Slow connecting to WiFi network on Sony Z laptop

[eseyidli]

Hi.

My model number is VPCZ21C5E. It is 2011 Z series ultraportable laptop. OS is on Windows 7.

When I turn the laptop on (or even resume from hybernate) it takes long time for it to connect to a wifi network. Sometimes it make take over 1 minute. I have a suspision that it is to do with some sort of power saving settings (for wifi adapter specifically or whole laptop), but I am not sure about this.

In most cases it eventually connects to the wifi network. In rare cases it times out and says "can not connect" so I have to manually click "connect" and then it does connect. It is not to do with the WiFi access point as this problem happens both at home and in other places.

I would be thankful for any suggestions on how to fix this. Thanks in advance.

[rich912]

Hi eseyidii,

Maybe a long shot but check the power management tab in Device Manager for the WiFi adaptor. Turn off power saving if applicable.

Rich

[eseyidli]

Thanks for the suggestion, Rich. Below is what I tried.

I had 6 devices under “Network Adaptors” in Device Manager. First 2 were Bluetooth related and had not Power tab. Next 4 had Power tab:

- Intel Centrino N6230

- MS Virtual WiFi miniport

- MS Virtual WiFi miniport #2

- RealTek PCI GBE Family Controller

I think 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th are Wifi-related, 6^th one I am not sure – I think it is related to my sound system.

For the 3^rd – Intel Centrino – the Power saving was already off (I think I may have turned it off myself some time ago trying to solve this problem). For N4, 5 and 6 power savings were on so I turned them off. Then hibernated and resumed but the problem happened again. It took about 2 mins saying “Connecting to HomeWLAN” and eventually connected. Btw, I noticed that it does not try to connect to the my HomeWLAN network automatically – I have to click “connect” for this 2 mins process to start. Also I noticed that in device manager N4 and N5 (virtual miniports) have exclamation signs now and when I click on “properties” their “power management” tabs disappeared now and in the status it says “Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems. (Code 43)”.

Any more ideas are welcomed. Thanks in advance.

Regards

[rich912]

Hi eseyidli,

Microsoft’s explanation of error 43 is as follows:

“Code 43
Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems. (Code 43)
Recommended resolution

One of the drivers controlling the device notified the operating system that the device failed in some manner.

If you have already run the Troubleshooting Wizard, you might want to check the hardware documentation for more information about diagnosing the problem.”

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310123

It would be worth running the automated troubleshooter that pops up when opening the above link.

If that has no effect try reinstalling the original Intel Wireless LAN driver from the following link – there is also an updated driver that you could try.

http://www.sony.co.uk/support/en/product/VPCZ21C5E/updates

As far as the delay in connection is concerned have you marked the preferred connection as ‘Connect automatically when this network is in range’? Open Network and Sharing Center > Next to ‘Wireless Network Connection (connection name)’ click View status > under ‘Connection’ click ‘Properties’ > on the Connection tab check ‘Connect automatically when this network is in range’.

Rich

[eseyidli]

Thanks, Rich.

I have done all these steps. Run the Fix IT from MS website – it did find problems with two miniports but did not manage to fix them. So I run the driver update from Sony website and restarted the PC. When the drive update was running I could see in Device Manager that it remove the 2 miniports from the list and recreated them and at that point in time they did not have exclamation signs and worked properly, but after the hibernate-resume the exclamation signs reappeared. I repeated the whole process again and the same results. One more thing: On bottom right of the screen a pop up appeared “Intel My WiFi Technology: Adapter not found”. I clock on it – nothing happens.

Btw, the actual miniports problem is not causing any extra problem for me as such.

So after all these the main problem with 2 mins delay for connecting to wifi network has not disappeared. For clarity – it happens when I hibernate and resume. Another problem I have now the whole connecting process does not start automatically – the wifi icon has a red cross on it saying “Not connected – connections are available”, so I have to manually click on the icon select my home wifi and click “Connect” for it start the 2 mins connecting process. For some reason it does not have the tick box “Connect Automatically” either in front of “Connect/Disconnect” button, but in Properties the 1^st line “Connect automatically when this network is in range” is definitely ticked. Also there are 3 other tick boxes lines in Properties – all were ticked – 2^nd line is “connect to a more preferred network if available”, 3^rd is “connect even if network is not broadcasting…” and the 4^th is “Enable Intel connection settings” (which also has “Configure…” button to configure Intel settings, like band etc). I did un-tick the 2^nd and 4^th lines thinking it may help, but no use.

Thanks for your help, Rich. If you have any more ideas let me know.

regards

[rich912]

Hi eseyidli,

There may be another power saving feature within the Intel Wireless Connection Utility - Power Save Polling.

Have a look at the following link:

http://www.intel.com/support/wireless/wlan/sb/CS-006205.htm#i

Rich