The Nexus One WiFi Issue
I read an article on BGR on users reporting WiFi issues with the Nexus One.
I actually am experiencing the issue - so let me provide some insight.
The Problem: Reconnecting to WiFi
When the Nexus One goes to sleep (turns off it’s display) the default behavior is to disconnect from WiFi - I assume to save power. When you wake the device back up it is supposed to connect to your WiFi network automatically. The problem is that this never happens.
The Nexus One gets itself into a state where is disables reconnections to the WiFi network and won’t try to connect again unless prompted: this can include rebooting, turning WiFi off then on again, or telling it to connect to the network.
Part of the issue seems to involve leaving the home-screen before WiFi connects. Could be coincidence - not sure.
Another potential coincidence is that I don’t seem to experience the issue at my office. Pretty much the same WiFi both places though, Apple AirPort Extremes. The only difference might be Airport versions.
This is Actually a “New” Issue
What do I mean by that? The Nexus One in question is actually my second and my original Nexus One did not exhibit this behavior. It would connect to WiFi without prompting.
This doesn’t mean it is hardware related. But it could very well be. Equally likely that a firmware issue can fix it.
The Solution
There isn’t one at this point short of installing a 3rd party app that reconnects you once your WiFi drops out.
Hope Google gets to the bottom of this one soon.
UPDATE
It appears to be a chipset issue after all involving the WiFi sleep mode and certain routers. It is also the case that it should be fixable in software.
