Troubleshooting Wireless Network Connections, Part 1

If you have a problem with your home wireless network, here’s where to start. More information and printouts at our website at http://www.computercareclinic.com. Here are the top wireless issues we encounter, and what you can do to resolve them.

If you’re able to connect to the internet wirelessly but your computer is frequently dropping your wireless signal, there are three things that could be happening. Your computer is either out of your wireless adapter’s broadcasting range, your router may be in its early stages of failure, or your computer’s wireless receiver may be failing.

If you’re more than 20 feet away from your wireless router, your signal may degrade or disappear. Typically, the optimum position for most inexpensive routers is about 30 feet, and that’s line-of-sight (no walls or obstacles). The truth is most of them usually work up to two or three times that far, even through walls and floors depending on various conditions. More pricey “Wireless N” routers supposedly offer up to 150 feet indoors, while 5GHz “Wireless A” is faster but more susceptible to interference and has a much shorter range. Move your wireless device physically closer to your router to see if distance is your issue. If you have metal studs in your walls, or if you have a refrigerator, microwave, or 2.4 GHz cordless home telephone in the path between your wireless device and wireless router, there may be interference that is weakening your wireless signal. Also, most routers, as with any radio transmitter, are directional. There is a certain pattern in which the signal will broadcast more strongly. Try physically turning your router 15 to 30 degrees in another direction and see if that makes a difference.

If the physical location of your wireless router and your wireless devices has not changed between the time in which your connection was good and the time in which you began having connectivity issues, then the location of your wireless device may not be the problem. Occasionally, a wireless router or a wireless receiver, for no apparent or explainable reason, will simply decide to stop sending or receiving a wireless signal periodically. Your wireless router is essentially a mini computer, so it probably needs to be restarted or completely reset. First, cycle the power. Sometimes unplugging and re-plugging your router performs miracles. No one is really sure why, but that does the trick on some occasions. If not, follow your router’s manufacturer instructions and reset your router with a brand new SSID and password, and re-evaluate your situation.

It is rare, but occasionally the wireless adapter card in a PC can fail. During its early stages of failure, you may experience those random signal drops. It’s not too expensive to replace a wireless receiver in most computers.

Other times, you’ll be successfully and strongly connected to your wireless network, but you’ll be unable to access the internet. What’s probably happened is your router has gone bad. Replace your wireless router with a new one.

Sometimes there will be one single wireless device in your home or office that will simply refuse to connect to the internet on your wireless network. It may have connected before. Every other wireless device connected to the same wireless network works perfectly. Simply reset your wireless router with a new SSID and passcode, and reconnect all your devices to your new wireless network.

Many laptop computers have a switch that enables or disables its wireless internet communications. This switch may be a real switch on the front or side of the computer, usually a sliding switch with a left and right position. Depending on the particular model, there may be a LED light that will illuminate when in the ON position. When sliding this switch to the ON position, make sure you give your computer up to a minute to enable the wireless hardware and ascertain an internet connection. Other laptops do not have a physical switch, but have a “Soft Switch,” otherwise known as a keyboard shortcut. This usually requires holding down your “function” (FN) key on your keyboard and pressing a corresponding key. Carrying your laptop and physically brushing your switch to the OFF position can drive you crazy. Know this one thing – we’re all human, and things happen.

Occasionally, malware can corrupt your internal internet settings by inserting a DNS hijack or a proxy server, and you won’t be able to connect to the internet at all. See our MALWARE REMOVAL tips video for how to fix this problem. .