Mobile 2003 Zero Configuration Can Drop a WLAN Connection

The Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 Operating System Zero Configuration can drop a WLAN connection created with one Service Set Identifier (SSID) and re-establish the WLAN connection with a previously-used SSID. This is a normal function of zero configuration that can occur with any device that has the Windows Mobile 2003 operating system with zero configuration.

If a WLAN connection is interrupted, zero configuration will, by design, seek the Access Point with the last SSID it successfully connected to. This reconnection could be of concern to a user who is unaware that the activity has occurred, particularly if the user created the original connection using a secure encrypted SSID.

scope

This issue can affect any HP iPAQ Pocket PC that has the Windows Mobile 2003 operating system with zero configuration. The following series are affected:

HP iPAQ Pocket PC series h4100

HP iPAQ Pocket PC series h4300

HP iPAQ Pocket PC series h5400

HP iPAQ Pocket PC series h5500

resolution

This issue is not caused by a problem with HP iPAQ Pocket PCs, but is a characteristic of the Windows Mobile 2003 operating system zero configuration.

The HP iPAQ Pocket PC user can avoid this issue by specifying desired SSIDs in the device’s Configure Wireless Networks list. If a WLAN connection is interrupted on a device on which SSIDs have been specified, the HP iPAQ Pocket PC will seek SSIDs in the order in which they appear in the list.

hardware platforms affected:

h4100 Pocket PC, h4300 Pocket PC, h5400 Pocket PC, h5500 Pocket PC

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