Forums Forums Enthusiast Forums A - Z Gadgets & Tech Problem With Wifi

Can anyone help please? I have a problem with my laptop which appears to be getting worse. Several times a day the Wifi drops off and the only way to get it back on is to restart the laptop. My service provider is Plusnet and they have looked into and say that isn't the router which I think is correct as I can connect via the ethernet cable. It's very frustrating as there seems to be no rhyme or reason why this happens.
It's an ASUS X553M laptop with Windows 10. Any advice will be gratefully received.

Mine seems to go slower when all the kids suddenly go online with their phones and they are between my wifi pc and the router so I don't know if that could be a problem.
Don't they do wifi booster things to plug in?

Thanks Fish but it seems to happen at random times during the day and there is only me in the house. When I've Googled the problem it seems that it's some sort of problem with the wifi setting on the laptop but I don't understand the instructions on how to correct it and was hoping someone had a idiot's guide.

This looks like it may be useful:
http://dowser.org/wifi-frequently-disconnects-windows-10-wifi-sense-fix/

When it drops out, right click on the wifi symbol on the taskbar at bottom of screen, hit the "troubleshoot problems" and follow that through - it may come back and ask to use administrator privileges, agree with that.

In fact, do the above even when you haven't got a fault, it sometimes finds hidden issues.

More frequently I find these things are a router problem, do you ever switch the router off, its best to reboot all "computery" things at least once a week eg routers, mobile phones etc.

WiFi signals can be disrupted by..

Baby monitors.
Microwaves.
Water.

What I suspect could be happening is your connection to your router is busy, because it's using a popular channel.

Most routers default to channel 6 which could clash with similar routers on the same channel.

This is really easy to check if you have a mobile phone with WiFi on it. Pull down a free WiFi checker app, these can scan and show you other routers close and what channels they are using.

So you may want to change 3 channel numbers down from what your router may be set on right now.

Log into your router, look for a channel number, the range is from 1 to 12. So choose 3 up or 3 down. Save your settings, restart the router. And reconnect your devices. Monitor that and see how it goes.

The trick here is the router, you may also want to look at the log files on the router for any warnings.

Let us know how you get on.

You may be suffering from you neighbour using the same channel. Try downloading a wi-fi analyser app such as https://www.cnet.com/uk/how-to/how-to-optimize-your-wi-fi-network-with-wifi-analyzer/ which will show you what channels are in use next door. You can solve it by just swapping to another channel

It may also be that someone else is using your wi-fi deliberately. You can find out by listing what's attached to your network and make sure you recognise what IS connecting to it. You need to change your password at the very least if that is the case. You could be blamed for what they are doing!

The first thing I would try would be a hard re-set of your router.

Have a look on the back. Somewhere, there is likely to be a tiny re-set button. Press this using a straightened-out paper clip (or similar).

Good luck.

I have the same problem, it only seems to happen on a Tuesday, I have found that the Sky signal from someone nearby is actually stronger than my own signal (Virgin), usually a reboot of the router fixes it.

You'd be better choosing a different channel from the other user. I have about three signals stronger than mine from neighbours, but they are all in different channels and don't interfere.

Thanks for all your replies. The reason why I didn't think the router was the problem was that initially I looked into this and called my service provided to talked me through a hard reset of the router and even sent me a new one out. As this didn't solve the problem they told me that it was an issue with the settings on my laptop. It never happened until about two month's ago and has increased in frequency and happened as much as four times the day before yesterday. Oddly enough it hasn't happened at all today.
I'm not sure how to change the channels but will look into it over the next couple of days as it's extremely frustrating.

Plusnet Router Help is here:
https://www.plus.net/help/broadband/router-setup-guides/

Choose your router and look for WiFi setup

Dave

I live in a building with thick walls and floors.
My router is upstairs and the Wifi link to the Sky
box and to the tv downstairs was always a bit hit and miss.

I've installed powerline links with Ethernet connections
so there is always a hard wire link between these devices.
This has dramatically improved the situation. It bypasses
all the usual WiFi issues.

The powerline device downstairs has a WiFi output as well
as its Ethernet outputs so even our iPad/iPhones are better
served than before. (They do not have Ethernet ports).

I found that my probs were caused by inductance from the USB/power line connection. It was so puzzling took me from November to this week to suss it out. Basically the USB/ power line radiates and it's a case of getting everything screened or finding a work around once you know what the problem is. It was my pixelating TV that gave me the clue but I was too thick to realise what it was at the time. I thought it was my STB. The advice I got from BT was to use a booster for my antenna, others were advising gold connectors, attenuators and all kinds of stuff. Luckily because of a previous life I was able to suss it and sort it. Tried donglers and other sorts of wifi bits and bobs. Going to follow my own advice in future instead of buying all kinds of kit.

EMC Advice form RSGB

Although the EMC Advice Leaflet is written by the RSGB (the National Society for Radio Amateurs) for radio hams, it does contain a lot of practical information for everyone on all aspects of radio interference across the radio spectrum, including the use and effects of PLD's (power line devices).

Further searches on the rsgb.org site will reveal links to the specifications and outline the difficulty with problems caused by seemingly legal equipment to be out of spec, getting it traced and eliminated. As not enough people complain that PLD's are causing problems, authorities such as OFCOM have to treat the problem as a minor one as far as legislation goes. In short, the makers get away with breaking the law on spectrum abuse.

It is also worth remembering that remote meter readings for gas and electricity may be sent over the supply cables, either now or in the near future.