Laptop continuing disconnecting from WiFi

_Jimlad_

_Jimlad_

_Jimlad_

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Hi all, I have a elderly friend who has has many devices set up to a home network. His laptop will disconnect all the time from the network. I visited a few times and adjusted all the power settings, removed the network drivers and reinstalled. Same happened. No other devices drop off the WiFi.

So I yesterday I visited again and took his laptop back to my house. Connected to my WiFi and it's been fine for 24 hours.

I was hoping it would do the same and i could either format or add another WiFi dongle and move on. But now a bit more confused

Any ideas would be appreciated, as it's a 10 mile drive and really wanna help this old boy out
 
Does the laptop re-connect once it's disconnected? If not how does it get reconnected; manually turn Wifi card off and on again or restar the laptop? How many Wifi devices does he have? What kind of router is he using? Is the Wifi signal strong and consistent or is it weak and patch? Could be the laptop is too far from the router or there's lots of thick walls inbetween?

Does the laptop disconnect after a specific time, i.e. every 30 minutes or are the disconnects seemingly happening at varying times? Does the laptop have latest Windows updates?
 
MarcLister said:
Does the laptop re-connect once it's disconnected? If not how does it get reconnected; manually turn Wifi card off and on again or restar the laptop? How many Wifi devices does he have? What kind of router is he using? Is the Wifi signal strong and consistent or is it weak and patch? Could be the laptop is too far from the router or there's lots of thick walls inbetween?

Does the laptop disconnect after a specific time, i.e. every 30 minutes or are the disconnects seemingly happening at varying times? Does the laptop have latest Windows updates?
Click to expand...

virgin router in modem mode and connected to a Nova box, he is right next to the wifi box. (one option is to just hardwire him in however no spare network ports, so would need a splitter) unsure on drop off frequency, but once it happens you need to manually connect back on the wifi and reconnect, or trouble shoot re adds him. latest windows 10 build. no other devices doing it.
 
This is just a wild suggestion, but have a look into DHCP settings, and see if on his router, it is trying to dynamically allocate an IP. If the laptop is using DHCP on the wireless card it could be this process that is interfering with the laptop staying on the network. In summary, look into DHCP on the wireless card.
 
watercooledman said:
not ideal but buy a little usb network adaptor for around £10 and see if that helps.
Click to expand...
And it does help, then maybe consider hunting for a replacement M.2 WiFi module (or mPCI etc, if it is old enough). Although some laptop BIOS's whitelist WiFi modules, plus the newer M.2 cables are quite fragile.
 
_Jimlad_ said:
virgin router in modem mode and connected to a Nova box, he is right next to the wifi box. (one option is to just hardwire him in however no spare network ports, so would need a splitter) unsure on drop off frequency, but once it happens you need to manually connect back on the wifi and reconnect, or trouble shoot re adds him. latest windows 10 build. no other devices doing it.
Click to expand...
I reckon it could be DHCP in that case. If the laptop can easily be re-connected to the Wifi I'd look into the DHCP settings. Gigabit 5 port switches can be had for £14-15. Obviously fixing the Wifi issue would be cheaper but a switch might be more reliable and potentially faster.

radderfire said:
This is just a wild suggestion, but have a look into DHCP settings, and see if on his router, it is trying to dynamically allocate an IP. If the laptop is using DHCP on the wireless card it could be this process that is interfering with the laptop staying on the network. In summary, look into DHCP on the wireless card.
Click to expand...
DHCP is what I reckon is the source of the issue.
 
KompuKare said:
And it does help, then maybe consider hunting for a replacement M.2 WiFi module (or mPCI etc, if it is old enough). Although some laptop BIOS's whitelist WiFi modules, plus the newer M.2 cables are quite fragile.
Click to expand...

yes good shout depends how easily accessible the module is and if the OP know enough to rip the laptop apart.

also try to roll back the driver if a latest one has been installed ?
 
Thanks for info guys, when we say DHCP is that on the laptop of the router ?

Odd it has not dropped off my network in 24 hours since I brought it home.

If he was a bit more local I would be more likely to test and try, but seeing as I have been over there 3 times of late I am looking for a perma fix
 
Essentially, both the laptop wireless card and router have to be using the same method to get/allocate an IP address on the network. They both need to be using the same hymnbook so to speak. So, DHCP may need to be on the wireless card, if the router is using DHCP.

It's a while since I've had to look at this kind of stuff but look at:

https://help.keenetic.com/hc/en-us/...atically-obtain-an-IP-address-from-the-router
 
The laptop is working on your home network because whatever your router is using, the laptop is fine with. Whatever the old bloke's router is using, the laptop doesn't like.
 
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