SVF1421C5E Wifi connection 'Limited'

[PatrickHicks]

I recently bought a new Vaio Fit 14E. The system is great, but my internet connection intermittently changes from 'Connected' to 'Limited'. The connection will drop anywhere from every 5 minutes to only once in a day. I can change it back by disconnecting and reconnecting to my access point. No other wireless or wired device in my household suffers from the same problem, including a Windows 7 PC, an IPod and a Blackberry tablet computer. The Vaio Laptop is running Windows 8.

I searched for solutions online and have enabled 'Metered Connections', disabled Bluetooth, reset my router (a BT HomeHub 3), and uninstalled all McAfee software (using the add/remove programs tool). None of these solutions have had any affect. I am currently using AVG Antivirus, with the basic Windows Defender Firewall.

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

[rich912]

Hi Patrick, You say you have removed McAfee using Add/Remove programs but it is recommended that you also run the McAfee removal tool (MCPR) to ensure all remnants are removed – especially before installing another anti-virus program. http://download.mcafee.com/products/licensed/cust_support_patches/MCPR.exe If this doesn’t solve the issue then try a different wireless channel on the router to eliminate interference. Rich

[PatrickHicks]

Hi, thanks for getting back to me so quickly! Unfortunately, neither of these solutions have worked. I have attempted to use all 11 different wifi channels, and despite being able to connect with my phone, my laptop will still intermittently drop out to a 'Limited' connection. Worth noting is that I have been able to connect with an ethernet cable to the router itself and a desktop PC with a wireless connection. The problem persists whether or not the laptop is running on battery. I have also tried reinstaling the driver for my wireless adapter from the Sony website. Any help will be greatly appreciated!

[PatrickHicks · Accepted solution]

Hi, just wanted to let you, and others who maybe have the same problem, know the solution that has worked for me. The difference between this laptop and other devices was that this laptop could connect to 'n' wireless signals. However, for whatever reason, when I'm further away from my router the 'n' signal drops out intermittently. I opened up my homehub3 settings and changed the advanced wireless setting from 802.11 b/g/n to just 802.11 b/g. Although my download speed has decreased (N is the fastest wireless connection) I now get a stable connection wherever I am in the house. Thanks again for getting back to me very quickly, and inspiring me to look into my router settings!

[rich912]

Hi Patrick, I'm pleased that you have manage to find a solution although I am puzzled as to why switching to b/g only solved the issue as I have two Vaios with wireless n capability and the BT Home Hub 2 router is set to b/g/n and I don't experience internet drop-out even at distance from router. Did you check the Wireless properties for the device - 802.11n mode should be enabled on the Advanced tab. Also mine are set to 20MHz only on channel width for band 2.4. Rich

[jalongs52]

Hi there rich912,

I am very interested in your advice regarding this problem.  I have a SVE151281EW laptop and have had this "Limited" problem since day one! (December 2012)

Sony support are incapable of helping me solve this problem and feel that my laptop is not fit for purpose as I have now got a problem with a pop up stating that my original Sony battery is not compatible with my Sony Vaio.....(now what the heck is that about????)...I have taken the battery out and am working from the mains at the moment. (I will have to sort this problem out once I have my "limited" problem solved.....ggrrrr)

I have no knowledge on router settings and I am wondering how I can try to change them to solve my "limited" issue.

Can you talk me through how I can do this please????  If you can help, can you make it quite simple?

Any help would be gratefully received

Kind regards

Jane

[MarcusWilky]

I have also got the same problem with my laptop dropping out constantly. I purchased the laptop only 2 weeks ago and it has been doing this from new. it is a SVF15A1C5E. I did expect better than this from Sony. I am in the position of still being able to return the laptop as not as advertised under the distance selling regulations if there is no resolution within the week. I would be interested if anyone has any other ideas to resolve this as this is the only blemish in an otherwise excelent laptop. 

I have tried the resolutions shown here and also disabling the computer having control over the power on the adapter. I have also tried this on different wifi networks and public networks and have the same problem on them all. (as regards dropping of the n interface even if it worked at home it would not be possible to ask all my clients and public networks to remove this). 

[rich912]

Hi jalongs52,

My Apologies for the delay in replying.

I assume that you wish to experiment with different channel settings on the router? The procedure will vary depending on the manufacturer of the router but I will detail the procedure for a BT Home Hub 2 – most routers will follow a similar process.

Log in to your router from your browser (address for BT Home Hub 2 is 192.168.1.254 – password (unless you have changed this) is given on the back of the router. It is recommended that you connect to the router via Ethernet cable as opposed to wireless.

Click on “Wireless” and then on “Wireless Selection” - on the drop down menu select an alternative channel, e.g. Channel 11 ( by default it will probably be set to “Automatic”). You may need to re-boot all devices attached to the router wirelessly before they connect to the new channel.

Hope this helps.

Rich

[reservoir51]

Hi all. I've had my Sony Fit (model name SVF14A1C5E; model no. SVF14AA1QM; don't ask me why it has a different model name and model number, because I don't know!) for about 3 weeks now and have had significant problems with the WLAN/Buetooth card (Broadcom BCM43142) since day 1 - including intermittent dropouts especially at distances of >6 feet from the router, and slow connection speeds (max 5Mbitps as opposed to 130Mbitps for my other laptops and devices). I've joined the Sony US Community forums where there have been discussions on options, solutions and turnarounds since July 2013 (based on laptop settings, different operating system, different drivers and firmware, router settings, changing channels, changing routers, different cards, USB external card, etc.). The only solution which seems to have worked satisfactorily is to change the WLAN/Bluetooth card to a suitable alternative (e.g. Intel Centrino Advanced N-6235 Dual band WLAN/Bleutooth internal card). The replacement is relatively straightforward, but a note of warning: doing this may invalidate your warranty. Having said that, it's difficult to see how engineers would ever notice should it require servicing, as long as you change it back prior to servicing. After total silence from Sony, an engineer finally posted a message today stating the Sony is close to a solution. We suspect the problem may be solved by a driver update. The problem may not be restricted to Sony Fit laptops, as other Sony models (including the Pro and Duo) and other brands also seem to suffer from the same problem. The consensus is that it appears to be a card-router issue (e.g. changing selected routers or changing cards appear to work the most consistently).

For those who are interested, the link to the Sony US Community forum is as follows:  http://community.sony.com/t5/VAIO-Hardware-Networking/VAIO-Fit-slow-wifi/m-p/187787/highlight/false#.... There are over 55 pages on that thread alone. The problem is ubiquitous and affects everyone regardless of country of origin.

Regards,

reservoir51

[IndieDani]

reservoir51> Exactly my case. I've got model SVF15AA1QM and product no. SVF15A1M2ES... no idea, as well.. I'm following the discussion at the Sony US Community.. hope it will be solved soon..

Best Wishes

IndieDani