Intel Communities: Message List

Re: Intel WiFi Link 5100 AGN problem - disconnecting

webadmin@intel.com — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:32:11 GMT

Someday, probably when I'm about ready to toss this laptop, somebody will explain what's up with the 5100 AGN to me. I followed the suggestion of one of the above posters and went to device manager and unchecked "allow computer to turn device off to save power". For the first time in months the wireless card came back to life, and except for occasionally shutting off when I moved the computer, it worked better than it had in a long time. Then, a few days ago, it myseriously shut off again. I even opened up the laptop to take a look at the device, check for loose connections, etc .. everything looked fine. Now, after the thing working for for a long stretch of weeks, it will come on when I boot up and then cut off (and disappear from the 'network device' list) with the slightest movement. It's like it's got a life (and mostly death) of its own ..

Re: Intel WiFi Link 5100 AGN problem - disconnecting

webadmin@intel.com — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 04:21:52 GMT

I've determined that it was/is both a physical problem and a settings problem. When I changed the settings to not allow the wifi to shut off to conserve energy, this did help considerably. Now the 5100 will come on and stay on .. *unless* the laptop is moved in some way beyond carefully grabbing it by the edges. If I grab certain corners on the laptop the wifi will disconnect and the adapter isn't recognized until I restart the machine. I have a Lenovo X200. Somebody mentioned this a long while back on this thread. So the problem is improved, but the wifi card is still delicate and disconnects easily.

Re: Intel WiFi Link 5100 AGN problem - disconnecting

webadmin@intel.com — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 05:54:10 GMT

Following up on my above post, my wireless connection did drop shortly after I switched the power management selection to the setting you recommened. But then I restarted the computer and it's hung tough all day. (I've been careful about the manner in which I move the laptop as I still suspect it's a physical problem with the card.) I've had it work for stretches like this in the past and then cut out again, but it's been on all day so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Re: Intel WiFi Link 5100 AGN problem - disconnecting

webadmin@intel.com — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 17:16:35 GMT

I tried the power management solution, figuring it was too good to be true having read all the postings in this forum. It worked for about ten minutes and then dropped the connection.

I'm inclined to believe that this is a physical problem with the 5100 AGN card because it often diconnects when the computer (laptop) is grabbed and moved. But it still isn't that easy to pin down as it disconnected on me once for months at a stretch (I have a USB plug-in as a workaround) and then suddenly came back on.

It's been more than a frustrating problem and if someone were to build the perfect incarnation of "planned obsolescence" I'm beginning to thik they could do worse than to study this card. It never dies completely, doesn't respond to any setting changes, and apparently fails over a wide range of settings and machines. And by now Intel has to be aware of it .. so thanks guys.

Re: Intel WiFi Link 5100 AGN problem - disconnecting

webadmin@intel.com — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 14:21:16 GMT

Yes, this is a persistent and prevalent problem and having had it for at least a month I've yet to find the correct solution. I've tried all driver updates. My connection can stay on for as little as a few minutes and as long as several hours at a stretch, and when the 5100 disconnects my only solition is a restart. The profile appears nowhere and the device isn't listed until I reboot.

It worked fine for over a year. It's difficult to imagine that this is a physical problem with the device as opposed to related to some kind of software update or incompatability issue .. too many people have logged in with the same complaint after having the thing work fine for a long while out of the box.