Any Windows 10 gurus? Wireless Internet issues....

[Martinjmpr]

This is a long shot but I'll throw it out there.

We have Comcast/Xfinity internet service at our house with a cable modem and a wireless router. I think the wireless is 802.11G (might have to check.) Router was purchased around 2011 IIRC.

The router sits in my office so I normally connect through the wired LAN. But the wife normally uses her computer in the family room on WiFi. The distance from the router to her computer is probably less than 30' since the family room is directly below my office.

She has CONSTANT problems with her computer dropping WiFi. It happens multiple times during the day and often she has to manually select our WiFi network even though the WiFi setting is checked to "connect automatically to this network."

ALL of these problems started after the "mandatory upgrade to Windows 10" a few years back. Before that, she never had problems connecting to the internet.

Her computer is an older Toshiba unit, purchased in 2013 I think. Originally came with Windows 7 but then we were forced to upgrade in 2015/2016 (whenever Windows 10 came out.)

Now, my first thought would be to blame Comcast or to upgrade the wireless router to something newer (which I may do anyway) or just to buy her a new computer.

But here's the thing: I have NO problems connecting to the wireless network on any of my devices. In fact, I even have an older Toshiba laptop, similar to the wife's but purchased in 2011, that sits in the garage (that's my "YouTube" computer that I use when I'm working on something in the garage and need to watch a video on YouTube.) And even my ancient Toshiba doesn't have any of the problems that she has - constantly dropping connection to the internet, failing to connect to the wireless printer, etc.

And my old Toshiba, like the wife's computer, was originally a Windows 7 machine that was forced to upgrade to Windows 10.

Buying a new router is probably in our future, and I've even offered to buy her a new computer if she wants one. But I don't want to just throw hardware at what I think is a software or "settings" issue.

So my question for the group is: What kinds of things should I be looking for as far as computer settings, drivers, etc? It seems something in the Windows 10 system is causing a conflict that is making it repeatedly connect and disconnect, which in turn causes her to lose connections to the wireless printer.

As always, thanks in advance!

[ray1970]

Maybe a hardware issue on her computer?

[Mazin]

Sounds like her wifi is going out(nic card in the computer itself), have you Tried just running some cable directly from her computer to the router?

[ChickNorris]

Fwiw, my little Roku tv is exactly the same.

Weve verified its not the wifi router.

[brutal]

A 9 year old router is probably crap. I had tons of issues with my old netgear stuff until I replaced it all. We also have a ton if "interference" devices in the house that make it hard to run 50 WiFi devices. I may even add a 3rd AP.

I'm no real super Winders guy, but you may try to hunt down the wifi drivers (the actual driver files) and kill them, then let windows install anew. There's also a few TCP/IP stack resets that can be done if needed but I'm not going to detail them due to time and effort I don't have.

That said, I bought my wife a refurb Thinkpad T440p with a beautiful IPS screen(1920x1080) that works like a dream. $400 from Newegg (3rd party). 500GB SSD, DVD-RW, 16GB RAM, Win10 Pro. I should have bought two as they're OOS now. Worth it not to dink around with her old one that flat out died.

P.S. Windows 10 "forced" upgrade could have easily been prevented.

[Gman]

WLAN driver issue? Some generations of WiFi NICs had problems with power saving features dropping the connections, so maybe changing the adapter power settings might help?

I have an Alienware laptop that's a year old and has problems with the WLAN after repeatedly going to sleep and waking up again. I resolved some of that by changing the power setting to disable the Windows 10 'fast startup' feature to get a clean start every time, but I still have issues. Similar issue were network icon shows no networking, but the preferred connections are available and I can manually reconnect. I will never again buy any device with a 'Killer' network device. Should have stuck with Intel.

You may be able to search for the specific models for the laptop and WLAN adapter and your symptoms. I wouldn't be surprised if others are having similar issues and maybe somebody figured it out.

No Windows 7 support after 1-14-2020, so consider that in how you approach a resolution.

[BushMasterBoy]

I had this problem with a Toshiba computer that belonged to a friend. I called Toshiba support and they sent me a link to a download. I burned the download to a disc. Then reloaded the computer from the disc.It was the original OS "Windows 7". Worked fine after that. I advised the friend to NOT "free upgrade " the operating system.
A problem was encountered with the first link they sent me, as it was the wrong software. Finally they figured out the mistake and sent me the correct link. The support team I talked on the phone to, was definitely overseas somewhere in Asia.
The link software took overnight to download, I went to sleep and it was still downloading in the morning. I advised friend from now on try to stick with Dell products. The Dell products usually will let you install a Dell "restore disc" provided the Dell computer was originally loaded with that version of Windows.

