wifi-switcher
 

after installing it on my N900 ther is no icon. I've done it previously and there was an icon in the status bar area but now there is nothing. What to do?

Re: wifi-switcher
 

Try reinstalling it.

Re: wifi-switcher
 

I did it already 3 times. Rebooting also didn't help.

Re: wifi-switcher
 

it's in Control Panel applet

Re: wifi-switcher
 

The icon will only show in status bar when WLAN is disabled. When WLAN is active (default state after reboot), there is no icon.

Re: wifi-switcher
 

That is what I've meant :) Previously there was a button to enable/disable WIFI. Now there is nothing.

How should I disable WLAN so that I could see the icon?

Re: wifi-switcher
 

As dsawhney said, disable WLAN(disconnect from the WLAN network if you are connected), and then press the status bar, and you will see Wifi-switcher on the bottom, to the left.

Re: wifi-switcher
 

HEY!

When i installed wifi switcher i was wondering were it went after a reboot and guess what?

It moved in the status area to the END of the list. You can see only 8 buttons when you open status area. You can scroll down and there it is! .:D

Re: wifi-switcher
 

This is a known problem and I will release a fixed version as soon as my spare time permits it.

Enjoy.

Re: wifi-switcher
 

I don't use WLAN. I'm connected to 3.5G. The problem is solved. I started to uninstall all aps and after uninstalling mameo-pc-connectivity the button again appeared and now I can turn it on and off.

Re: wifi-switcher
 

My problem with wi-fi switcher, is that when I disable wi-fi it reboots. And still doesn't switch off.. I have to hit/reboot one more time to work properly

Re: wifi-switcher
 

i'm curious about this wifi-switcher, but i'm not sure i really anderstand how it's working.
Is it like it's swtching off the wifi connection completly, so the device is not searching for wifi, so i'm saving battery life ?
Like, if i'm outside, knowing that i'll not use wifi during 8h, i can switch it off completly and save battery ?

Re: wifi-switcher
 

aaaaand anyone using this app can say if it's really saving the battery (how long ?)

Re: wifi-switcher
 

It unloads the kernel modules for the WiFi chipset. If those modules aren't inserted, how can the device scan for networks?

(No idea about battery life; I tend not to bother measuring those sorts of things.)

Re: wifi-switcher
 

saving battery life is not the goal of this app ?

Re: wifi-switcher
 

Wifi Switcher is one of the most useful programs i have on my N900! Usually, my phone will barely make it through the day (16 hours).
Now, with Wifi Switcher, it's easily possible. I would say it significantly improves your battery life. I have used this program for 3 or 4 days now and I am amazed.

Re: wifi-switcher
 

I don't know if I should credit wifi-switcher for it but nowadays my N900 is alive ~1.5-~2 days, instead of one day flat as before. It might be the battery picking up capacity though, since my N900 is barely a week old.

Re: wifi-switcher
 

I am trying this app to see if it will improve my battery life. Installed with no problems, by the way.

I would rather see the wifi status as a message in the button instead of taking up room with an additional icon, but otherwise it looks great and is a much needed feature on the phone.

Re: wifi-switcher
 

This should be fixed in version 0.0.6.

Re: wifi-switcher
 

i like this app, a great idea, im the type of person who would not always use wifi, but i like the option of disabling wifi if i am travelling alot and dont have the ability to plug in my device to charge it !!

All these apps really add functionality to the N900, allowing us all to use our N900 exactly how we want to use it, not like a certain smartphone by apple.....

Re: wifi-switcher
 

I'm having a bit of trouble with wifi switcher...when I turn wlan off, all the apps that use automatic packet connections (mail, foreca, etc) stop functioning correctly. Even the browser doesn't want to use an automatic 3G connection. Anybody else got the same problem?

Re: wifi-switcher
 

Yup, I have to manually activate the 3G connection in order to go online.

Re: wifi-switcher
 

farmatito:

I suggest renaming the applet from "Wifi Switcher" simply to "Wi-Fi Switcher" (For app/package name it doesn't matter, but in status area looks ugly). "Wifi" is annoying to me to be honest as it doesn't exist. There is "WLAN" and "Wi-Fi", but "Wifi" makes software look poorly done, even if the code itself is good (which is).

Also, I think that you should make notifications more user-friendly. First of all, the notification for successful disabling should be delivered by:

dbus-send --type=method_call --dest=org.freedesktop.Notifications /org/freedesktop/Notifications org.freedesktop.Notifications.SystemNoteInfoprint string:'Wi-Fi turned off'

Notice how is the last part different. This dbus call displays only notification, it doesn't require dialog interaction (tapping). For other notifications (if it fails) is ok if it is dialog, but in this case it is not necessary. Also I think that you should avoid upper-case "fail" messages, it looks better if they are normal.

PS: Don't take my message as bad, I'm just trying to help to improve already good software!

Re: wifi-switcher
 

i have the same problem, and not only inis version.it seems that the auto connection is related to wifi modules.i'd like to autoconnect every hour without searching wifi, but if i disable wifi auto connection won't happen, even opening web browser manually doesn't works...
is there a workaround for this?
thanks

Re: wifi-switcher
 

Does the wifi-switcher help? I have been using it but I am not sure of the purpose it serves. Okay I understand that it's something like disabling your network card in windows.

My question is if I am NOT connected to my wifi network at home would I still drain my battery? I understand that if I am connected to my wifi then my battery will drain but why do I need to use the wifi-switcher for? Does it do something else?

Can somebody explain this?

Re: wifi-switcher
 

My understanding is that WiFi Switcher switches off the wireless hardware so its not even scanning/looking for wireless. Hence removes the relative drain off the battery.

Re: wifi-switcher
 

^Thanks for the reply. See this is what makes me wonder. Only when I click on Internet Connection from the status bar, it actually starts to scan/look for wifi networks so why would I need the wifi switcher unless it does anything else. By default the device is not always scanning for a wifi connection (unless you specify to connect automatically to a wifi network when in range).

Re: wifi-switcher
 

My understanding is connecting automatically is one thing but whilst wireless is switched on the module will be active seeking for wifi. Not connecting, just active.

I see wifi switcher the same if not similar to turning off/disabling the wireless on your desktop or laptop. Less processes running, less circuits being powered hence less battery drain.


From the Wifi Switcher Package page on this site -

Quote 'The Wifi on/off switcher is a statusbar plugin that allows to turn off the wifi radio by kernel module unloading to reduce power consumption and thus improves greatly your battery life'


http://maemo.org/packages/view/wifi-switcher/

Re: wifi-switcher
 

^Makes total sense now. Thanks Astute!

Re: wifi-switcher
 

Can you provide me a short guide to where/which files have to be changed to incorporate the suggested changes? The original author doesnt seem to be interested..

Re: wifi-switcher
 

Agreed, this would be a very welcome change. It's very annoying having to wait for a dailog that needs to be clicked away.

2d

Re: wifi-switcher
 

This needs to be updated to handle enhanced wlan modules. :o