Unable to connect to wireless network on new setup

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20 Oct 2008
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99
So I got a brand new rig yesterday. Built it in the day, installed Windows 10 Pro 64bit in the evening.

Installed my motherboard drivers, GPU drivers and the drivers for the wireless adapter card.

I was able to download Steam and Team Fortress 2, CS:GO and have a few games.

I then left the PC to download more of my games on Steam.

Turned the machined off at like 2am.

(for what it's worth, my wireless network did space out for what ever reason at about half past midnight. I could connect with my phone but there was no Internet access, even after a router reboot. I have the standard Virgin Media router)

This morning, I boot the PC to download more Steam games. It won't connect to my wireless network.

Windows was reporting poor signal (was good last night) but then it changed and showed good signal.

Nothing. Kept trying to connect but no dice.

Out of desperation I installed the TP Link utility. That only showed poor signal, with Windows still showing a good signal. Odd.

The TP Link utility couldn't connect either.

Tried the network diagnosis tool, didn't seem to find or fix anything.

Any ideas on this one? Brand new gear, new Windows install, was working perfect last night, but no go this morning, and the PC was off all night.

Specs:

* Windows 10 Pro 64bit
* i5-6400
* MSI Z170m Mortar mATX
* 8gb DDR4 3000mhz RAM
* Gigabyte GTX 960 4GB
* 240gb SSD
* TP Link 450mbps PCIE wireless adapter card
 
Is wifi working on other devices? try rebooting the router, uninstall/reinstall driver/device, try a different USB port, try a different dongle if you can, does it work with a wired connection (if it's reasonable to test). Win10 and wifi did have a few issues but usually it was driver related, a lot of the low end/no name or generic kit tended to be slow to get drivers out and certified.
 
It's PCIE, not USB.

I'll try reinstalling the drivers tonight.

My phone was connected to the wireless network without issue.

This is the adapter, I wouldn't really call it low end....?
 
A lot of wireless adapters seems to have issues with Windows 10. I've had problems with both USB and PCIe adapters, some having connection issues, and some latency issues. TP-Link seems to be the worse due to lack of driver updates.

Looking at your model, the last driver was nearly 2 years ago: http://www.tp-link.com/en/download/TL-WDN4800.html#Driver

I gave up with desktop wireless adapters, powerlines are the way to go if a direct ethernet cable is not possible.
 
If I've taken it out the box and fitted it, can I still return it? :/

Would prefer to get it working mind, as I'd like to be able to just turn up at my mates and connect to his wireless network.

RE: power line adapters, can they work if you use one of those "stick" extension leads?
 
I had a similar issue with a wired connection the othe rnight that was a bit of a head scratcher.
In the end I unplugged the power cable from the PSU and held the power button in for 30 seconds and it restored my connection.
worth a punt anyway.
 
New drivers from Qualcomm haven't helped at all.

I got a semi stable connection with some older drivers for Windows 8.1 but connection speed was slow.

When I try and connect to a network (with the newest drivers) the entry for the adapter in device manager will disappear momentarily and the connection fails.
 
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