[TheKingfish]

Just sharing a little remedy that might help others. After taking delivery on the above new-product, I found it had an intermittent wireless connection. The problem only occurred when the unit was on battery power (full/low charge). When A/C powered, the connection was strong and dependable. Two other household laptops had no connection issues when operated within the same proximity, so not a router signal-strength issue.

I then received advice from a friend, who is not an advocate of the power-reduction default settings on laptops. Wanting full power for all functions, he goes into the OS early and alters the power plan. For Win 7 that meant switching from "balanced" to "high performance," and flipping all the timed delays to "never" (ControlPanel>>System&Security>>PowerOptions). These settings may use more power, but it ensures the unit is never starved of same when on the battery.
TheKingfish

[LincolnSpector]

Hi, Kingfish, and welcome to the forum.

If a laptop needs such settings to get an acceptable Wifi signal, that's a problem with the laptop. You shouldn't have to set everything to maximum power for that reason.

In order to conserve battery life, you should keep your laptop on as low a power setting as you're comfortable with when its not plugged in. And that should not effect Wifi.

Lincoln

[TheKingfish]

Lincoln,
Thank you for the forum welcome. And thanks for responding and providing insight.

An engineer by trade, I wholeheartedly agree there is a design problem with the laptop. I would guess that the design default-setting process typically walks a fine-line between battery life and performance. In this case, someone at Toshiba turned the adjustment screw too far. The L635 is a nice little budget notebook and I plan to fully quantify the battery life before my 30-day new-product return window expires; making sure it serves my needs.

I will also say that I have received a fair amount of anecdotal personal-feedback from folks who have had similar wireless connectivity problems with their respective laptops while on battery power. So while my particular problem was significant, one cannot be sure how widespread this niggling issue is with other brands/models.
TheKingfish

[LiveBrianD]

In the advanced settings of a power plan, I think you can change the settings for the wireless adapter, including the power settings. I'd recommend changing those while leaving the laptop on the balanced or power saver plan.

[waldojim]

I would guess that if you are having disconnect problems on the wifi only on battery, then your PCI-E link state power saving is too aggressive. You don't need to adjust EVERYTHING to be a power hog, just turn down the aggressive power saving on the PCI-E, and your link should be more stable.

[TheKingfish]

LiveBrianD - Thanks for posting, and your insight on the topic. Your directional thoughts for access and changing the wireless adapter were correct. To learn and operate from the base, I first went back and reset all of my power items to the default level (balanced + timed features).

Via the Power Options menu, I then went the advanced-power-settings route to set the wireless adapter to max-performance on battery. I wish I could say the selective power-up worked, but it didn’t. It reverted to the intermittent connectivity I experienced at the outset.

waldojim - Thanks for posting, and your insight on the topic. The default for PCI Express was max-power-savings. I tried both alternate settings (mod-power-savings and off) within the balanced mode on battery. The result was the same; weak connectivity.

And of course, when I subsequently switched the overall mode back from “balanced” to “high performance,” the connectivity was strong again.
TheKingfish

[mjd420nova]

I've encountered so many variables that allow one unit to have no connection problems and one next to it unable to get adequate signal. Frome cell phones, cordless phones and even other WIFI devices in close proximity or in a blocking path. Reduced power conditions as defaulted in WIN7 kills the unit and puts it to sleep after ten minutes. Getting rid of those modes (never) frees up a few machine cycles too. Having the option of the external power source allows full operation without reductions or time limits. Power saving on a battery?? Maybe if I'm on a long trip. The WIFI card does draw the next most highest amount of power except for the CPU itself. These new units with 17 inch screens and fast, powerful onboard graphics are hungry beasts anyway. In the car, the 112 volt adapter saves that recharging cycle without power reduction.

[waldojim]

TheKingfish, on 01 June 2012 - 09:54 AM, said:

LiveBrianD - Thanks for posting, and your insight on the topic. Your directional thoughts for access and changing the wireless adapter were correct. To learn and operate from the base, I first went back and reset all of my power items to the default level (balanced + timed features).

Via the Power Options menu, I then went the advanced-power-settings route to set the wireless adapter to max-performance on battery. I wish I could say the selective power-up worked, but it didn’t. It reverted to the intermittent connectivity I experienced at the outset.

waldojim - Thanks for posting, and your insight on the topic. The default for PCI Express was max-power-savings. I tried both alternate settings (mod-power-savings and off) within the balanced mode on battery. The result was the same; weak connectivity.

And of course, when I subsequently switched the overall mode back from “balanced” to “high performance,” the connectivity was strong again.
TheKingfish

On that note, I am not sure what would be doing this. I will have to go through my power settings on my laptop and see what I can find.

[LiveBrianD]

OP, did you try changing both settings at once?

[TheKingfish]

Yes, I tried both settings at once; not the solution. Unless someone descends from heaven with a remedy, I think this one to a nut too tough to crack. As such, I am going to take your collective advice and call it what Lincoln originally did – a “problem” laptop. At the end of the day, one should not have to compromise on a brand new product.

Fortunately, I’m within the 30-day return limit for a full refund on this item and will exercise that option. I thank you all for taking the time and trying to help out.
TheKingfish