WiFi issues/troubleshooting

Hey everyone!
So, I’m running into an issue on my PC—just to be clear, it’s only happening on this specific machine

Basically, my Wi-Fi keeps cutting in and out all by itself. There are even times when I boot up the computer and the Wi-Fi doesn't even turn on at all, forcing me to go through the whole restart process just to get back online.
Most of the time, the status just says "Not connected, secured."

I've already tried resetting the IP, updating the card drivers, and I even went into the settings to make sure Windows isn't turning off the card to save power, but nothing seems to have worked.

We don't know anything about the hardware here—what kind of Wi-Fi adapter are you rocking? What kind of router are we talking about? And how much distance is there between them? Are there several walls in the way? Also, is there a bunch of other stuff sucking up bandwidth near the router, like a Smart TV or something?
What OS are you running on your Windows 10 PC? ...And why are you even messing with the IP settings? It should work perfectly fine on DHCP/automatic.
Why would you turn "power save" on instead of just disabling it for the Wi-Fi adapter? It’s not like you’re trying to keep a laptop battery from draining overnight or anything.

wearymason4 said:You haven't mentioned what kind of Wi-Fi adapter you're using, what router it's connecting to, how far away it is, or if there are walls in the way. Plus, are there other devices nearby using the Wi-Fi, like a Smart TV?
What OS are you running on your Windows 10 PC? ...and why are you even messing with the IP settings when everything should just work on automatic?
Why on earth would you turn it on instead of disabling "power save" for the Wi-Fi adapter? It’s not like it's a laptop where you're worried about draining the battery overnight.

Router: Ubee EVW32C
Wi-Fi card: TP-Link TL-WN881ND PCI Express
There aren't any walls; everything is basically sitting right next to it.
My Smart TV, PlayStation 4, laptop, and a few phones all work perfectly fine without a single hiccup. Nothing changes even when I unplug them from the router.
The computer is running Windows 10.
And I already turned that power saving feature off because, again, this isn't a laptop.

If everything is within a few feet, you really should have been running a wired connection for your Smart TV, PC, PlayStation, or even a laptop. It’s just way better because they won't interfere with each other, and you won't be fighting against all those other WiFi devices in the house.
Maybe the router just isn't picking up the signal from your WiFi adapter in your PC, especially if that thing is tucked away under a desk, sandwiched between a wall and the PC case. 😢

wearymason4 said:If everything is within a meter of each other, you really should have just wired up your Smart TV, PC, PlayStation, or maybe even a laptop; it would be way better because they wouldn't interfere with one another, and they certainly wouldn't be getting in the way of your other WiFi devices.
The thing is, your router might not even be able to "hear" the WiFi adapter in your PC if that PC is tucked away under a desk, sandwiched between a wall and the computer case itself.😢

But look, the real headache is that the computer actually recognizes the network and successfully connects to it, so for a little while, everything looks fine—but then after a bit, the connection stays active but the actual internet access just drops out, and then it eventually comes back, and it just keeps looping like that forever.

It’s like the Wi-Fi thinks everyone is sharing one single thin wire, so if one person starts hogging the bandwidth, everyone else just sits there waiting in line. It’s especially brutal for whoever has a weak connection or is struggling to hear the router over all the other loud signals in the house.
To figure out if the problem is actually your router or just your PC and its wireless adapter, try plugging directly into it with a LAN cable and see if the drops still happen.
If you're still getting kicked offline even when wired up, then yeah, something is definitely funky with the router itself.

connected, no Internet
usually means you're talking to the router just fine, but it can't actually figure out any "names" on the web... basically a DNS issue

open up the command prompt on your PC and type

firstly
ipconfig/all
to see what's going on with your connections

then
ping -t

is just your router's address, like 192.168.1.1

if that stays steady, then your Wi-Fi connection to the router is solid

next
ping -t 212.39.98.161

this pings a direct IP address so we aren't testing "names" yet
if you get a continuous list of "reply from xy ms"
then the connection itself is working

only after that do you try testing actual "names" (best to open a second cmd window while the first one keeps running)
ping -t www.nytimes.com

see if that works...

honestly, those built-in Windows troubleshooting tools are pretty useless
just "we are troubleshooting your problem" and then nothing happens

If this were a constant issue, it’d be a massive headache, but since it just cuts out randomly right when things get going, it feels different.
Besides, I’ve got my TCP/IP settings set to automatic on my end, and I haven't run into a single connection hiccup.

Dennis Patel7 said:I tried resetting the IP, updating the drivers, and even went into the settings to make sure Windows wasn't turning off the network card to save power, but honestly, nothing seemed to do the trick.

If you're dealing with a shaky Wi-Fi connection, I actually found that just swapping out the USB Wi-Fi adapter solved everything for me. My old one used to drop the signal constantly, forcing me to manually toggle it on and off just to get back online, which was such a headache. Once I picked up a different one, it started working perfectly.

I even ordered a few extra ones from China for about $3.25/each—the kind with the external antennas—and they have been performing incredibly well.

You can actually cut down on all that WiFi interference if you move some devices over to a wired connection. Another trick is to force some stuff onto the 5GHz band, which leaves the 2.4GHz lane open for your Windows 10 PC since that old PCI WiFi card is stuck on that frequency.
Regarding the cabling—if you've got a thick Ethernet cable lying around, you could technically just use a standard phone line instead. If you crimp some RJ45 connectors onto it, it’ll handle up to 100Mbps without breaking a sweat for distances up to 20m, just like these two:

They sell them by the foot in different colors, just make sure whatever you pick has four wires inside.

