Instructor: In this lesson,
we're going to talk about mobile connectivity issues.
Now, a lot of the mobile connectivity issues
when you're dealing with WiFi or Bluetooth are going to be
the exact same as what you're going to see in a desktop.
It really doesn't matter if you're dealing
with a mobile device like a laptop, a smartphone,
or a tablet, or using a desktop.
When you're using WiFi and Bluetooth,
the same connectivity problems are going to be there.
So remember, when you're troubleshooting these issues,
first consider the physical issues such as interference,
the signal to noise ratio, known as the RSSI,
and things like that.
As well as considering your software configuration issues,
such as the device drivers being used for your network cards
or the configuration utilities that are allowing you
to connect to those wireless networks.
Now, when you're troubleshooting WiFi network
connectivity issues, always make sure you're connected
to the right SSID to make sure you're connected
to the right network.
Also, make sure you're connecting using the right password.
Otherwise, you're going to see intermittent connectivity
where you're connecting to the network
and then dropping off immediately.
In addition to this, if you find you're having a low signal,
you might want to move closer to the wireless access point
to increase your signal and decrease the noise.
Alternatively, if you have an external antenna,
you can disconnect that antenna
and put a higher gain antenna on to be able to pick up
that signal from further away.
For example, I have an external wireless network
connectivity card that I use with my laptop,
and by default it came with a 5 dB antenna,
but I've actually replaced that with a 9 dB antenna
which allows me to connect to signals
that are much further away than my 5 dB antenna.
So this is an effective way to increase the signal
and decrease the noise if you have the ability
to change out your antenna.
Remember, when you're dealing with WiFi connectivity,
generally you want to be operating no more than
30 to 50 meters away from the wireless access point
to be able to maintain a good solid connection
and the highest available network speeds.
Now, when you're troubleshooting Bluetooth connectivity
between your mobile devices and other devices,
always ensure that the other device is Bluetooth enabled
and has been properly turned on.
In addition to this,
make sure you have properly paired the two devices together
using the correct PIN number.
In addition to all of this,
you always want to make sure the battery level
inside of those devices is adequate.
For example, if you're trying to connect
to a Bluetooth keyboard or mouse and they only have
2 or 3% battery life remaining, this will make it
very difficult to maintain that connection.
So instead, you want to charge those devices back up,
get them to an adequate power level,
and then connect to them.
Finally, when it comes to Bluetooth,
also make sure you're using this in the right range.
Remember, Bluetooth is a personal area network.
It's designed to be used at very close ranges
of up to 10 meters.
Yes, some Bluetooth devices can go as far as 30 meters,
but I want you to remember that 10 meters is really the key
when you're using Bluetooth.
So if you're more than 10 meters
or around 30 feet from your device,
this can be causing Bluetooth connectivity issues for you.
So keep that in mind as well and move closer to your source.
When you're troubleshooting
WiFi or Bluetooth connectivity issues,
if you're having a lot of issues
with a particular device or access point,
I recommend that you forget that device,
drop it out of your settings,
and then re-pair your device back
to the devices you're trying to connect to,
whether that's the wireless network
or a Bluetooth enabled device.
This will make sure you're ruling out
any kind of misconfigurations or issues
and it's a great first troubleshooting step
as you're working through your mobile connectivity issues.
Now, when it comes to laptops,
there's a couple of other things you want to check
when it comes to wireless connectivity issues.
For example, if you've recently opened up your laptop
to do some sort of an expansion, like adding more memory,
installing a secondary hard disc drive,
or solid state device, or replacing an expansion card,
you always want to make sure
that your wireless network interface card
is properly connected to the antennas again.
These antennas are connected
with small little buttons onto the wireless card,
and there's two of them that must be properly attached.
If either of these comes loose or disconnected,
this will cause your antenna to no longer work
with that wireless card, and in those cases,
you'll only be able to connect to a wireless network
if you are right next to the wireless access point,
because without those antennas
you can't really get a signal from very far away.
So keep that in mind as well.
The final thing I want to point out is that some laptops
and all smartphones and tablets have the ability
to go into airplane mode.
When these devices are put in airplane mode,
especially older ones,
they do turn off your WiFi and Bluetooth by default.
In newer devices, WiFi and Bluetooth remain on,
but cellular connectivity does get disconnected.
So if you're having an issue connecting
to WiFi or Bluetooth, check and make sure you're not
in airplane mode, or if you are,
that the WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity have been
turned back on using the proper settings.
So remember,
when it comes to wireless network connectivity issues,
there are a lot of different issues you can experience,
but generally these are going to come down to physical issues
such as interference, or the antenna not being connected,
or a software issue where you have things like
airplane mode enabled or improper device drivers
for your particular wireless networking card.