Wifi Problems Fixed!

For reference, I own the AAO with XP SP3, 1GB ram, 160GB HDD. The BIOS that it shipped with was 3114 and the Atheros driver was 7.6.0.126. From beginning I was experiencing wireless problems. The connection would become very slow at random times, especially after standby. The only fix was to restart. I tried turning off the power save options on the WLAN driver but it did not help. I updated the WLAN driver to 7.6.1.122 and it caused more problems. The connection would lose connectivity and the WLAN card would disappear from the Device Manager altogether. Again the only fix was a restart but the problems would reoccur at random.

Finally I updated the BIOS to 3305 with a USB stick using the methods I found on this forum. I also updated the WLAN driver to 7.6.1.160 and now all the problems have disappeared. I have been using the AAO frequently with the new BIOS and driver and have not experienced any connection problems and the battery life seems about 5-10% better to boot.

I was having some buyers remorse after reading of many others experiencing similar problems with no real solution in sight. With these updates the hardware manufacturers have really pulled through for us. I find myself liking my AAO more and more everyday.

 

Good for you, hehe. Actually your problem has been addressed so many times in this forum. Maybe you have not found the right thread.... Anyhow, for most problems BIOS updates and driver updates often resolves the issues. Cheers.

 

My experience exactly. And I think it worth posting with a title that catches the eye since it is really hard to sort the success stories out of "all those other threads about wifi". Wifi was the ONLY thing I did not like about this machine. Owned a Asus 900 with 16G ssd until the ssd packed it in. Bought this while waiting for the repair. I am that hooked on netbooks. With the wifi fixed this One is a simply great machine.

 

I definitely know that it's been covered on here before but I just wanted to post the fix in a location where new users would easily find it. I figure that if they have wifi problems, the first place they will look is in the wifi section rather than in the BIOS and driver sections. Hopefully this post will save a few discouraged souls some headaches. and keep our favorite netbook from being labeled problematic. I sure hope Acer is going to start shipping new units with the latest BIOS and drivers soon.

 

Good to see a solution. I too have searched to only find threads saying to use the search. Is there a way for the search to pull up threads with "SOLVED" in the title? Or perhaps a wiki?

 

This is great news. I - like so many others - have problems with my WiFi. I almost regret buying this netbook.

I would like to try fixing this problem, but I don't even know how to find out which BIOS version I currently have (how do I find this out?). Could you please post a step-by-step description of the whole process of fixing the problem with the WiFi? or at least point me in the right direction? Thanks!

 

I will put up the links that I used to complete the process shortly. I just have some errands to run first. Let me just say that I only know the process for a machine running Windows XP SP3.

 

I'm running WinXP SP3. Couple more questions. I see that BIOS v3.305 is now available ( http://macles.blogspot.com/2008/10/acer ... v3305.html ). However, one user had serious problems after updating to this version (computer switched off around 35 seconds after turn on); BUT I am not sure whether the update caused them. Is BIOS v3.304 preferable?

Before unzipping the files, the flash drive must be formatted FAT or FAT32? I assume that the files have to be in the root.

UPDATE: I just flashed to BIOS v3.305. I hope I won't have any wi-fi issues again.
UPDATE: YES, it seems that the BIOS update to v3.305 solved my WIFI problems.

 

(Note: Don't let this fix intimidate you. It is very simple, and takes less than 10 minutes to complete)
The process that I used:
1. Format a USB flash drive - I used an old 256MB drive that I had laying around. Right click on the icon of the drive after you plug it in. Choose "Format." Make sure that you chose "FAT" as the file system, not "FAT32."
2. Prepare the flash drive and install the new BIOS - Before you proceed you need to remove any fan control software that you have running. Many users have experienced serious problems after flashing their BIOS due to incompatible fan control programs. There are multiple solutions for controlling your fan with the new BIOS, but many of the old methods are not compatible with 3305. Also, there is another method for flashing the BIOS without a USB key but many users are reporting problems and Acer's own release notes recommend using the USB method. Follow the instructions at http://macles.blogspot.com/2008/07/flashing-bios.html. The zip file that it is referring to in step 2 is at http://sites.google.com/site/maclesblogspotcom. Since you just formatted the USB stick there shouldn't be any folders on it, so you should be extracting the files to the root directory. In step 3 when it says to "change to drive C:" it literally means type "C:" and press enter. Make sure that you have your laptop plugged in! You will receive an error message when attempting to open the BIOS if you are not on AC power.
3. Update the WLAN driver - Download the driver at http://www.badongo.com/file/11852092. This driver is for Windows XP only and not for Vista. Right click on "My Computer," choose "Properties," click on the "Hardware" tab, and go into "Device Manager." Right Click on your Atheros WLAN card and choose "Update Driver." Select "No, Not this time" and choose to search in the directory where you saved the new driver. Once you have finished, perform a restart and you should now have a trouble free wifi experience and hopefully restored confidence in your AAO.

Conclusions: I have found that installing the driver without the new BIOS just caused more problems. Additionally after installing the new BIOS, and without the new driver, I was still experiencing connection problems. If updating your BIOS and WLAN driver cause any problems on your machine both can be rolled back to their previous versions, but these are official releases from the manufacturers and since installing them I have not experienced a single hiccup in my connection. The most annoying thing that was happening before was that my wifi would have very low connectivity after waking from standby as well as when running off the battery. Both of those problems are gone and the power save option on the WLAN card is actually useful now. I can leave the option on in my house when I am never more than 15 feet from a router, and turn it off to get better reception on campus and in places like coffee shops with hotspots. In other words, my AAO now performs just like it should. Word.

