Comments on: Intel PRO Wireless 3945ABG WiFi Radio Adapter Shut Off Randomly

By: Pete

Pete — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 03:50:31 +0000

Same problem on Latitude D830 with Windows 7. When I was running on Windows Vista the 3945 card has problem connecting via wireless. Now with Windows 7 it connects fine but I get dropped randomly. The Microsoft driver drop the connection the least.

By: Larry C

Larry C — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:01:33 +0000

Problem still not solved.
Latitude D830; built-in Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG

Still using Dell BIOS rev A14 (Dec 2008).
Did update to newer Intel PROSet packages (11, 12, 13); never made the problem go away.

Most recently, I uninstalled Intel’s package, and installed Dell’s officially supported version which is
TIC157696, A08-1
Dell file i.d. 344323
The Intel application version in there is 12.4.3.

I wonder if that means that Dell only tested it using BIOS A08. I am not gonna downgrade this PC from A14 to A08.

I guess the main complaint is that every other day I come into work, and the Wi-Fi light is off (having previously been “on” i.e. lit). Neither the Windows WiFi application, nor PROSet can deal with the controller, after that.

But I have found one way to bring it back (without rebooting the system … which is difficult for me, I work on a lot of stuff at the same time). Put the PC into Standby i.e. tell it you want to Undock. This for me also isn’t so very easy, since I have files and connections open, over the LAN and that’s the other thing that’s such a pain, I have a hard time putting this computer to sleep. What it means now is that I have to close out a bunch of document windows, remote shells, command lines that have remote mounts, etc.

Why oh Why does the WiFi light go out …
I still suspect that this is more of a Dell issue, not an Intel issue. We’re still using Windows Xp SP2 … I dunno if that’s a factor.
Larry

By: Barry

Barry — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:44:11 +0000

Note that I have XP with a Latitude D630 and this happens all the time – so it is NOT just a Vista problem.

By: Jacky

Jacky — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:58:48 +0000

Doesn’t support windows 7..

Big problem for me, there aren’t any available drivers compatible with windows 7.

My 3945 also has stopped working. As mentioned before, it shows in Device Manager, it is working fine, but shows limited connectivity or Unidentified network (mine is unidentified..)

Whoever is running windows 7 (my poor laptop, its already had enough changes with all the os’ I’ve had..)

Your only chance is to reinstall another os.. good luck to all out there.. (I knew Windows 7 was a bad idea.. imo, no offense to others)

By: Eddie

Eddie — Thu, 28 May 2009 18:05:13 +0000

Im using a acer 5920g and non of the suggestions have worked on this website. Even the latest drivers from the intel website dont seem to solve this problem.

Im considering sending my laptop back, but i have a suspicion that they will return it stil having the problem.

By: JCB

JCB — Sat, 02 May 2009 23:32:49 +0000

PROBLEM SOLVED. The latest Intel drivers have fixed the random shutoffs. The newest version is 12.4.0.0, and you can download them here:

http://www.intel.com/support/wireless/wlan/pro3945abg/

Please spread the word before anyone wastes anymore time or money trying to fix this problem!

By: bewaji abidemi

bewaji abidemi — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 19:01:52 +0000

I AM JUST TRYING TO FIND OUT IF I CAN GET THE TYPE FOR MY TOSHIBA? I AM USED TO THE INTEL PRO THAN THE NORMAL WIRELSS. PLS TRY AND REPLY. THANKS

By: Osama Tariq

Osama Tariq — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:02:09 +0000

I upgraded windows XP to Service Pack 2 and it got resolved.

By: Problemi alla connessione WiFi su portatili Dell at marco.log

Problemi alla connessione WiFi su portatili Dell at marco.log — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 09:56:50 +0000

[...] http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/09/15/intel-pro-wireless-3945abg-wifi-radio-adapter-shut-off-rand... [...]

By: JamminJ

JamminJ — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 09:09:35 +0000

WOW – I just uninstalled silverlight and then reinstalled it and now my connection has been working for over 15 min streamming from Netflix. So I think my problem was Silverlight. I had UAC off in Vista when I installed Silverlight I believe. The 2nd time I had UAC on and it is working so far so good… I’ll update if this changes.

By: JamminJ

JamminJ — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 08:44:07 +0000

I have a dv9200t and 3945abg – when streaming Netflix instant play movies my connection shuts off – orange light comes on. Tried the latest driver update – no dice. Strange I can download tons of stuff but only (so far from what I have seen) it is only when streaming silverlight video w/ netflix it shuts off my wireless connection until I reboot. Strange though I can go to abc.com and watch anything in their player (flash 10) and even in HD and no problems.

By: Kal

Kal — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 00:40:14 +0000

the problem happens to me when i open many windows with online videos. I have all the latest drives, running vista on an inspiron E1705

By: piethief

piethief — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 10:54:36 +0000

Thanks. After reading this article i downloaded a new WLAN driver from the Dell website and the problem is solved.

By: Hashish

Hashish — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:14:26 +0000

Actually, even latest 12.1 driver won’t help if you have hp dv9000 series. I noticed that it happens more often with Linksys APs and Linksys adapters working in ad-hoc mode. Mysterious.

By: Nate

Nate — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 15:24:24 +0000

Actually, this problem does occur under Windows XP as described in:

http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dsn/document?c=us&l=en&s=gen&docid=16332F52585B367AE0401E0A5517117B&journalid=5998D465A33E38CFE040AE0AB7E14894&Query=Mzk0NUFCRytNaW5pQ2FyZCtSYWRpbytCZWNvbWVzK0Rpc2FibGVk&SystemID=INSPIRONI6400/E1505&ServiceTag=&contenttype=-1&os=-1&component=-1&lang=-1&doclang=en&toggle=false

By: Patrick

Patrick — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 07:18:37 +0000

I tried to download and install the driver version 12.0.4.0 from intel, but the problem still happens. I’m using Dell Inspiron 6400 on XP Home Edition.

Any other possible solutions?