Get your PC, Smart TV, and laptop off the Wi-Fi. Seriously, stop relying on Wi-Fi for this.

It’s still a bit fuzzy whether it's just your PC dropping the connection. If it's strictly that one machine, you're probably looking at a bad network card. But if everything else is cutting out too? Then we're talking router or access point settings. It could be something like running out of IP addresses on your DHCP pool, so your PC is basically fighting everyone else for a spot at the table.

Why on earth would anyone bother connecting a PC wirelessly to a router that is sitting literally one meter away from it?

Nicholas King said:Why on earth would anyone bother connecting a PC wirelessly to a router that’s sitting just a meter away?

But that’s exactly the point! Think about it—your PC, your Smart TV, even your laptop or a PlayStation... they’re basically stationary. WiFi is meant for mobile gear that’s constantly moving or, you know, stuck in some super awkward spot where cables won't reach. Plus, there's the whole technical headache: WiFi works like a "shared bus." Everyone's fighting over the same limited bandwidth, bumping into each other with that round-robin style (time division multiplexing), which just tanks your performance and leads to those annoying timeouts. Meanwhile, if you stick with UTP, everyone gets their own dedicated 100 or 1000mbps lane. No fighting, just speed.

Some people seem to think Wi-Fi is actually a decent substitute for a hardwired LAN connection, or maybe they just can't stand the sight of a cable running across the floor 😢
I’m pretty sure the Wi-Fi issues on a desktop stem from the fact that those wireless adapters are basically boxed in, which messes with the signal compared to other devices. I suggested switching over to an Ethernet cable to see if that fixes things... but nobody seems interested in taking my advice

Most likely, yeah, though the Wi-Fi card in the PC probably has an external antenna anyway.

Look, after 35+ years messing around with networks, I’ve become incredibly old-school about this stuff. Honestly? I’d much rather spend a solid month running cables the right way and enjoy total peace of mind for the next twenty years than deal with constant headaches because something isn't stable. Just do the math: take one user with five devices, multiply that by a hundred, and you'll see why it matters. You need Cat5e, conduit, proper grounding, surge protection, lightning protection—the whole nine yards.

But hey, sales teams love cheap fixes. It’s the kind of nonsense that makes a technician want to just quit and walk out on the job.

Instead, sales basically sells people thin air with 4G/5G. And they're just creating massive problems down the road.

Jack Cook7 said:Just disconnect the PC, the Smart TV, and any laptops running on Wi-Fi; honestly, the Wi-Fi isn't doing you any favors here.

I’m still not entirely sure if it’s just the PC dropping the connection. If it's strictly an isolated issue with the PC, then we're likely looking at a faulty network card. However, if everything else is losing connection too, then the culprit is definitely in your router or WAP settings—maybe something like having too few IP addresses assigned via DHCP, which causes a conflict with the PC.

If it’s only the PC acting up, then all my other devices are working perfectly fine.

Nicholas King said:Why on earth would anyone bother connecting a PC wirelessly to a router that’s sitting just a single meter away?

Because my PC actually took a direct hit from lightning, so the onboard networking on the motherboard is totally fried; I'm running everything through a PCI card instead, which worked perfectly fine for a little while before all these issues started cropping up.

wearymason4 said:I see some users out there acting like Wi-Fi is some kind of magic bullet that can actually replace a hardwired LAN connection, or they just flat-out refuse to deal with the sight of a single cable running across their floor. 😢
I’m convinced the WiFi on the PC is the primary culprit here because those wireless adapters have antennas that are basically boxed in from every angle, which naturally leads to much weaker signal strength compared to other standalone WiFi devices. I actually suggested they try plugging the PC directly into the router with a LAN cable to see if that stabilizes things... but honestly, it looks like nobody is taking that advice.

The real problem is that I just can't do it. Like I mentioned in my previous reply, the thing had a direct encounter with a lightning strike.
I'm going to swap in a new card that supports both connection methods.

Jack Cook7 said:That’s probably true, though most Wi-Fi cards in a PC usually come with an external antenna.

Look, after more than 35 years working in networking, I’ve become incredibly conservative about how things are done. I’d much rather spend a full month doing the job right—running cables properly so I can have total peace of mind for the next twenty years—than deal with constant headaches because something isn't up to code. If you take one user with five different devices and multiply that by a hundred, the math becomes pretty obvious. You need Cat5e cable, proper conduit, grounding, surge protection, and lightning protection.

The problem is that sales teams always push for the cheapest possible fix. It gets to a point where the tech guys can do nothing but quit and walk away.

It's why sales ends up basically selling thin air with 4G and 5G; they're just creating even bigger problems down the road.

I agree with you that running a cable is the better way to go, but I’m not sure if it's actually smart to run internet cables through the same conduits used for electrical wiring??

Being a few feet away won't be an issue.
The lightning strike probably hit the device through the electrical or phone lines if they're run above ground.
For a desktop, you could've just grabbed a LAN card—way cheaper than any WiFi PCI card out there.
I’d honestly never touch a PCI WiFi card. If you grab a USB WiFi adapter with a long cable, you can actually mount the adapter higher up to get better range, plus you don't deal with those signal losses you get with coaxial cables.