area of frequent power outages, and it is a little nerve racking....so I know what you mean!

kellarlln

Interesting, I'm having problems with both my wired & wifi saying limited. I thought it was a CenturyLink problem, hope it's not my Acer. I've never had connectivity say "Limited" before now however.

I still suspect it's a CenturyLink problem & they tried to blame it on my wiring. Got a new jack & it's doing the same thing. They're also overcharging me way over the quote ($75.00/month instead of $35.00/month). Filed a complaint with the FCC today because of their business practices. Funny thing is, I went with a new service the last few years because I had problems with CL before, it was the same jack before I replaced it.

Ah well, still getting awful slow, "dial up" speeds when they promised high speed (0.2-0.5 mbps when I'm supposed to be getting 10 mbps-I'm rural so have limited bandwidth & service providers). I use both an ethernet & wifi but the speeds are the same whether I just use the ethernet cable.

mjb1975

Well, well, well.

Since I posted the problem here, the wifi on my laptop has been ok. However, it's gone 'limited' again and I'm losing patience with working out how to fix it. The laptop does now have Windows 10 on it but, tbh, it's been like that for quite a few days without issue. The wifi went 'limited' again 2 days ago.

I noticed a new Acer driver for W10 against my model so tried that. No change.

I'm starting to think the wifi card is the culprit. I *think* I have a few days of warranty left (almost a year since purchase) so might try that route on principle alone but I was thinking it might be easier just to replace the Qualcomm wifi card with another, perhaps a 'better' Intel card? Then I read up on BIOS whitelists, etc, so now I'm not sure!!

Anyone know what models of wifi card will work in my E1-572 (purchased in August 2014 if that helps)??

mjb1975

I changed the wifi channel on my router last night (was 1, now 11) - and it came back to life. I'm still not convinced that was all it was as all other wireless devices are perfectly ok plus not only did I occasionally get 'limited' connection, I sometimes had no visible wifi services to choose from in W10, and the wifi 'button' was even greyed out at times.

As I say, if I was to try an Intel wifi card from, say, Amazon, would it work as a like-for-like replacement in a 2014 E1-572?

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