Cart empty

WiFi Keeps Disconnecting? Here’s Why and 17 Ways to Fix It.

WiFi Keeps Disconnecting

WiFi connectivity problems are well-known among Windows OS users. Since there have been so many reported problems with WiFi, we have decided to go through the most common issues and offer solutions.

Despite the many improvements to wireless networking from Windows 8 to Windows 10, it seems that the problems still keep piling up with people seeking help on different tech forums.

Issues with WiFi should not be neglected as they can limit your access to the Internet when you need it the most. Among the most common of them are the following:

  • Disconnection after using Sleep Mode – The useful feature Sleep Mode is meant to save power but OS users are reporting that their WiFi connection just isn’t working when their devices wake up.
  • The err_internet_disconnected message – Problems with WiFi are often indicated by this error message. You will learn how to deal with it if you follow our solutions below.
  • Laptops get frequently disconnected from WiFi – Although this is mostly reported by mobile PC users, desktop users can also be affected.
  • WiFi loses connection from time to time – Random and frequent disconnects are just a variation of the same problem we have been discussing so far.
  • Windows 10 keeps losing WiFi connectivity – People using this particular Windows version are complaining that their WiFi keeps dropping. Although quite annoying, the issue is solvable and we will explain how.
  • Limited WiFi access – Occasionally, users complained about warnings about Limited WiFi access. It means that while you can connect to the WiFi network, you still don’t have Internet access.
  • WiFi users are unable to connect to a WiFi network – This one is just another overreported problem many people were trying to deal with. They were either unsuccessful at connecting to a network or weren’t able to detect it at all.
  • WiFi loses connectivity when the user connects other devices – If your WiFi network uses a number of different devices, this sometimes leads to problems.
  • WiFi loses connectivity when used with VPN – Although it helps a lot when online privacy is concerned, sometimes, VPN leads to problems with WiFi connectivity.

The following are our proposed solutions:

1. Reinstall the Wireless Adapter

This is one of the most obvious solutions to the problem. You can just reinstall the wireless adapter and let Windows automatically detect and install it when you restart the system. The steps to take here are as follows:

ACTION STEPS

  1. Press Windows key + X and click on Device Manager.
  2. When the Device Manager window opens, expand Network adapters and find your WiFi adapter.
  3. Right-click the adapter and choose “Uninstall device”.
  4. Reboot the system and open Device Manager the same way we already did it.
  5. Go to the Action tab and chose to “Scan for hardware changes”.
  6. Windows will scan the system and hopefully install a new driver for your device.
  7. Reboot the PC.

If that does not work for you, continue with the solutions outlined below.

2. Use the Network Troubleshooter

This built-in tool automatically troubleshoots and attempts to fix some common issues with your PC. Such tools are not meant to fix every existing problem but are sometimes fast and useful instruments that save effort and time.

ACTION STEPS

  1. Press the Windows logo key in the taskbar and type “Troubleshooting”.
  2. Click on “Troubleshooting” and then type in “Network Troubleshooter” in the search bar.
  3. Click on “Identify and repair network problems”. It will run diagnostics and notify you if there are problems:

network troubleshooter

3. Tweak the power options

Some Windows users have reported that the power options can also mess up with WiFi connectivity. To manage them, do the following:

ACTION STEPS

  1. Press Windows key + X and click on Device Manager.
  2. Expand Network adapters and find your WiFi adapter.
  3. Right-click and select Properties.
  4. Go to the “Power Management” tab and remove the check against “Allow computer to turn off this device to save power”.
  5. Confirm your change with “OK”.

You can also try another solution related to the power plan settings:

  1. Press Windows key + X and click on Power Options.
  2. Click on “Additional power settings”.
  3. When the Power Options window opens, click on “Change plan settings”.
  4. Click on “Change advanced plan settings”.
  5. Expand “Power Saving Mode” under “Wireless Adapter Settings”.
  6. Click on the dropdown menu under “On battery” and “Plugged in” and choose “Maximum performance”.

power options

4. Install the latest network card device drivers

In case Windows is unable to automatically find and install a device driver for you or the driver it installs does not work properly, your best bet is to acquire it from the website of the manufacturer.

You should know the exact model of your device and version of your Windows OS before proceeding.

5. Uninstall your Internet security applications

If you are losing WiFi connectivity often, the culprit may be your antivirus or other security software.

Such applications may cause a number of issues when interfering with Windows.

