Sandisk wi-fi and Windows Mobile 2003 (long)

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freitasm

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#799 10-Dec-2003 20:17

Right... I'll start with my own observations: wi-fi is not as easy to setup as it appears... I've just bought a Sandisk wi-fi SD card to use with my Windows Mobile 2003 Pocket PC (iPAQ H3970) and I am having no luck at all.

First, installed the software, and that was a no brainer. Insert the card the LED started blinking. Great stuff. The wireless icon in the status bar appeared and it had an option "AP Browser". Very neat, it lists AP in the area.

I then tried to connect to a Dell TrueMobile 2300, but there is no way to make it work. I do have WEP set on this AP, and can't change it (it's not mine). I know the AP is working fine, there are two laptops connected to it right now, one with a 802.11B card and the other with 802.11G pc card. When I try to connect I see a yellow padlock with a red cross over it:

After a few attempts I did soft reset the Pocket PC - and now the "AP Browser" option is greyed out.

Anyway, contacted sandisk support, which replied in a timely manner. I was told that "AP Browser" is not available on Windows Mobile 2003. But it worked before! And mini stumbler can't scan, showing "no wireless". Strange, but there's an AP somewhere close here because I'm able to connect to this "default" AP and connect to the internet. I also tried connecting to the wi-fi network provided by Toshiba during the Bluetooth Americas 2003 (San Jose, CA) and no luck there either.

I was asked to manually create an AP entry in the wireless settings. I tried doing so:

The problem is that as soon as I turn the Pocket PC off and on the new entry is gone. nowhere to be found again. And no matter how many times I change "My network card connects to" to The Internet it always go back to "Work":

Well, it's now three days and this thing did not work properly yet. I'm returning the Sandisk to Amazon, and I'll blame everything on a poor driver implementation and bad Microsoft Windows Mobile software.

Yes, it seems I have a DNS server, but it's not working, because the Pocket PC can't resolve any domain name:

Note the "connected" status with the two arrows, but still, no access:

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BDFL - Memuneh
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#2404 12-Dec-2003 07:03

An update... What a bad experience with this Sandisk product. Their product does not work well, and after six emails the support replied to me with

a) a wrong name
b) "The SD Wi-fi is not compatible with Toshiba".
c) no answers to specific questions like "What is the yellow padlock"?

Ah wait minute. It doesn't matter that in my case I'm using a HP iPAQ.

Horrible support. Bad Product. Hope they stop selling this thing.

freitasm

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#2411 12-Dec-2003 14:57

To be fair I finally got a long e-mail from Sandisk with explanation about these issues. I'm glad someone put these things together.

One of the suggestions was to download the latest drivers for this card. I'd gladly do it, but before coming back home I did stop in the US Postal Service and sent the wi-fi card back to Amazon. I'm really thinking of getting an HP iPAQ H4150 now...

taniwha

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#2419 14-Dec-2003 19:55

thanks for the review of this sdio card.
I've been anxiously awaiting release of the palm os drivers for it.

the card is actually made by SyChip, and sold by sandisk.
and SyChip just can't get drivers to work on palmOs.
Last i heard Sydisk was blaming PalmSrc for the delays
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/68/34458.html

but it seems the drivers don't even work as they should on PocketPC.

freitasm

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#2430 15-Dec-2003 14:33

It's not quite a review - I intended to write one, but couldn't get it to work. I've boutgh an iPAQ H4155 now and it's working nicely. I'm just running some benchmark on it and will post a review soon.

mikegonzo

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#2821 17-Jan-2004 18:22

After reading all of this, I wanted to share my experience using the sandisk SD wifi card with my HP IPAQ 2215. My experience was equally miserable. The card did not install correctly and would only install properly after downloading the new driver from the Sandisk web site.
Even after installing the new driver and disabling all security on my Netgear WGR614v2 wireless router/access point, I could still never get my IPAQ 2215 to connect. Bear in mind that I am an experienced software engineer, so this is not just a situation involving an inexperienced end-user fumbling around. I then called Sandisk Technical support and found out that they "Do NOT support any G/B access points or routers". Sandisk Technical support claims that these new routers do not "provide True B support". They also went further to tell me that they have had numerous reported problems with other manufacturers G/B products and will be writing new drivers for the wifi card "hopefully some time first quarter". I found this to be not very credible...when I contacted Netgear they told me their router "does support true B compatibility and they have had no reported problems at all. This appears to be a case of rushing a product to market with software drivers that were not ready for sale.
My advice, DONT BUY THIS CARD unless you have complete control of what your access points are going to be or wait until new drivers are written and tested thorougly. The new G standard Access points/routers are selling rapidly and will be popping up all over everywhere because they are so much faster and if the Sandisk card does not support any of them and you are traveling and encounter one, you will be out of luck.

taniwha

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#2822 17-Jan-2004 19:09

i think i'll have to await a palmOS pda that has both bt and wifi.

