all throughout the day i have to disconnect from my wifi and reconnect to get any thing to load on my browser, will work fine and then all of a sudden no pages will load, yet it says my internet connection is perfectly fine. im getting tired of having to disconnect and reconnect all day. in the last hour ive had to do it 6+ times. i have a dell inspiron with windows 8.1 havent updated or downloaded anything new since it has started. and i use avast free as my virus protector. any insight on why its happening or how to fix it would be greatly appreciated !
📎 AI Summary:
The thread addresses a user experiencing frequent Wi-Fi disconnections on their Windows 8.1 laptop, despite having a stable internet connection message. Several suggestions are provided, including updating router firmware and Wi-Fi drivers, checking for interference, power cycling devices, and potentially resetting the router. The user clarifies that other devices work fine, but the problem persists only on their laptop, and they inquire about updating firmware and drivers, with some guidance offered; overall, the forums aim to troubleshoot and resolve connection stability issues.
The thread addresses a user experiencing frequent Wi-Fi disconnections on their Windows 8.1 laptop, despite having a stable internet connection message. Several suggestions are provided, including updating router firmware and Wi-Fi drivers, checking for interference, power cycling devices, and potentially resetting the router. The user clarifies that other devices work fine, but the problem persists only on their laptop, and they inquire about updating firmware and drivers, with some guidance offered; overall, the forums aim to troubleshoot and resolve connection stability issues.
Solution
Katelyn,
Could be a few things but, issue is likely routed in the router.
1. Check for firmware updates for the router
2. Check for driver updates for the Wi-Fi adapter
3. Possibly is caused by interference. By default is likely on Auto detect channel. May do better selecting a specific channel... Try 4, 6 or 11
4. If this behavior just started contact the IP to see if they are having any issues in your area.
5. Also, have them check things on their end. May need to reprovision the modem.
6. (sorry, this should have been #1) Power cycle both the modem & the router if to separate units; Let the modem lock then, power back the router; if all one, just Power Cycle it.
Cheers,
Drew
Could be a few things but, issue is likely routed in the router.
1. Check for firmware updates for the router
2. Check for driver updates for the Wi-Fi adapter
3. Possibly is caused by interference. By default is likely on Auto detect channel. May do better selecting a specific channel... Try 4, 6 or 11
4. If this behavior just started contact the IP to see if they are having any issues in your area.
5. Also, have them check things on their end. May need to reprovision the modem.
6. (sorry, this should have been #1) Power cycle both the modem & the router if to separate units; Let the modem lock then, power back the router; if all one, just Power Cycle it.
Cheers,
Drew
Drew
Banned
Katelyn,
Could be a few things but, issue is likely routed in the router.
1. Check for firmware updates for the router
2. Check for driver updates for the Wi-Fi adapter
3. Possibly is caused by interference. By default is likely on Auto detect channel. May do better selecting a specific channel... Try 4, 6 or 11
4. If this behavior just started contact the IP to see if they are having any issues in your area.
5. Also, have them check things on their end. May need to reprovision the modem.
6. (sorry, this should have been #1) Power cycle both the modem & the router if to separate units; Let the modem lock then, power back the router; if all one, just Power Cycle it.
Cheers,
Drew
Could be a few things but, issue is likely routed in the router.
1. Check for firmware updates for the router
2. Check for driver updates for the Wi-Fi adapter
3. Possibly is caused by interference. By default is likely on Auto detect channel. May do better selecting a specific channel... Try 4, 6 or 11
4. If this behavior just started contact the IP to see if they are having any issues in your area.
5. Also, have them check things on their end. May need to reprovision the modem.
6. (sorry, this should have been #1) Power cycle both the modem & the router if to separate units; Let the modem lock then, power back the router; if all one, just Power Cycle it.
Cheers,
Drew
Last edited by a moderator:
kemical
Essential Member
Hi Katelynn,
If the issue continues after trying Drew's great suggestions then give some of these ideas a go..
Avast is known to cause issues from time to time. Try removing avast and re-enabling Windows 8.1 Defender. Just to check you haven't picked up any malware try downloading and running this app:
https://www.malwarebytes.org/
It works perfectly alongside Defender so don't worry about conflicts.
If you type into search 'command prompt' then right click on it and run as admin. Type or copy and paste this command:
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
Press enter and await results. Be patient as this can sometimes take a while. You'll eventually see a progress bar appear in the command prompt box.
If the issue continues after trying Drew's great suggestions then give some of these ideas a go..
Avast is known to cause issues from time to time. Try removing avast and re-enabling Windows 8.1 Defender. Just to check you haven't picked up any malware try downloading and running this app:
https://www.malwarebytes.org/
It works perfectly alongside Defender so don't worry about conflicts.
If you type into search 'command prompt' then right click on it and run as admin. Type or copy and paste this command:
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
Press enter and await results. Be patient as this can sometimes take a while. You'll eventually see a progress bar appear in the command prompt box.
Your w fi adapter is probably only connecting to your router, which falsely shows you are connected to the internet.
You may need a better wireless driver. The one loaded in the installation, by MS, is often unsuitable in the case of Dell computers.
Go to this page
Link Removed
Yoy can let Dell autodetect, or enter your service tag (That should be on a lable somewhere on the body)
Otherwise select the option to "View Products", and select laptops and your exact model. You must then check for a 64 bit or 32 bit, and then operating system. If Windows 8 does not show, choose Windows 7.You will have a list of drivers to choose from. You dont state your model, bso there you will have to decide which wireless driver you need.
You may need a better wireless driver. The one loaded in the installation, by MS, is often unsuitable in the case of Dell computers.
Go to this page
Link Removed
Yoy can let Dell autodetect, or enter your service tag (That should be on a lable somewhere on the body)
Otherwise select the option to "View Products", and select laptops and your exact model. You must then check for a 64 bit or 32 bit, and then operating system. If Windows 8 does not show, choose Windows 7.You will have a list of drivers to choose from. You dont state your model, bso there you will have to decide which wireless driver you need.
Jimbo22
Essential Member
The first thing I'd do is start with the router, first, reboot the router....by unplugging router for 5 minutes and then plug it back in and let it boot up. Check and see if problem persists. If it does then a factory reset may be needed. To do this, find the hole on the back of the router, take a paper clip...straightened out, insert paper clip into hole and press and hold the reset button inside until the router reboots.
After this is done...you'll need to re-enable any security setting you made in the initial setup of the router.
After this is done...you'll need to re-enable any security setting you made in the initial setup of the router.
badrobot
Senior Member
If after doing all of the above and still does not work you may need to reset how your computer communicate with the router. Delete the connection setup and then set it up again to refresh it. Sometimes, a simple disable-enable nerwork adapter also does the trick.
and i have no idea what power cycle even means
Last edited by a moderator:
I doubt you will easily find router updates, but see my post for the wifi ADAPTER.
badrobot
Senior Member
It's either you put it back to factory settings and make it work or get stuck with a router that doesn't work right. No guarantee but you have got to do something. Nobody here knows the exact problem but we sure had problems with routers and just sharing with you what worked for us.
Power cycle = pull the plug and plug it back again. Plug in the modem first, then the router when power cycling is done.
As badrobot says. Your responses are a little cryptic.
Was there a message when you tried to install the driver? Dell drivers usually pop up and say "wrong driver" or something.
