When connecting a wireless (802.11b/g) portable device to a network using an Access Point, the device must be Associated with the Access Point. This allows the possibility that the data collection application can detect whether it is connected or not (out of range), and whether wireless communications is possible.

There are two places in ITScriptNet Omni where Association Checking is used.

1) Internal Association checks before connecting to the Omni Server.
Any time the ITScriptNet Omni client attempts to connect to the Omni Server, it first checks to make sure it is associated with the wireless network. If not, the connection attempt fails immediately. This is done to prevent long timeouts if the device already knows it can not connect. This applies to In-Prompt Script functions as well as the automatic download of collected data.

2) The IsAssociated function.
This function can be called in In-Prompt Scripts to allow the program developer to detect the association state.

What factors affect Association Checking?

The Internal association checks are affected by a number of options. The following will allow the device to connect even if the WiFi radio is not actually associated with an access point:
1) If the device is cradled and has an ActiveSync connection established. Version 2.2a(9) and later
2) If the 'Check Association' setting is Disabled using the Terminal Configuration Utility.
3) If the device has no support for check association (Generic CE and PocketPC clients).
4) If a RAS connection is currently established.

What factors affect the IsAssociated function?

The IsAssociated function attempts to always return the actual association state, as follows:
1) If the device is cradled, the IsAssociated function still returns the actual radio association state. This means for devices running PocketPC 2003, the device may stay associated while cradled, but for Windows Mobile 5 the radio is automatically disabled when cradled. A cradled Windows Mobile 5 device will report Not Associated.
2) The IsAssociated function is not affected by the 'Check Association' setting in the Terminal Configuration utility. The function reports the actual association state regardless.
3) If the client has no support for radio association checking, the IsAssociated function returns -1. This is true for the generic Windows CE and PocketPC clients.
4) An active RAS connection does not affect the IsAssociated function. It still returns the actual association state.