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Author Topic: USB modem - intermittant connectivity problems  (Read 918 times)

Brad Johnson

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USB modem - intermittant connectivity problems
« on: July 16, 2011, 11:22:42 AM »
See if you guys and gals can help.

I changed over to AT&T Uverse service last week.  Their modem has built-in wifi service so I set everything up to use that.  The integrated wifi in the AT&T box is WPA (or better) protocol capable.  Unfortunately the older wifi card I have in my computer is WEP.  I got (actually, they gave me) a Netopia 3D Reach USB wifi adapter.  It fired right up, connected instantly, and the connection is blindingly fast compared to my previous setup.

Then this niggling problem started cropping up...

The USB modem regularly goes dead, no activity or link lights.  In a few seconds it will come back up, reestablish the link, and everything is fine.  It might happen every couple of minutes, or the connection might be stable for hours before it occurs. 

The wifi signal from the router seems stable.  The problem appears to be on the computer end.  The the connection goes away, so do all the networks on the "available networks" list.  As soon as the activity light begins to blink on the USB adapter, the list quickly repopulates.

I have updated the drivers to Win7 64-bit compliant, changed the power settings for the adapter so the computer is NOT powering it down when not it in use, and swapped USB ports to make sure it wasn't a flaky port.  Even tried swapping the adapter to make sure it wasn't a flaky unit causing the problem (using an identical Netopia 3D Reach USB adapter).

Thoughts?

Brad
« Last Edit: July 16, 2011, 11:26:19 AM by Brad Johnson »
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RocketMan

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Re: USB modem - intermittant connectivity problems
« Reply #1 on: July 16, 2011, 12:37:30 PM »
When the modem goes dead, are all the lights out, or are some of them on and just not blinking?  If the modem appears to be completely dead, I would wonder about the USB connector on the modem itself.  It may have a defect of some sort.  Perhaps it just doesn't mate well with the port you are plugging it into.  I've run across that problem before.
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Brad Johnson

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Re: USB modem - intermittant connectivity problems
« Reply #2 on: July 16, 2011, 12:46:20 PM »
No lights at all.  Tried two different adapters on two different ports.  One thing I have noticed is that right before it dies the link light will blink rapidly a couple of times.  It does that, dies, then a few seconds to a minute later, the activity light will begin blinking and a few seconds later it will reestablish the link.

I'm beginning to think it's some kind of funky Win 7 power management thing, either to the USB ports or as part of the device management.  A liberal application of Google-fu hasn't turned up much, though.

Edit to add**  Just found out about the USB Selective Suspend feature.  It allows Windows to suspend individual USB ports and is independent of the "Allow Windows to shut off this device to save power" in the device manager.  Toggled it off to see if that makes any difference.

Brad
« Last Edit: July 16, 2011, 12:54:19 PM by Brad Johnson »
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Brad Johnson

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Re: USB modem - intermittant connectivity problems
« Reply #3 on: July 16, 2011, 01:12:12 PM »
And no joy... it just cycled again.   Since I was sitting right here when it happend I reached up and unplugged the adapter while there was no link or activity light.  The computer recognized that the device had been unplugged, recognized it immediately when I plugged it back in, and the link was established a few seconds after that.

Instead of Win power management, could it be some kind of Windows 7 firewall/security issue?

Brad
« Last Edit: July 16, 2011, 03:27:15 PM by Brad Johnson »
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Re: USB modem - intermittant connectivity problems
« Reply #4 on: July 16, 2011, 03:23:01 PM »
I'm having the exact same issue with ATT and an older system running XP Pro.

I right click and hit repair internet connection and it turns back on.

Weird.
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Brad Johnson

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Re: USB modem - intermittant connectivity problems
« Reply #5 on: July 16, 2011, 03:59:40 PM »
Finally dug into the guts of the AT&T router.  Found out that I can toggle on WEP security, allowing me to use the older card I have installed in the machine.  It's what I'm using as I type this.  It's chopped my download speed at the computer to just under 5Mbps but that's not a problem.  That's still 3x faster than it was with the previous DSL/Netgear router setup.  Download speed at the router, according to the control panel, is a blazing 22Mbps.  Everything but this computer is cabled directly to the router so the rest of my internet needs are being met and then some.

Brad
« Last Edit: July 16, 2011, 07:03:29 PM by Brad Johnson »
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Re: USB modem - intermittant connectivity problems
« Reply #6 on: July 16, 2011, 06:59:25 PM »
Might also be the power brick.    Had a Toshiba cable modem a few years ago that started to behave as you describe.   Replaced the power brick and no problems at all after that.
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Brad Johnson

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Re: USB modem - intermittant connectivity problems
« Reply #7 on: July 16, 2011, 07:01:57 PM »
No power brick.  USB powered.

Brad
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Brad Johnson

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Re: USB modem - intermittant connectivity problems
« Reply #8 on: July 17, 2011, 09:09:12 PM »
Well, two days on the old card and nary a flitter.  Guess there's something about the USB setup my machine just didn't like.  That, or some kind of odd RF interference causing the link to reset periodically (which is entirely possible).

At any rate, it works now!

Brad
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"And he thought cops wouldn't chase... a STOLEN DONUT TRUCK???? That would be like Willie Nelson ignoring a pickup full of weed."
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