 

The only thing I would add to the above is that I found the method of creating the usb stick and flashing the bios explained here: http://www.netbooktech.com/2008/10/01/i ... -one-bios/ to very easy to follow and apply. Worked too.

With power save on, the first report on connection after stand-by will be "very low" signal. Check it again in 30 seconds, and you will find that the signal as improved dramatically. Evidently the power save feature takes a moment to kick the adapter up to full power after stand-by.

I travel extensively. I have connected to many different hotel and convention center access points now after flashing the bios to 3305 and installing the 7.1.6.160 driver. No problems with any of them.

 

much thanks for this post with all of the information and links! I successfully updated my bios and Wifi driver last night so hopefully I won't have to fight that battle any longer!

 

I agree-- Acer One, XP, 120gig drive, 1gigRam-- flashed the bios to ver 3305, and downloaded the driver at Microsoft Update--- everything works fine now.

 

I have had major issues with the WiFi adapter recently, I upgraded to the latest driver which was terrible (already had the most up to date BIOS) so I downloaded the driver from the 'Downloads' page of this website and it works wonderfully! Using Windows XP.

Kevin

 

I still seem to be stuck with the intermittent wireless. I've tried all iterations of the driver, right up to the newest, and am running the newest 3305 bios. Once I updated the bios and put on the newest driver, things worked perfectly. Then I rebooted after uninstalling mcaffee and things no longer worked (can't find my router, when it does find it, connects for 5 minutes, etc etc).

Power management stuff does nothing, and other drivers do nothing. I'm using the 160gig winXP version of the AAO. This stupid atheros problem is ridiculous.

 

Sorry to hear that dude. I've done this fix on three AAO's now with 100% success rate. Are you sure that it's not your router? I have an old Linksys router that was causing problems like that until I flashed it with some better firmware. If it's not your router, then you may want to reinstall Windows. The reason I say that is because something may have gotten corrupted when upgrading and downgrading the driver. I have experienced that sort of thing on another machine of mine when downgrading a driver on a graphics card. It caused a whole world of problems that couldn't be fixed by rolling back the driver. Reinstalling windows along with the newest driver fixed the problem.

 

I guess it could be the router, although it's a bit insane that I get fully functioning wireless after a certain strange, esoteric combination of driver uninstallations, card disabling/re-enabling, and bios updates.

I've also comletely removed and re-installed the drivers for the card dozens of times. I've had the computer for a grand total of 2 days.

I don't see how it could be the router when it's clear that the wireless card, depending on what drivers and power management and BIOS the computer is using, just isn't getting enough power to be able to find the router, while every other computer in my apartments finds the router with 100% success at all times, including the one immediately next to the acer.

The computer has proven itself 3 or 4 times to be able to hold a 100% solid connection to the router for hours, and then loses that connection after a reboot or hibernation or even extended standby, or a driver update/rollback.

I don't know what other factors to eliminate besides.. ah, hell, I actually have no idea now what single factor could be causing it to be this intermittent. At the moment I can't get it working to save my life, but I'm sure if I roll back and then roll forward the BIOS I'll have another few hours of useless wireless until this Atheros decides to take another mild vacation. Right now the only real solution I have is to switch out the card for a Dell, which I'll do anyway to install OSX, but come on... either there's something wrong with their power management, the drivers, or the card itself is so shifty that it only works 10% of the time, but when it does work, it works perfectly. Garbage.

 

I have the 160GB 6-cell XP version of the One, which shipped with the 3305 BIOS. I didn't have any problems with my wifi connection until I updated the driver a couple of days ago. I would have to switch the wifi off and back on, or go into network connections and click the repair button every 15 or 20 minutes or so. Today I rolled back the driver to the one it came with, 7.6.0.224, and I haven't had a problem (crossing fingers) since.

 

Yeah, tried 7.6.0.224 as well, just now plus a few times before. Still nothing. Again my only guess is that it's some power management issue, since the card has proven itself able to work under certain circumstances, so it's unlikely that it's defective, if it's simply a matter of endless software tweaking to get it going.

Unfortunately rolling back the bios and then disabling/re-enabling the adapter (which is what repair does anyway) over and over is an insane procedure to get something working. I don't even want to try bothering Acer support on this since it'll be the biggest time-sucking waste of life in history, with them telling me to try every driver and BIOS iteration so they can eliminate all the possibilities before they tell me to send the computer back, which isn't practical since it's from Canada and I'm currently in Italy. Ah, the glories of a technology filled life.

Ideally all will be solved when I get my dell 1390 card and put that it, but while I wait for that ebay shipment I'd love to have working wireless with my PC.. anyone else had a wireless problem this stubborn--ie, no matter what you try, what combination of drivers, BIOS, and power management settings, nothing works?

The most familiar procedure for me is loading up the "view wireless networks" and seeing it find my router. I click connect, it asks for my key, and by the time I put the key in and try to connect, it's already lost the router's signal. Plus my WIFI light is blinking once every 5 seconds instead of more frequently like it does when it's working. Ohhhhhhhhhhhh the hells of power management. I haven't been this frustrated with a computer problem since 1993 and 2 days messing with autoexec.bat and config.sys to get a CD-rom drive working in MS-DOS.

Maybe it's an IRQ conflict. That'd bring back hellish memories I thought I was done with forever. Does XP SP3 even let you change IRQs? I have no idea how to even start anymore, it all seems greyed out...

 

Did you try and disable the power management on the network card driver ? That fixes an awful lot of problems.

 

I've tried every power management setting (including using the Atheros client and setting power management stuff from in there as well) with just about every iteration of the driver and BIOS. Nothing has given me consistency yet.