If you disable or even uninstall your software for a certain period of time, you may discover that this actually saves your problem.

Removing your Internet security application is the more certain of the two options.

The reason for it is that our security tools leave behind registry entries and configuration files that may affect your WiFi connectivity.

Although you can uninstall them the usual way by either using the built-in program uninstaller or through the Windows uninstaller, there are dedicated tools that do the job better.

One such industry-leading tool is IObit Uninstaller Free.

Some antivirus programs come with their own dedicated removal tools that also guarantee the complete removal of the program. Be sure to check them too.

After having completed the removal procedure, be sure to check other antivirus solutions too.

A number of people have reported that the security software of McAfee and Eset Security Software can cause WiFi connectivity-related problems so have it in mind if you plan to test other Internet security applications.

6. Turn off Roaming Sensitivity

Some Windows users claim that they lose their WiFi connection due to a feature called Roaming Sensitivity. Because of it, WiFi devices attempt to connect to other networks with better signal.

The obvious way to deal with this problem is to disable the feature. This can be done in the following way:

ACTION STEPS

  1. Press together Winkey + S and type in “control panel” in the search field.
  2. Click on “Control Panel” to open it.
  3. Navigate to “Network and Internet” => “Network and Sharing Center” => ”Change adapter settings”.
  4. The Network Connection window will open, displaying the available network connections. Right-click your active network connection and choose Properties.
  5. From the Networking tab, click on Configure and navigate to the Advanced tab.

ethernet properties

  1. Find Roaming Sensitivity and set its value to Disabled.
  2. Apply the changes and your computer will not try to switch to other WiFi networks in the future.

7. Turn off 802.11n Mode

If you have an old router, it may not support 802.11n Mode – a new wireless standard offering an increase in transfer speed and range.

Thus, your WiFi may frequently disconnect when the mode is active on your WiFi adapter. You may experience a number of problems if your router doesn’t support the standard.

Disabling this mode is again the most obvious way to remove the problem. Follow the steps below to do it:

ACTION STEPS

  1. Right-click on your Internet icon on the right side of your taskbar and choose “Open Network an Internet settings”.
  2. Click on “Change adapter options” and the Network Connections window will open.
  3. Right-click your active connection and choose Properties.
  4. Click configure and go to the Advanced tab.
  5. Find “802.11n Mode” from the menu and disable it.
  6. Preserve the changes with OK and close the windows.

By having disabled this feature, you forced your WiFi adapter to use an older standard. This, in turn, should resolve your issue.

Some people will recommend that you disable two other features as well – IEEE 802.1X Authentication and U-APSDsupport.

8. Switch your router’s channel

Changing your router’s channel can be just the solution you need in case your WiFi disconnects frequently.

Expect interference whenever several routers are operating on a single channel. In such a case, the WiFi adapter may attempt to connect to third-party networks operating on the same channel.

The proposed way to fix this problem is to edit the configuration page on your router, switch to the WiFi section and change the number of the channel.

For more detailed instructions on how to proceed, you can read from the manual of your router.

9. Remove Intel Pro Wireless

Certain programs, as we have already learned, can cause problems with our WiFi connectivity. If you often lose your WiFi connection, you may be able to solve the problem through removing Intel Pro Wireless for Bluetooth Technology.

Follow the steps outlined below to complete the procedure:

ACTION STEPS

  1. Press the Windows key + I to open Settings.
  2. Click on Apps and search for “Intel Pro Wireless for Bluetooth Technology”.
  3. Choose to uninstall it and follow the on-screen instructions.

10. Try Google DNS

As some users have reported, WiFi problems can result from using DNS also. According to them, the issue was resolved after trying Google DNS. Switching to Google DNS can be done with the following steps:

ACTION STEPS

  1. Right-click on your Internet icon on the right side of your taskbar and choose “Open Network an Internet settings”.
  2. Click on “Change adapter options”.
  3. Find the active connection, right-click on it and choose Properties.
  4. Click on Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and then on Properties again.
  5. Click on “Use the following DNS server addresses”. Set the values for Preferred DNS server and Alternate DNS server as you see in the screenshot:

IP settings

  1. Confirm with OK when done.

This should fix your DNS-related WiFi problems.

11. Prevent your computer from accessing third party networks

Some users have reported a problem with their computers trying to connect to other WiFi networks. Their PCs were simply disconnecting from their networks and attempting to switch to others.

This reportedly happens due to the other network interference.

