Tag: wifi

Fix Surface RT Limited Wifi Connection

NOTE: Changing the BAND settings below will cause 5Ghz wifi to no  longer work on your Surface. You must keep BAND at 6 for 5Ghz wifi connectivity.

10/31/2016 UPDATE:

This setting is now found in the following location:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4d36e972-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}\0000]
 "Band"=dword:00000004
 "[2.4Ghz or 5Ghz]AutoUse40MHz"=dword:00000000

Tip came from: https://kb.iu.edu/d/bdms and modified slightly by me.

This helpful tip came from a long Microsoft community thread. Until Microsoft gets a fix for this, the best result is to disable Wireless N mode on the Surface, which is the cause of the connection problems.

1) Open regedit.
2) Go to the following tree location:
“HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\”
3) Find “AutoUse40Mhz” and set it to “0” (“1” is default)
4) Change the entry below this named “Band” to “4” (“6” is default)

Reboot and Surface will connect using only the 802.11 b/g band, instead of the N band.

This has been working well on my Surface RT so far. Hopefully Microsoft gets a permanent fix for this. :\

Google’s “Wifi Location Opt-Out” policy is horrible and flawed.

In one of my previous posts, I wrote how Google and other companies are tracking our locations via Wifi routers. In order to do that, these company must have a database that stores all of the wifi routers it can find, and their locations.

Google FINALLY just introduced a way to remove your router from their system, however their method is ridiculous, and here’s why.

Reason #1: The “removal method” is so bothersome, most users won’t use it.

Continue reading Google’s “Wifi Location Opt-Out” policy is horrible and flawed.

How to find the Wireless Channel of the Access Point you are connected to, using netsh

Have you ever tried figuring out the channel of the Wireless Access Point you’re CURRENTLY connected to?  If you’re in a office/corporate environment and have several APs set up in the same area that share the same SSID, knowing which specific AP you’re connected to for troubleshooting can be a pain in the butt.

For Windows users, try this:

In Command Prompt: “netsh wlan show interfaces” (without the quotes)

This is the easiest way I’ve found to quickly help me diagnose which AP I’m connected to when several share the same SSID.

Anyone know an easier way?