Quite often, on various computer forums on the Internet, laptop users can find complaints that the laptop began to catch Wifi badly. This problem is very common, but it’s impossible to say exactly what exactly is the reason for the decrease in signal quality. Nevertheless, there are several typical situations that can be fixed with tools available to any user, using both Windows tools and third-party software (unless we are talking about physical breakdowns or deterioration of routers).
Why does Wifi catch badly on a laptop?
As for the reasons for reducing the quality of the wireless signal, there can be a lot of them. Some of them may be related to the technical side of the issue of equipment operability, while others relate to the software part for establishing a connection based on wireless distribution. If you group them all into one list, usually there are several basic situations:
- incorrect location of the router;
- problems with the service provider;
- network congestion with simultaneous downloads;
- Incorrect network settings
- Outdated network adapter drivers or hardware mismatch
- enabled power saving mode for the network adapter;
- lack of important updates in the operating system;
- Incorrect router settings.
We do not consider viruses in this case, although they are also capable of harming the system. And any user, so to speak, should have a personal priority in the safety of their own computer system. Problems related to malfunctions in laptops or routers themselves, related to physical breakdowns, are also not taken into account.
Problems on the part of the provider and lack of access to the Internet
To get started, let's look at why a laptop doesn’t catch Wi-Fi at home or in a small office. It goes without saying that the problem may lie precisely in the service of the provider, which is currently conducting some kind of technical or service work on the line. It is possible that the installed equipment partially does not work. In this case, it is enough just to clarify the information with a specialist of the corresponding service.
Sometimes you may encounter problems associated with the lack of access only to strictly defined resources.
Here it is worth checking whether the site is blocked, for example, at the state level, or if it is not included in the list of prohibitions in the host file. Sometimes, to fix problems, it may be necessary to temporarily disable the antivirus and firewall. If everything is in order with access, you need to change the lock settings or even change the antivirus software.
Another problem is the incorrect location of the router. In the apartment, it should be placed in such a place that it is in the central room (it is advisable to put it higher), and so that there are no enclosing structures and walls, as well as foreign devices that can give increased radiation, clogging the signal (microwave ovens and others) similar electrical appliances).
Download connection overload
Another typical situation in which a laptop doesn’t catch the Wi-Fi signal may be due to the fact that at a certain moment too many simultaneous downloads are turned on, which is often associated with the use of downloads using torrents with the highest priority for download speeds .
In this situation, you just need to disable all downloads and exit the bootloader. If necessary, it’s better to put the downloads at night when no one uses a wireless connection, but keep in mind that the distributed torrents also significantly reduce signal reception, loading the entire network.
Checking adapter driver status and network settings
No less often, the equipment on the laptop catches Wai-Fi badly due to the fact that some network adapter drivers do not work correctly, do not match it, or are outdated. Here the best solution would be to visit the site of the laptop manufacturer. There, as a rule, the latest and most up-to-date versions of control software are always uploaded, which you need to download and install yourself. On some resources you can find special systems for online testing of hardware with automatic installation of the necessary drivers. But when choosing a driver manually, you should be very careful. So, in the case when an HP laptop doesn’t catch Wifi, many users find several types of drivers on the official resource, some of which may not be suitable for the adapter.
To find the most suitable software for a start, use the definition of hardware identifiers in the “Device Manager”, search the site of the manufacturer of the laptop or adapter for the longest line containing VEN and DEV values, and only then download the most suitable driver.
Power Settings
Very often, the problem that “Wi-Fi” does not catch well on a laptop may concern the activated power-saving mode, which leads to the adapter being disconnected while working on battery power.
To correct the situation, in the same "Device Manager" go to the properties of the wireless adapter and on the power management tab, uncheck the box to enable disconnection.
A laptop with Windows 10 doesn’t catch Wi-Fi: system updates
Speaking about the software part, it is worth mentioning the installation of mandatory critical updates for the operating system itself. Such a problem was noticed by almost all OSs starting from the seventh version and higher. First of all, check whether the "Update Center" itself is turned on using the standard section of parameters, and also perform a manual search for available updates with automatic subsequent installation. This is usually not the case with device drivers , but the health of the OS itself is exactly that.
Note: if the "Update Center" does not work on its own, go to the services section (services.msc) and enable it there. At the same time, check if the Windows Installer and Module Installer services are activated. If necessary, start the services and set the automatic start type for them from the drop-down list present in the settings.
Checking the number of connected devices
Just in case, if your laptop doesn’t catch Wi-Fi, look at how many devices are currently using a wireless connection (including both computers and mobile devices).
Performing such actions in a Windows environment is unrealistic, so the best option would be to use the small utility Who Is On My Wi-Fi. In case of detection of foreign devices, set a limit on the maximum number of simultaneously connected devices on the router, and also protect your own connection by setting a password on the router.
Setting the channel and signal type on the router
In modern apartment buildings, a laptop may not catch Wi-Fi due to the fact that the range used for signal transmission is occupied by other routers, since almost everyone now has wireless connection. All distribution devices operate in almost the same range, which is why signal overlapping can occur. In this case, you will have to perform a channel rebuild.
First, identify an unoccupied channel using the Acrylic WiFi Home application, which will analyze all available channels and show free zones on the chart.
After that, enter the router’s web interface through any browser available on the system and set a certain free channel as the main one, then save the options and reboot the router with the laptop.
Note: the type of the transmitted signal can be left unchanged (by default it is set to mixed 11bgn with automatic channel width).
Setting advanced connection options
If your laptop doesn’t catch Wifi well after performing the above steps, try changing the settings in the IPv4 protocol settings a little. It’s better not to touch automatic IP obtaining here (even if you use a static address), but you can change the addresses of DNS servers by entering in the fields reserved for them free combinations, for example, from Google. Although this does not directly affect the distribution, nevertheless, by installing just such options, you can significantly increase the speed of the Internet.
Reset Network Settings
Finally, if no solution could solve the problem, in the extreme case, perform a complete reset of all network settings using the command console launched as administrator and a few simple commands below (without punctuation at the end):
- ipconfig / flushdns;
- ipconfig / registerdns;
- ipconfig / renew;
- ipconfig / release.
If this does not work, run two more commands as additional measures:
- netsh interface reset all;
- netsh winsock reset.
Additional equipment and actions
In some cases, you can take advantage of more expensive solutions that consist in installing at home not just one router, but two, purchase a special wireless signal amplifier (repeater), or even create your own VPN server on a laptop or desktop PC, and then to it more devices will be able to connect, and the terminal itself will work to distribute the signal. The first two solutions require financial costs, and creating a server is much simpler using your own operating system tools (it will take only a couple of minutes).
Afterword
Of course, not all possible problems and related situations were considered above. In most cases, it is not worthwhile to get involved in software methods for correcting them, but pay attention to the equipment used itself, its proper connection and location. If there is no visible effect, you will have to check both the connection itself and the parameters set for it.