Random Wi-Fi Disconnects Now Permanent

[#1]

Hi all,

Hopefully someone can help with some advice.

Since last week the Wi-Fi connection has randomly dropped and would come back after a few minutes. However it has dropped off and will not reconnect.

If I go to connect to the router it tries then states 'unable to connect to this network' with no reason given. If I try again it will sometimes give the option to connect using the network password but then states it is incorrect, when I know for sure it is.

Funnily, we have an extender and the laptop connects there (which uses the same password). All other devices in the house are connected through the router without any problems.

I have tried resetting the router, resetting the network adaptors and forgetting the router and trying afresh but still no joy.

I've been using this laptop for about 15 months with no issues.

Any help would be really appreciated.

Thanks, Terry

[#2]

Sounds like an issue with that machines Wi-Fi card. Which make/model?

[#3]

Hello John

Thanks for your quick reply.

It's a Hewlett Packard HP 17.3 inch Laptop PC 17-c0000 (2W0J5AV)

Out of curiosity John, If it was the Wi-Fi card would that not have stopped connecting through the extender?

Thanks again.

Terry

[#4]

@Ennyoueffsea  I admit that it still connecting through the extender raises a  question-mark, but I'm not a hardware exoert - maybe @Townman or @MisterW may have a better idea.

Now we know your laptop model, I'll have a slightly deeper look once I've had my dinner/evening meal, if neither of those two beat me to it.

[#5]

Thanks John, It really is appreciated.

Terry

[#6]

@Ennyoueffsea 

I see you've raised this issue with HP directly

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Wireless-and-Networking/Random-Wi-Fi-Disconnects-Now-Permanen... 

Have you tried any of the suggestions? 

[#7]

Hi Dan

So far I've done points 2, 3 & 4.

Have tried logging into the router but to be honest I'm not sure how to check the channels, look for a firmware update or turn off the 5GHz band.

With points 5 & 6 am always nervous at the thought of a command window and IP addresses in case I break other peoples connection to the router.

I've also had problems connecting over the past hour and have eventually connected to my personal hotspot on the mobile to get back on here.

When trying to connect to the extender it's stating PLUSNET-JM8H_EXT No Internet, Secured and with a Disconnect button. When checking connection help it states No DHCP server was found. The network connection quality might be low. I then restart the Wi-Fi network adaptor and it states Can't reach the default gateway.

When trying to log into the router now I'm getting the attached message.

Thanks for your help too.

Terry

[#8]

Hi,

Can you please advise the model of your Hub, https://www.plus.net/help/broadband/router-user-guides/ will help identification

The commands for the command window should only be for the laptop so no other user would suffer.

From what I can see this laptop only supports a wireless connection, pity as wired would be the best way to connect to the Hub for testing.

ipconfig /all shows the laptop current IP Address number and allocation method, this important lines are

Pv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.???		<--- this is laptop IP
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
   Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : 18 November 2024 18:00:11
   Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : 20 November 2024 07:33:29
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.254		<--- this is the Hub IP
   DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.254
   
   DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.254

What is the current state of your network, everything but this HP Laptop working? Connecting to either the Hub or via the wireless extension.

It is possible to list all available wireless networks from a command window using netsh wlan show network 

Do you see the Hubs network name listed? It could be a long list as it shows all seen by the laptop.

[#9]

Hi Dan

Thanks again for your reply.

It is the Plusnet Hub One I have.

Thanks for the advice regarding the command window.

After the problems yesterday of not being able to log in at all on router and extender, I signed in today to the router without an issue but found unable to sign in to the extender. Still kept showing 'No Internet, Secured' and with a Disconnect button. 

I've followed the instructions provided by Raj on the HP forum though I did make an error in that I did all of the entries and then restarted, but when I read it back I should have restarted after each entry. (have attached screenshots).

After the restart I was able to connect to the router but not the extender but after unplugging and plugging back in the extender was then connecting.

Over the past couple of hours I've been disconnecting and reconnecting several times on both the router and the extender and the laptop has connected every time, so it looks like the commands have done the trick.

I will keep an eye on things for a couple of days and will keep you updated. I will also post back to Raj to keep him in the picture.

I'm really grateful for your help and advice, also to John for his initial input.

Terry

[#10]

@Ennyoueffseawhat make and model is the extender ?

[#11]

@MisterW

That is where I was thinking - is this a power over Ethernet (dLAN) WAP device, being incorrectly called an “extender”?

An “extender” retransmits the WiFi signal of the router, whereas a WAP is an independent WiFi device. We have seen issues with dLAN WAPs which have not been paired securely. The typical profile is suddenly they stop working … investigations then suggest a neighbour has installed similar unpaired kit … and it’s all cross connecting creating lots of confusion.

A good start point here might be to just turn off the “extender” until the device connects reliably to the router’s ssid.

[#12]

@Townman 

From the OP last post everything seems to be working for now.

Over the past couple of hours I've been disconnecting and reconnecting several times on both the router and the extender and the laptop has connected every time, 

Looking at 'No Internet, Secured.png' there looks to be a Sky router which is close by as the signal strength is very strong.

There could be issue here with the wireless spectrum being congested, the wireless extender maybe having difficulties connecting to the Hub One.

@Ennyoueffsea 

For the Hub One you can see which wireless channels are being used referring to this page

Home >Advanced Settings >Wireless

Selecting 2.4 or 5 GHz will reveal the channel being used 

Do you use Android or Apple based devices as it might be an idea to check for congestion, there are apps that can be used on these devices which show all wireless transmitters (routers and extenders) in your area and we can the adjust the settings to use a less used channel.

[#13]

Morning MisterW.

This is the device I'm currently connected to.

TL-WA850RE | 300Mbps Wi-Fi Range Extender | TP-Link United Kingdom

After last nights successes I've found this morning that the laptop is again not connecting to the router. Just stating 'Unable to connect to this network'.

Terry

[#14]

Hi Townman

I've just posted this link to MisterW. TL-WA850RE | 300Mbps Wi-Fi Range Extender | TP-Link United Kingdom

Having Issues again this morning as will not connect to router after being so encouraging yesterday.

Is it still worth turning it off as that initial starting point?

Thanks

Terry

[#15]

That is very helpful as it rules out dLAN bridging issues.

I think that there is good merit in installing on a PC inSIDDer - a WiFi spectrum analyser. Many believe that any of the U.K. 13 2.4GHz channels are good to use, but ideally they are not.

There is a +/- 3 channel spread which causes interference with other devices on those channels. Therefore best practice uses only channels 1, 6 and 11. Co-resident use is more productive than using overlapping channels.

Leaving a router in auto channel select mode can also be unhelpful in that the channel can change dynamically… requiring the attached devices to search for the new channel during which they lose connectivity.

After installing a WiFi analyser and determining which of the above channels is used the least, set the router to that channel, switch off the extender and set about establishing a stable connection between the HP laptop and the router.

Whilst doing this, there might be benefit in switching off the 5GHz band. In your set up there are a range of variables, any of which could give rise to your scenario…

Congested WiFI channels - leading to frequent channel hopping, 2.4GHz vs 5GHz, SSID choice (router or extender).

Note, if the router has to channel hop … so does the extender. That gives rise to a (lack of understanding) question of if in a congested WiFi spectrum … could an extender device chasing its host router’s channel change … breach a threshold … leading to the router changing channels again?