Wireless roams too much

[DE]

When on a wireless connection (XP Home, happened with both SP1 & SP2,
Windows managing the wireless) my connection seems to roam to new
routers (there are lots in the area) far too often, and sometimes
disturbingly so when I'm in the middle of doing something.

Is there any registry setting or other way I can get it to stop changing
connections so often? I assume with the many routers around, it
probably thinks one connection or another becomes stronger, but
sometimes it changes as often as every minute and it's a real PITN.
Plus, one of the news servers I use sees each different IP as another
"connection" used in a given period of time, and eventually tells me
I've used too many connections for my login.

I'd like to be able to grab one router and hang onto it for a while even
if another one suddenly provides a stronger signal. I can't define
which routers, though, as I travel with the laptop and I have this
problem in more than one place (usually in cities) so I don't want to
just enable one connection and disable others ... I just want to change
the time involved in it grabbing a new connection instead of using the
perfectly-good-one it's already made.

Have searched for any hints on this and there *seem* to be possible
applicable registry settings, but I can't find anything definitive.

Thanks.

 

[Lem]

When on a wireless connection (XP Home, happened with both SP1 & SP2,
Windows managing the wireless) my connection seems to roam to new
routers (there are lots in the area) far too often, and sometimes
disturbingly so when I'm in the middle of doing something.

Is there any registry setting or other way I can get it to stop changing
connections so often? I assume with the many routers around, it
probably thinks one connection or another becomes stronger, but
sometimes it changes as often as every minute and it's a real PITN.
Plus, one of the news servers I use sees each different IP as another
"connection" used in a given period of time, and eventually tells me
I've used too many connections for my login.

I'd like to be able to grab one router and hang onto it for a while even
if another one suddenly provides a stronger signal. I can't define
which routers, though, as I travel with the laptop and I have this
problem in more than one place (usually in cities) so I don't want to
just enable one connection and disable others ... I just want to change
the time involved in it grabbing a new connection instead of using the
perfectly-good-one it's already made.

Have searched for any hints on this and there *seem* to be possible
applicable registry settings, but I can't find anything definitive.

Thanks.

I assume that you're talking about publicly-available non-secured networks.

You could delete all but the desired network from the list of preferred
networks:
http://screenshots.modemhelp.net/sc...tion/Properties/Wireless_Networks/Index.shtml
and then click on the "Advanced" button and make sure that
"Automatically connect to non-preferred networks" is UNselected:
http://screenshots.modemhelp.net/sc...n/Properties/Wireless_Networks/Advanced.shtml

Based on the description of your connecting habits, however, this will
require frequent pruning of the preferred network list.

Alternatively, you might try disabling Windows Wireless Zero
Configuration and using the configuration utility from the manufacturer
of the wireless adapter in your laptop. This may give you better
control of your connection.

Windows Wireless Zero Configuration is designed to work as you describe:

[After connecting to a preferred network] for subsequent scans, Wireless
Auto Configuration determines if there are any changes in the wireless
environment that require switching the connection. If the Windows
wireless client is already connected to a wireless network and there is
no other preferred network higher in the preference list that has not
been attempted already, Wireless Auto Configuration maintains the
existing connection. If the Windows wireless client is already connected
to a wireless network but a more preferred wireless network becomes
available, Wireless Auto Configuration disconnects from the currently
connected wireless network and attempts to connect to the more preferred
wireless network.

For more detail, see
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/community/columns/cableguy/cg1102.mspx

 

[DE]

When on a wireless connection (XP Home, happened with both SP1 & SP2,
Windows managing the wireless) my connection seems to roam to new
routers (there are lots in the area) far too often, and sometimes
disturbingly so when I'm in the middle of doing something.

Is there any registry setting or other way I can get it to stop
changing connections so often? I assume with the many routers around,
it probably thinks one connection or another becomes stronger, but
sometimes it changes as often as every minute and it's a real PITN.
Plus, one of the news servers I use sees each different IP as another
"connection" used in a given period of time, and eventually tells me
I've used too many connections for my login.

I'd like to be able to grab one router and hang onto it for a while
even if another one suddenly provides a stronger signal. I can't
define which routers, though, as I travel with the laptop and I have
this problem in more than one place (usually in cities) so I don't
want to just enable one connection and disable others ... I just want
to change the time involved in it grabbing a new connection instead of
using the perfectly-good-one it's already made.

Have searched for any hints on this and there *seem* to be possible
applicable registry settings, but I can't find anything definitive.

Thanks.

I assume that you're talking about publicly-available non-secured networks.

You could delete all but the desired network from the list of preferred
networks:
http://screenshots.modemhelp.net/sc...tion/Properties/Wireless_Networks/Index.shtml

and then click on the "Advanced" button and make sure that
"Automatically connect to non-preferred networks" is UNselected:
http://screenshots.modemhelp.net/sc...n/Properties/Wireless_Networks/Advanced.shtml


Based on the description of your connecting habits, however, this will
require frequent pruning of the preferred network list.

Alternatively, you might try disabling Windows Wireless Zero
Configuration and using the configuration utility from the manufacturer
of the wireless adapter in your laptop. This may give you better
control of your connection.

Windows Wireless Zero Configuration is designed to work as you describe:

[After connecting to a preferred network] for subsequent scans, Wireless
Auto Configuration determines if there are any changes in the wireless
environment that require switching the connection. If the Windows
wireless client is already connected to a wireless network and there is
no other preferred network higher in the preference list that has not
been attempted already, Wireless Auto Configuration maintains the
existing connection. If the Windows wireless client is already connected
to a wireless network but a more preferred wireless network becomes
available, Wireless Auto Configuration disconnects from the currently
connected wireless network and attempts to connect to the more preferred
wireless network.

For more detail, see
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/community/columns/cableguy/cg1102.mspx

OK, thanks. I guess I was hoping that there would be a way to control
perhaps how often it scans.

The problem is, of course, that one may already have a perfectly good
connection that is just not at the top of the list, and even a change in
the wind or a slight shift of position can cause it to suddenly want to
switch to the another connection.

I'm in the middle of a city, so there are often 5-10 open wireless
routers around including city-supplied, and my travelling is almost
always to several similar places, which is why I can't use the first
method (which I'd read as posted here when googling.)

I'll see if handing it over to the Intel utility helps the situation any.

 

[John Wunderlich]

When on a wireless connection (XP Home, happened with both SP1 &
SP2, Windows managing the wireless) my connection seems to roam to
new routers (there are lots in the area) far too often, and
sometimes disturbingly so when I'm in the middle of doing
something.

Is there any registry setting or other way I can get it to stop
changing connections so often? I assume with the many routers
around, it probably thinks one connection or another becomes
stronger, but sometimes it changes as often as every minute and
it's a real PITN. Plus, one of the news servers I use sees each
different IP as another "connection" used in a given period of
time, and eventually tells me I've used too many connections for
my login.

I'd like to be able to grab one router and hang onto it for a
while even if another one suddenly provides a stronger signal. I
can't define which routers, though, as I travel with the laptop
and I have this problem in more than one place (usually in cities)
so I don't want to just enable one connection and disable others
... I just want to change the time involved in it grabbing a new
connection instead of using the perfectly-good-one it's already
made.

Have searched for any hints on this and there *seem* to be
possible applicable registry settings, but I can't find anything
definitive.

Thanks.

I use the Intel/ProSet rather than ZeroConfig to manage my wireless
connection and it has a setting labeled "Roaming Agressiveness" in the
advanced settings which can be set anywhere from "do not roam" to
"agressive". Perhaps your wireless card manufacturer allows a
different program to control the wireless connection?

-- John