Troubleshooting Wireless At UofL

Owned by Marc Echternach (Deactivated)
Last updated: Mar 02, 2018 by Former user (Deleted)
5 min read

Overview

This site is where you can find some common recommendations for resolving wireless connection problems in the UofL residence halls, administration and academic buildings.

Self-service troubleshooting

 

Unsupported Operating Systems/ Devices

Make sure your device is running a supported Operating System, and also isn't a known incompatible device

Updating Wireless Drivers

This is important especially for computers that have Intel wireless cards. Legacy Intel drivers do not function well with the wireless infrastructure installed at UofL. You can find more information regarding why you may need wireless driver updates.

If you have a computer running the Windows operating system, please check to see if you have Intel Wireless drivers. This can be found by going to:

Correct Login Information

 

Ulsecure uses your Active Directory login. This login is the same that is used for UofL exchange (outlook) email (faculty/staff) or UofL cardmail email (student). Please verify that you can login to either your UofL exchange (outlook) email, (faculty/staff), or UofL cardmail (students) email. If you cannot login to your email account then you may not be able to login to ulsecure wireless. You may need to change your password.

Removing the ulsecure network

 

If a password or setting is wrong and is stored in the ulsecure profile it may be preventing you from connecting. For instructions on how to remove ulsecure wireless network select your operating system: Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1,Windows 10,Mac OSX 10.5.X, Mac OSX 10.6.X, Mac OSX 10.7.X(Lion), Mac OSX 10.8.X(Mountain Lion), Mac OSX 10.9.X(Mavericks), iOS, Kindle Fire HD andAndroid. Once removed follow the ulsecure wireless configuration guides to connect to ulsecure.

Disable power savings mode for the wireless card

 

Some operating system/computer combinations are capable of throttling the power delivered to a wireless card when it is either not heavily used or when the computer is in sleep mode. This can cause some connection problems or result is slower connectivity. If you're having trouble with the wireless network, please try to disable this feature.

Radio hardware and software switches

 

Each wireless card and computer manufacturer has a different way of disabling the radio or wireless card antenna. If you are receiving very low or no signal strength from the UofL wireless networks please be sure that your radio is on. First look for a hardware switch on your device. Some devices implement a hardware switch using the "Fn" key. Hold down "Fn" and press the key with a radio tower. You should get a message telling you if you have just turned WiFi on or off. Refer your laptop manual for more information.

 

Disable IPv6

 

For a full description of why disabling IPv6 can help you get a better connection on the UofL wireless network, please see the following: Disable IPv6

Device waking from "Sleep" mode

 

For a full description of why devices have trouble connecting after being in "Sleep" mode, please see the following: Sleep Mode

Wireless Speed Tests

 

Wireless speed tests for local and off campus can be found here

Interference

 

In addition to active interference caused by other radio waves, wireless network signals can be disrupted by physical obstacles including some types of windows, building materials, furniture, and appliances. Often refrigerators placed in the line of sight or near a wireless device can cause serious degradation of signal.
If you are noticing problems connecting to the wireless network, please keep these questions in mind:

Do you have a cordless phone?
Can you see or connect to networks not called "ulsecure"?
How far away is the nearest access point?
Are there large appliances, doors, walls, metal objects or structures between where you work and where the closest access point is?

 

For help with minimizing interference around your wireless device please see the following: Minimize Interference

Reporting a problem to UofL IT

 

UofL IT is committed to resolving problems and concerns that are reported on the wireless network. Since there can be many different types of problems on the wireless network, UofL IT needs some additional information to help resolve them and determine if there are any trends.

Overview of troubleshooting steps and Information requested:

  • Provide your name and contact information
  • Update wireless drivers
  • Provide the building name and room number where you are located
  • Provide your MAC address, SSID (network name) - all included in Windows Vista/7 and Mac OS X UofL script (below)
  • Provide the date and time the problem occurred

Description of the problem (Examples Below)

  1. The connection is slow, intermittent or never connects?
  2. I can get connected in some places but not in others
  3. The signal strength indicator is showing low
  4. Any other details you can think of

How to gather specific information (SSID, MAC addresses)

 

UofL Wifi Information gathering script

This application is intended to make data gathering easier while working with UofL IT personnel to troubleshoot wired or wireless network problems. The script will run a few commands for Windows Vista/7/8/10 or Mac OS X and put a diagnostic file on your desktop. Go to http://louisville.edu/it/departments/consulting/helpdesk/ and create an incident in ServiceNow. Once you start the incident, you will see a paper clip in the top right corner that you can click on to attach the script file or call 502-852-7997 . Please see below for directions on downloading and running the script.

Running the UofL Wifi Information gathering scripts 

  • Windows 10/8/7/Vista
  • Mac OS X

Windows 10/8/7/Vista

  1. Download the following file to your computer running Windows : UofL_Network Info for WinVista_Win7_Win8_Win10.zip
  2. Double click on the file UofL_Network Info for WinVista_Win7_Win8_Win10.zip to extract the file.
  3. Double click on UofL_Network Info for WinVista_Win7_Win8_Win10.vbs file.
  4. When the application completes, it will put a file on your Desktop called UofL Wireless Network Information_<datestamp>.txt
  5. Go to http://louisville.edu/it/departments/consulting/helpdesk/and create an incident in ServiceNow. Once you start the incident, you will see a paper clip in the top right corner that you can click on to attach the script file or call 502-852-7997

Mac OS X 

Note: Due to Gatekeeper, this file will not run properly after first downloaded on Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion and up). You can still use the script by disabling Gatekeeper.

  1. Download the following file to your computer running Mac OS X: UOFL Network Information for Mac OS X.zip
  2. Double click on UOFL Network Information for Mac OS X.zip to extract the folder.
  3. Double click on UOFL Network Information for Mac OS X script.
  4. The application will put a file on your Desktop called UOFL-Network-Troubleshooting-Info_<datestamp>.txt
  5. Go to http://louisville.edu/it/departments/consulting/helpdesk/and create an incident in ServiceNow. Once you start the incident, you will see a paper clip in the top right corner that you can click on to attach the script file or call 502-852-7997

Linux

We do not currently offer an application for obtaining network information on Linux systems. An open source project called 'wireless-tools' is available than can be used to retrieve information comparable to that collected by our Mac/Windows scripts.

  1. Obtain the wireless-tools package. The package is preinstalled on some distributions, including Ubuntu Desktop. Instructions for its use and its installation can be obtained from Hewlett-Packard.
  2. Run the following two commands.
    • The first command will return information about the wireless network currently connected to your computer.

iwconfig

  • The second command will return a list containing detailed information about all the wireless networks surrounding your computer.

iwlist scan

  1. Copy the output of the previous commands into an appropriately named text file.  Go to http://louisville.edu/it/departments/consulting/helpdesk/and create an incident in ServiceNow. Once you start the incident, you will see a paper clip in the top right corner that you can click on to attach the script file or call 502-852-7997