I hope this helps some.

[CS1983]

It’s a driver issue. Had the same issue and rolled back driver.

[Martinjmpr]

It’s a driver issue. Had the same issue and rolled back driver.

Driver for the Wireless I presume? How do I roll back the driver?

[Circuits]

Driver for the Wireless I presume? How do I roll back the driver?
Go find an older driver version to install.

Use the device manager to uninstall and remove the existing driver.

Install the new driver.

Cortana/search will get you to the device manager from the start menu.

[Gman]

Driver for the Wireless I presume? How do I roll back the driver?
If you open Device Manager (Right click the Windows logo in the left corner and select Device Manager), Expand the Network Adapters, find your WLAN NIC, right click on it and select Properties, go to the Driver tab, and there's a button there for Roll Back Driver.

Something like this;
78724

ETA: Are these screen grabs ginormous for everyone? If so, I think it's due to my 4K display. I may have to downscale before posting.

[Martinjmpr]

Thanks for all the ideas. I'll try to roll back the driver tonight and see if that fixes the problem. I will definitely replace the router soon, but want to try and fix this first.

[Martinjmpr]

So it actually didn't give me the option to roll back the driver (that box was grayed out.) It did give me the option to choose another driver so I tried choosing the Microsoft driver. Restarting now.

[Gman]

<Waiting to see if he's ever able to get back in again> [Pop]..

[ChickNorris]

Tap tap tap. . .

[SideShow Bob]

To the OP’er, if that doesn’t work, take the foil off all of your walls, floors & ceilings. You are only supposed to line your hats.......

[Martinjmpr]

Update 01/21/20: After continuing complaints from the wife about poor connectivity to her computer, I went to Comcast and got a new wireless router.

All problems solved including random connect/disconnect issues and wireless printer issues. They also upgraded us from 75MPBS to 100MBPS for $4 less a month than what we had.

Currently "renting" a wireless router but if I can bring it back before my next billing cycle they won't charge me for it. So who can recommend a good wireless router for Comcast/Xfinity? And where's the best place to buy? Best Buy or Micro Center?

[battlemidget]

The rectangle tower cable modem is a very good router and a very good wifi access point. I have my own a modem, a motorola/arris surfboard all in one wifi router. It's going on 5 years old and still ticking.

[crays]

Anyone experience a similar issue to this with a Samsung phone? I have an S8 that does the same thing. All other devices in the house - no problem. Phone - shows full wifi signal, and that it is connected but no wifi access

[Gman]

What are your requirements? How many devices connect wired vs. wireless? What kind of speeds do you need between devices?

If most of your devices are wireless, there are many newer mesh solutions that have really good performance over a wide area. I set my folks up with a Linksys Velop solution that is working fantastically in a ranch floorplan where the cable modem is at the far side of the living areas. My home has my cable modem located centrally in a home office in the basement. I have 2 NAS systems and I use gigabit wired connectivity to my desktops. I also have a bunch of wireless devices and bought my router before the mesh systems were available. I went big with Linksys EA9500 Max-Stream™ AC5400 MU-MIMO Gigabit WiFi Router - a tri-band router that has 2 separate 5 GHz and 1 2.4 GHz network + 8 Gigabit wired ports.

[brutal]

Anyone experience a similar issue to this with a Samsung phone? I have an S8 that does the same thing. All other devices in the house - no problem. Phone - shows full wifi signal, and that it is connected but no wifi access

The first (replacement) S8 I got had this issue. It was a FU phone.

1st S8 - black screen within 30 days.
2nd S8 - no internet (some wifi security bug in the hardware) would connect to the WiFi but could not get to the internet.
3rd S8 - 2 years now, so far so good.

Fortunately, the first 2 were so new that they replaced without too much trouble and for no charge (as one would expect).

[crays]

The first (replacement) S8 I got had this issue. It was a FU phone.

1st S8 - black screen within 30 days.
2nd S8 - no internet (some wifi security bug in the hardware) would connect to the WiFi but could not get to the internet.
3rd S8 - 2 years now, so far so good.

Fortunately, the first 2 were so new that they replaced without too much trouble and for no charge (as one would expect).

Mine is about 1.5 yrs old. Guess I'll tough it out for a while longer. Intermittently does what your 2nd one did, but only at home that I have noticed. Perhaps that's because the other 2 networks I use with any frequency are both 2.4G and home is 5G.

And thanks for the quick input.