I'm unable to use the UX50 because i'm left handed, and the grafiti is stuck on the right side.
besides which i have a ton of MMC and SD cards.

gosh i hate waiting.

freitasm

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#2824 18-Jan-2004 06:51

Hey Taniwha, have a second look on the UX50... There's an option to set which side you want the Graffitti area on tha handheld

Quic Broadband

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taniwha

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#2831 18-Jan-2004 10:42

i spent about 30 minutes with a sales guy @ sonystyle in willis st, and the guy just could not find how to move the graffiti area.
a search of some mailiing lists led me to believe it could not be moved.

tell me how, and i'll go bug the sony style guys again.

freitasm

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#2834 18-Jan-2004 17:14

On Prefs go to Input. There's a checkbox there... Can't remember exactly if it's Input or Keyboard. you should go nag the guy again.

SteveC

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#3497 14-Feb-2004 11:32

I don't feel so bad ... at least I have have managed to get my SanDisk card working (sort of), on my Xda II. It works in AdHoc mode, so I set up a workstation on my home network, with the nesessary routing, and I use that to connect to the Internet. No luck with DHCP though. (DHCP from this workstation works fine with my Cisco WiFi on a notebook.)
As for Access Points - I really want to connect to CafeNet (Wellington's widely deployed public WiFi network - don't all NZ cities have one?). Unfortunately, both my AP at home, and a number of CafeNet APs has the same result. The software says that an AP is 'available' but won't connect to it. Simple, consistant, it just won't..

I just looked at Amazon US (I still have time to return my SanDisk card - Ascent in Wellington seem to be very supportive), and it appears they will not export the alternative - Socket SDIO WiFi card. Anyone know how we can buy one of the latter in New Zealand?

Thanks!

PS - I've never had a Yellow Padlock!

Steve Cosgrove
Senior Lecturer, Data Networking & Communication. Legal Main Contact, Cisco Network Academy
Whitireia Community Polytechnic, Porirua. mailto:s.cosgrove@whitireia.ac.nz
Things I write here are usually my opinion, but not necessarily those of my employer!

freitasm

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#3500 14-Feb-2004 13:34

I'm happy with my h4150 with built-in Bluetooth and wi-fi, but a software that you must have is Cirond Pocket WinC. Shame is not available on Handango, so no 15% discount on this one.

ScienceStationOne

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#3528 16-Feb-2004 09:16

Did you ever find a solution to this problem? I had the same problem, and I found a 'solution' of sorts, and here it is: The technologies discussed here, like the OSI model for networking protocols, are 'layered' entities. Keeping this in mind, whenever I approach problems of this nature - complex, and multi-layered, I attempt to break them down into their component parts. That's why I say I found a solution 'of sorts'. I think this problem is caused by a separate failure of each of the components, and not just one. And these are the types of problems that are harder to pin down.
First off, this problem of not being able to hold settings ('My network card connects to':) seems to exist across all PPC hardware platforms. That's a Microsoft issue. Like you, I wrestled with this problem for a long time. I finally solved it by powering down my PPC (an Ipaq 3635), taking out the card, rebooting the device, changing the setting which would stick before, namely, 'My network card connects to: INTERNET, which SanDisk calls for in its documentation. That time, the required setting stuck, with the card out. I put the card back in, and turned the Ipaq back on.
Even though I had ALL the correct settings, my Ipaq still could not get a new IP address from my Linksys router, even though link quality and signal strength were at 100%. I tried to force the Ipaq to obtain a new IP address several times, using several 'diverse' apps which could release and renew the IP settings, all to no avail. So, lacking any thing more 'sophisticated', I turned off the router, waited, and turned it back on. It worked.
So, it looks like the router also has a few techno-glitches, as well, since, for one thing, it has no soft reset button, nor can you do a reset from the HTML configuration app, which resets the router, but maintains your settings, like, for instance, a Siemens router can. I've used this technique many times with my Siemens router, when machines 'disappear' off of my LAN based network. With the Linksys Wi-Fi router, the only type of reset you can do wipes out all of your settings, which, if you've ever set up a wireless router, entails another long session of setting up communication and security protocols. Basically, turning the thing off and back on is the only way you can 'force' it to issue new IPs, or drop connections that are no longer viable.
This wasn't actually the first problem I had with this card, a SanDisk ConnectPlus Wi-Fi card, with 128MB of RAM. The first one worked for a few days, but then, mysteriously no longer reported its MAC address. I had to send it back to SanDisk, and they promptly replaced it. But the fact is, Wi-Fi technology is still in its infancy, and with software and hardware being 'rushed' to market before they are ready (SanDisk is one of the biggest culprits of this crime!), we'll continue to have issues such as these.

dggerhart

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#3889 26-Feb-2004 17:16

I've had the same results -- negative ones.

no "AP Browser" link in the App (grayed out)

The thing connects to a phantom 192.x.x.x network.

