Connectivity Problems Lenovo U430

[Shai]

I recently bought a new laptop - a Lenovo U430 - and I seem to have some connectivity problems from time to time.


I think I have isolated the problem to my laptop.
The reasoning is that Lirael is using the same wireless network and she does not have the connectivity problems I do.


I think I know when I have these connectivity problems.
I sometimes disconnect directly after a certain player invites me to his or her party.
I sometimes disconnect directly after entering an area with a certain group of players.
If I try to reconnect, I disconnect directly, probably due to the same problem.

I get the following message:
Network error.
Please check your internet connection and try again. (code=14:4:5:1082:101)

It seems my wireless adapter is simply shut down for some reason, which logically results in me having connectivity problems.


With my limited knowledge I have set up the following hypothesis:
Part of the communication between individual players does not go through the GW2 server. Apparently my firewall or other software does not like communicating with certain individuals and shuts down my wireless adapter to prevent my laptop from harm. This explains why I only have the problem in certain cases.



I have the following questions:
1. What do you think is the problem?
2. If my hypothesis is correct, why does this only happen with certain individuals?
3. How can I change my firewall settings to prevent this problem?

[Zhao Cen]

Have you tried a clean install of the game?

Does the problem also persist in other games / when doing other stuff?

A simple driver update might also do the trick.

I do not think that your firewall is the problem, but in any case, what kind of firewall are you using and have you been messing with the settings?

[Shai]

This laptop is pretty new; I bought it last wednesday.
The shop I bought this laptop from did pre-install some software as far as I know.

I installed the game the same wednesday I bought it. The connectivity problems have existed ever since.

I have not done anything other than Guild Wars 2 and surfing the internet yet. As such I only encountered the problem in Guild Wars 2. I will try playing another game later today to see if I get the same problem.

I tried updating my drivers, but windows told me it is up to date. Then again, those programs that check all your drivers told me my wireless driver is 'ancient' (i.e. 13 days older than the newest version). I'm currently installing this newest version, so I hope this fixes things.

The firewall I'm using is currently from McAfee (a trial version for as far as I know), I will be getting something else soon. I haven't changed anything before I encountered the connectivity problems, but I did try adding exceptions afterwards, without result.


I hope the driver update does the trick and otherwise I'll try other games and a clean install of the game. Thanks for the advice Kaladin!

[Lad Emixam]

Try to completely shut down firewall to see if problem continues ?

I agree with Kaladin, it would be odd that it's not a game bug or something, would be even weirder if you game connect with other players not going through one general server.

[Zhao Cen]

I would remove McVirus from the computer, update the wireless driver and try again.

[Shai]

I installed the newest Driver for my wireless adapter.

I have removed McAfee completely, now I'm using WindowsDefender again.

I did a clean install of Guild Wars 2.

I reset WindowsDefender to fabricated settings.

I turned off WindowsDefender firewall.


None of these seemed to work for my connectivity problems.
Also, I have seen similar problems while simply surfing the internet; my wireless simply loses its connection while it shouldn't. I'm positive that this is not caused by the router as other laptops in my network do not have these issues (at least not as often).
I'll do some more experimenting later today...

[Zhao Cen]

try using a wireless usb stick, if it works get your computer fixed, though I suppose they'll just give you a new computer if the wireless chip is broken.

[Shai]

Update: my wireless connectivity issues have not been solved yet. However, I do have a good work-around; a network cable.
As it turns out, a 2m long network cable was sufficient to connect my laptop to the network switch.

Since I'm using a network cable, there have been zero issues. This basically isolates the problem to my wireless adapter (either software or hardware) as Kaladin suggested.


I guess I could proceed to check if the hardware is malfunctioning, but for now a network cable is sufficient for online gaming and the wireless connection has always been good enough for anything except for online gaming. If I get my hands on a wireless usb stick, I'll defenitely test this, but otherwise I'll leave it at this.

Thanks Kaladin and Lad for the help!

[Orozar]

My idea, but not sure about it:
The integrated network card just ain't good enough which causes GW2 to believe you have an internet failure. It is a more common problem with newer laptops and games that require constant internet connection. Most common solutions: attach a LAN cable or simply get an external wifi receiver as suggested above. (get a good brand and at least an N-receiver preferrably dual band, if your router supports it I'd even suggest to take an 802.11ac one)

[Shai]

My idea, but not sure about it:
The integrated network card just ain't good enough which causes GW2 to believe you have an internet failure. It is a more common problem with newer laptops and games that require constant internet connection. Most common solutions: attach a LAN cable or simply get an external wifi receiver as suggested above. (get a good brand and at least an N-receiver preferrably dual band, if your router supports it I'd even suggest to take an 802.11ac one)

When I have a disconnect in GW2 and alt-tab, my wireless connection is always indicated as being disconnected. Just clicking on it restores the connecting, but of course the harm has been done.
Is this what you mean?

[Orozar]

Yes, that is exactly what I mean. It could also be a (small) restart of your router. But if you are using a wired connection atm in the same router you should have issues too. If not, you can't be 100% sure if it's the router or the internal network card. We see a lot of problems with both. The standard internal network cards in laptops aren't that good, same goes for routers that get delivered by most providers. Most of the time it is solved with using a good external network card though...

[Shai]

Allright, I learned a lot!

Thanks guys!