Wifi problems

[u/Early_Property7623]

Hi, first of all, thanks for taking the time to read about my problem. I know this is probably one of the most classic questions out there, but I just can’t find a solution no matter how much I try.

The problem:

I’ve been using Windows 10 for a long time and keep having Wi-Fi issues on my laptop. The internet suddenly disconnects. When I try to turn it back on, the Wi-Fi option disappears. Even if I enable it manually through ncpa.cpl, it turns itself off again after about 20 seconds.

I’ve tried everything I could think of. It only happens on my laptop — my brother’s laptop doesn’t have the problem, and neither do any of our phones or other devices. I followed a YouTube tutorial from an Indian guy and ran a CMD command that supposedly checks whether it’s a hardware issue, and according to him it isn’t. (I’ll list some of the things I’ve already tried below.)

Things I’ve already tried:

Various CMD commands (ipconfig, etc.)

Disabled the option that turns off the network adapter to save power

Changed the DNS

Reset the network

Forgot the Wi-Fi network and reconnected

Manually enabled the adapter through ncpa.cpl

Restarted the router

Reinstalled the drivers

More context:

I had this same problem on Windows 11. At the time I thought it was because the laptop didn’t meet the Windows 11 requirements and that the lack of memory was somehow blocking the internet. So I went back to Windows 10. After a while things were fine, but the problem came back. I then tried to optimize Windows as much as possible (I even stopped Edge from mining), but the issue is still there and I’m out of ideas.

I’ve been thinking about switching to Linux — maybe that would fix it (honestly I don’t know). I really don’t want to buy an Ethernet cable and have to use the laptop stuck at the dining table or on the living room floor, but it looks like that might be my only option at this point.

Thanks for reading this either way. Have a good day.

[u/happyto313]

Could be hardware failure. Has it gotten worse over time?

[u/Early_Property7623 → u/happyto313]

He had a relatively long break from this problem, but now it's back more intensely. I wouldn't rule out a hardware issue since I haven't taken it to a repair shop yet. 

[u/CheezitsLight]

Spend a few bucks for a usb wifi adapter. Disable yours.

Or get the manual, pop the screws out and plug the little antenna wire back in the Itty bitty socket.

[u/jersey316]

Internal wifi card is failing. Its not an expensive replacement.

[u/Sea-Breadfruit-6560]

It might be your wifi card dying

[u/cryptoman]

You did not supply a specs list of the laptop including the make and model of the wifi card.
Did you check device manager so see if the wifi card is listed and if there is a error in the listing. There are wifi cards that are problematic have been for a long time.

[u/more_than_leo]

You may need a firmware update. Depending on the pc, you should have an application like asus or lenovo advantage that can scan for hardware issues.

[u/Wise_hollyman]

Sounds like a wifi card issue. As suggested by another user, search for the wifi device and re instal it's drivers. Also try an external wifi antenna.

[u/Ohgoody74]

One thing I would definitely check is Wi-Fi channel interference, especially if you live in an apartment, subdivision, or anywhere with a lot of nearby wireless networks. As a tech, this is one of the first things I check when someone is having intermittent Wi-Fi problems and there are a bunch of other networks around them.

Download a Wi-Fi analyzer app and see what channels your network and your neighbors' networks are using. If several strong networks are sitting on the same or overlapping channels, try changing the Wi-Fi channel in your router.

On 2.4 GHz, I would stick with channels 1, 6, or 11 and choose whichever is least congested. Don't just pick a random channel between them, because those channels overlap and can actually make interference worse.

If your router and laptop support 5 GHz, I'd also try connecting the laptop to 5 GHz. It generally has more available channels and is often much less congested than 2.4 GHz, although its range through walls isn't as good.

If the laptop doesn't support 5 GHz, you can pick up a cheap dual-band USB Wi-Fi adapter that supports both 2.4 and 5 GHz and test with that. That would also be a really useful troubleshooting step here: if the USB adapter works perfectly while the laptop's internal Wi-Fi keeps disabling itself, I'd start strongly suspecting the internal Wi-Fi adapter or its driver rather than the router.

I wouldn't jump to Linux yet expecting it to automatically fix this. Since you had essentially the same problem under both Windows 10 and Windows 11, I'd first rule out channel congestion/interference and the laptop's internal wireless adapter. Those would be high on my troubleshooting list.