Using the 12/2003 driver updates for Pocket PC 2003 -- on the Tmobile MDA

... very bummed. Wish I'd have read in here first....

I have an email into Sandisk support, if something changes, I'll repost

ScienceStationOne

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#3896 26-Feb-2004 23:18

You didn't go into a lot of detail concerning the problems you've experienced, but here's a general checklist of things you can go over.

1). First off, you need to make sure that your SanDisk card is functioning properly. There are a number of IP tools you can get for Pocket PC, which can display IP addresses, MAC addresses, first and secondary DNS, and offer options for releasing and renewing the lease. (My first card eventually seemed to 'lose' its MAC address, indicating some type of defect.) These tools are listed below. (Hint: Even if your device is not communicating, it should still have the green light blinking. If its not even blinking, the device is, for all intents and purposes, dead).

2). Although its a very good idea to use security features like WEP and WPA, don't use these until you are sure you have good communication between your wi-fi card, and your access point or wireless router.

3). Another security parameter that might trip you up: It’s always a good idea to NOT have your access point or wi-fi router broadcasting its SSID. If you've disabled it, you have to manually enter that info into the Config tab for 'Specify ESSID'. Although this info is not mentioned anywhere by SanDisk, it is enough to keep your device from communicating.

4). If you use profiles (and you really should) be sure to give each profile a unique name. And, if you like using the same profile name as you're tweaking your settings to get them just right, make sure you manually enter the profile name into the drop-down list each time, then choose 'Save' for your new, changed settings. If you just pull it up out of the drop-down list, what you're actually doing is reapplying the old settings, which may not be what you want, especially if they don't work!

5). Whether you're using a wi-fi router (like I am), or an access point, make sure you go to your vendor's website and download the latest firmware update. I had a problem with my Linksys where, after several hours, it would 'lose' my SanDisk card, and then was not able to renew the IP address, although there was good link quality and signal strength between them. This turned out to be a firmware issue - but I still wasted a few weeks figuring it out. Sounds like a cliché, but update update update!

6). At one point, I had what I soon discovered to be a two-fold communication problem: I could communicate with my router, but I could not get on the Internet. After discovering this, it was easy to break down the problem into its component parts, and solve them separately. (I actually had to manually configure my wi-fi router with all the ‘secondary’ IP info, such as DNS servers, and default gateway. After that was set, I was able to get out to the Net.)

7). Here is a list of IP tools you can get (mostly free, or demos) that can help you with your quest. You can use Google to find them on the Net. Make sure you specify ‘Pocket PC’ as one of your search parameters, along with the following items:

Airscanner Mobile Sniffer
FtpView
IPer
Net Use
Pocket Hosts
PocketLAN
VxHpc
VxIPConfig
VxSnmp
VxUtil

zettler

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#6424 9-Jun-2004 09:06

Excellent thread!

I too have a SanDisk WiFi CF card (the without the 128MB) and it is giving me fits, along with my Bluetooth issues.

I got it to work right away at home on my new wireless network: cable access, D-link router hard wired to one PC at access point and up to three other PC's connecting wirelessly (at times) throughout the house BUT never all at once.

Then problems started to occur, some of them probably not related to the wireless network and my HP IPAQ 2215.

One major issue that has happened on two PCs is that my kids got spyware "stuff" loaded on their PCs. While I have cleaned one, my daughter's is still dead and I will be working on it tonight.

Another VERY frustrating isse was the one PC kept losing the WiFi connection every 5 minutes and I had to click on connect to get it to work, every five minutes. That problem was with me for over a week and now it has dissapeared just as mysteriously as it appeared...

Putting these two issues aside, I must have spent three hours last night once again trying to connect via Bluetooth (D-link 122). While I was able to somehow establish activesync, not once have I been able to connect to the Internet. Then I lost my Bluetooth icon on the Today screen for the 2215 and had to do a restore here at work today just so it would reappear. Strange...

I (re)found the guides here today and have printed them out to assist me tonight and will report back BUT THIS IS GETTING STRESSFUL from ALL the hours I have spent trying to make my life more manageable...

I am not at all happy with the Bluetooth, HP and SanDisk "stuff," what with specious instructions and little support. However, PLEASE KEEP THE SUPPORT coming here at this site. More people need to find you all out, as I read similar issues all over.

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