After update wifi will not connect!

[ahclem]

Wifi is still broken. No joke.

I've done two system updates since it first broke with Android 3.1. The next update first had a “Patch” file, which I installed, and it seemed fine for a couple of days, then broke. The most recent update is build Acer_A500_4.010.13_COM_GEN2. Today, less than 24 hours after that one, I tried to connect at work, and it was back to looping/disable again. I left it alone, and verified that my home network was bad again too (once one's bad, they all are), and I did the paperclip trick.

I'm not kidding. Most anything can fix Acer's wifi issue (there are tons of ideas, all of which work for at least a little while). But believe me, it CAN break again. I don't know what's going on. It's partly due to switching to a different network, but there's some timing and bad luck thrown into the mix, though I also think the updates have smoothed out the connections of many. The good news is, my signal's as great as ever. My tablet has always had great reception, except for the network at work, which is always 1 bar or less (no signal) for some reason -- maybe that's partly what confuses the A500.

Anyway, even after this latest OS update, people are STILL going to experience looping/disable, and I've verified that. Wifi has NOT been fixed yet.

 

[5_star]

Update from me - yesterday after about a week of working fine having installed an update to the OS it went back into the looping/disable mode. A paperclip reset did the job again, but really it's odd how slow this bug is to be fixed.

 

[Icebike]

There is a thread on XDA (posted yesterday 7/28/2011) which suggests that simply turning off wifi and turning it on again will fix this without having to reset the tablet.

 

[dhornick]

There is a thread on XDA (posted yesterday 7/28/2011) which suggests that simply turning off wifi and turning it on again will fix this without having to reset the tablet.

Whoever wrote that is a liar

 

[Icebike]

I doubt the poster is a liar. It worked for him. What possible motive would he have for lying?

People are experiencing problems mostly with connecting to their Work networks. Most home networks work fine.
Usually the problem is with 801.1x networks, which is a form of 802.11 where authentication is divorced from the actual router, and usually handled by a separate machine in order to make it harder to hack.

You can read about 802.1x here. Lots of big companies and schools use this without even telling anyone about it. It allows a multitude of routers to all authenticate against the same database so that users can be centrally managed.

Most indications are that 801.1x is somewhat broken in android 3.1 and NOT JUST on the Acer.

 

[ahclem]

There is a thread on XDA (posted yesterday 7/28/2011) which suggests that simply turning off wifi and turning it on again will fix this without having to reset the tablet.

The easy stuff sure doesn't work for me. As in, turning tablet off/on, or wifi, or any other simple thing. I do the Paperclip Reset, and even that only works for a while.

The reason this is such a chronic problem is ANYTHING that "kicks" the wifi will "fix" it, and depending on how you use wifi, you may never have the issue again (Lotsa luck to Acer, having to decide when they've come up with a genuine fix). I have the magic combination that causes the looping/disable at least every 4 days. So I can easily test all these fixes. The ideas generally work, just with exactly the same result as the soft reset.

[edit] I just now got looping/disable, so I tried shutting off wifi, then turning it back on, and it did fix wifi just like soft reset does. But it's a lot faster. I had tried that a bazillion times before, with no luck. This time, I hit it DURING the connection attempt (just like I would for reset): Click "connect", then cycle wifi off/on. Maybe it's all random. I'll have a chance to test it again soon, I'm sure.

 

[ahclem]

I doubt the poster is a liar. It worked for him. What possible motive would he have for lying?

People are experiencing problems mostly with connecting to their Work networks. Most home networks work fine.
Usually the problem is with 801.1x networks, which is a form of 802.11 where authentication is divorced from the actual router, and usually handled by a separate machine in order to make it harder to hack.

You can read about 802.1x here. Lots of big companies and schools use this without even telling anyone about it. It allows a multitude of routers to all authenticate against the same database so that users can be centrally managed.

Most indications are that 801.1x is somewhat broken in android 3.1 and NOT JUST on the Acer.

The problem with mine is that once it breaks, ALL the hotspots break. Not just the work network. Acer automatically trashes them all. It would be less of a problem if the bad network were the only one "Disabled". It would still be annoying, though.

 

[jasper994]

After the installing the patch, mine was working better, and I'd have to cycle the wi-fi off, then on again, but not having to paperclip the reset button. You might try that. Although things seem to be better now after another revision or two. As you mentioned, I don't yet have complete confidence that my issue is completely resolved.

 

[jasper994]

Most indications are that 802.1x is somewhat broken in android 3.1 and NOT JUST on the Acer.

Other 3.1 devices are having this issue as well? Wow that sucks! I wonder who's FUBAR it is...

Any word on whether 3.2 is having these problems?