Preventing your PC from doing that can be done with these steps:

ACTION STEPS

  1. Start Command Prompt (Admin) by pressing together Winkey + X and click on the link.
  2. Copy the following command to your clipboard (netsh wlan add filter permission=block ssid=”Name of the WiFi network” networktype=infrastructure) and paste it in the Command Prompt window by right-clicking with the mouse (don’t bother typing it). Remember to replace the text in the quotes with the name of the network”.
  3. Confirm with the Enter key. This will stop the service. If you need to, repeat the procedure for the rest of the networks in your vicinity.

Blocking all other networks should resolve your problem. This solution is very helpful if you don’t move your around computer often. Otherwise, you will need to repeat the steps for each new network you discover.

12. Stop the Thinkvantage Access Connections app

According to some users, this particular app often interferes with Windows, leading to all sorts of problems.

If you use a Lenovo laptop, you have a higher chance of running this application in the background.

Follow the steps below to deal with the problem:

ACTION STEPS

  1. Open the Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys.
  2. Find the Thinkvantage Access Connections among the running apps in the Name field, right-click on it and then again on “End task”.
  3. Switch to the Startup tab. Find the same app again. Right- click on it once more and choose to disable it.

The next time you boot your machine, you shouldn’t start the app automatically and hopefully, this will fix the issue for you.

13. Switch to a Private connection

When you set your network to public, you also risk experiencing this problem. This is due to the fact that the security settings of public networks differ.

In order to deal with the issue, you should switch to a private connection. Go through these steps to make the necessary changes:

ACTION STEPS

  1. Right-click on your Internet icon on the right side of your taskbar and choose “Open Network and Internet settings”.
  2. Click on “Change connection properties”.
  3. On the “Network profile” section, click on Private and close the window.

14. Turn off the WiFi Sense Feature

Frequent WiFi disconnections sometimes result from a feature called WiFi Sense. The logical step here is once again to disable it on your Windows 10 PC. Follow these steps to do that:

ACTION STEPS

  1. Right-click the Windows logo button in the taskbar and then on Settings.
  2. Click on “Network & Internet”
  3. Click on Wi-Fi from the left pane and then on “Manage Wi-Fi settings”.
  4. Turn off the options “Connect to networks shared by my contacts” and “Connect to suggested open hotspots”.

15. Alter Channel Width

WiFi channel width might be one of the reasons why your WiFi gets disconnected. Dealing with this issue involves changing the settings of your WiFi adapter with the following steps:

ACTION STEPS

  1. Press Windows key + X and click on Device Manager.
  2. Expand Network adapters and find your WiFi adapter.
  3. Right-click and select Properties.
  4. Switch to the Advanced tab and alter “WiFi Channel Width” from its current value to Auto.
  5. Preserve your changes with OK and close the windows.

16. Radio Interference

Consumer electronic products in your home emit signals in the vicinity of your device, interfering with WiFi signals.

Bluetooth devices, mobile phones, microwave ovens, and even garage door openers can bring down a wireless network connection when used.

Whenever you notice your mobile device losing WiFi connectivity in the vicinity of such devices, it is quite likely that they are the problem.

The solutions here are simple. You can place your WiFi equipment in a different spot, attempt to alter some Wi-Fi settings of your device or just switch off the interfering device.

17. Overloaded Network

As many people already know, even if your Wi-Fi devices are set up in a way in which there is no signal interference, having too many devices using the same network can be problematic.

The reason for this is that the bandwidth allocated to each device is limited.

When certain devices lack sufficient bandwidth, sites stop loading, videos do not play, the WiFi device itself disconnects and attempts to reconnect to the network again in order to secure the needed bandwidth.

There are certain tools on the Internet that allow you to benchmark your Internet speed like Novabench (available for free).

If the test indicates a very slow speed, this can either be due to the speed of your ISP connection or that you are using too many devices on your WiFi network simultaneously.

Try to take some of the devices offline for a certain period of time to see if that fixes the problem. You may try to flash the memory of your router, reboot it or just contact your ISP. Purchasing a new router may also be a solution.

In this article, we have proposed a number of solutions that have proved helpful to people. We believe you will benefit from at least some of them.

Let us know in the comments below which solution worked best for you and whether you have discovered a way to deal with the same WiFi disconnection problem yourself

Related Posts
About the author

Luke

is a Software Developer and the main writer behind Computer Realm.

Click here to add a comment

Leave a comment:

Shares
All search results