Laptop wont connect to Wi-Fi, other devices will

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Finch

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#196232 24-May-2016 07:20

Hey guys.

We have a laptop at work which has stopped being able to connect to Wi-Fi. Other devices can connect to the network, it is simply this laptop. It has been able to connect in the past, but all of a sudden it will either not connect, or it will connect with no internet access. I'm unsure of the setup we have at work, but we seem to have both a NetGear wireless router and also a Motorola modem. The laptop can see the Wi-Fi network. Its as if something is blocking it from getting internet access, seems to me like there is a box that has to be marked or something that has to be changed.

I am currently not at work so dont know the ins + outs of it all. Cant provide much more info right now

Anybody have any ideas?

Thanks.

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#1558375 24-May-2016 07:35

check the wifi channel

make sure its not on 13 or 14

sbiddle

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#1558376 24-May-2016 07:35

Have you tried rebooting the router?

Linuxluver

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#1558386 24-May-2016 08:22

Finch:

Hey guys.

We have a laptop at work which has stopped being able to connect to Wi-Fi. Other devices can connect to the network, it is simply this laptop. It has been able to connect in the past, but all of a sudden it will either not connect, or it will connect with no internet access. I'm unsure of the setup we have at work, but we seem to have both a NetGear wireless router and also a Motorola modem. The laptop can see the Wi-Fi network. Its as if something is blocking it from getting internet access, seems to me like there is a box that has to be marked or something that has to be changed.

I am currently not at work so dont know the ins + outs of it all. Cant provide much more info right now

Anybody have any ideas?

Thanks.

My daughter's Lenovo laptop (Win 8.1) does this every couple of months. The only way out is to power off / on the wifi hotspot. It's a tri-band (1 x 2.4GHz / 2 x 5GHz) D'Link "Taipan" router....and I think smart-connect stuff (which band you automagically connect to) and/or the DHCP gets confused somewhere. It's only this laptop. All other devices - phones, tablets, MacBook, Chromebook(s) - have no problems ever.

Try forgetting the AP on the laptop, then cycle the power on the router.

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jlittle

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#1558389 24-May-2016 08:28

Maybe you've turned off wifi on the laptop.

(Edit: Sorry, the mobile geekzone site is not good for fat fingers.)

Look for an Fn key, it's usually blue, and then look for a key with a wifi symbol in that same colour. What happens if you press and hold Fn, and press the wifi key?

Regards, John Little

martyyn

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#1558418 24-May-2016 08:55

jlittle: Maybe you've turned off wifi on the laptop.

^^^^This.

I've lost count the number of times I've seen this where the key combination to switch wifi off has been pressed accidentally. Older laptops used to have physical switches on the side and they would be moved to turn it off simply by people fiddling.

I'm looking at one right now which isn't connecting simply because they haven't rebooted after a windows update which included new drivers for the wifi/lan/bt devices.

timmmay

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#1558421 24-May-2016 09:00

My Dad managed to turn off a physical switch on his old laptop. It was a black switch on a black body hidden somewhere. Took me a while to find it even though I knew it must be there somewhere.

Dell

Shop now for Dell laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

martyyn

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#1558428 24-May-2016 09:05

There was a Dell I think with a switch which was spring loaded. People would sit there flicking this switch almost as a nervous twitch as they read emails not knowing they were turning it off and on again all the time !

Finch

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#1558429 24-May-2016 09:07

Thanks guys.

Boss told me to give VF a ring, thought try here first though.

How do I check the WiFi channel? Personally I don't think that's the problem because now my phone doesn't have internet access either. Can connect to the network, just not any internet access.

Yes I have tried rebooting the modem and router. Both of them, multiple times.

The WiFi switch is currently on, I have turned it off and on multiple times.

Laptop is an old HP.

"Can't connect to this network

djtOtago

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#1558433 24-May-2016 09:14

What operating system has the laptop got.?
Have the security settings on router been changed?

Have the drivers on laptop been updated recently? If so maybe try and roll it back.
Is there wifi driver update available for the laptop?

Is there another wifi network using the same name (SID) as your network?

Finch

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#1558436 24-May-2016 09:20

No security systems have been changed, nothing has been updated. Running Windows 10 Pro.

I have actually managed to get it working now, the speed is slow, but its working. Might give VF a ring see if they know why the speed is slow.

Jase2985

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#1558453 24-May-2016 09:29

Vodafone will be of limited help as they provide the internet not the wifi connection. its a convenience factor on their devices.

to find the wifi channel either look at the modem, or get a wifi analyser app and check that way. the wifi could be set to auto which isn't always the best.

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sbiddle

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#1558454 24-May-2016 09:30

Finch: No security systems have been changed, nothing has been updated. Running Windows 10 Pro.

I have actually managed to get it working now, the speed is slow, but its working. Might give VF a ring see if they know why the speed is slow.

How are the speeds over Ethernet? If they're just slow over WiFi Vodafone won't be able to help you.

Finch

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#1558480 24-May-2016 09:50

Thanks to everybody for the replies.

I cant really try and see what the speeds are like over Ethernet because there is about 100 wires all over the place and its hard to move everything around because the wires are so tangled up and tight. I'll have a look later though.

The link Speed is currently switching between 1-2Mbps, so very slow, but at least its active...

Maybe the Wi-Fi adapter might be disabled? That could be why the connection was appearing on other devices, but not the laptop.

I'm currently not in the area right now, wont be till this afternoon/evening, but took this picture before I left

richms

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#1558487 24-May-2016 10:08

If your wifi link speed is 1-2 megabits then that is nothing to do with vodafone. You are either too far from the router or there is interference or there is an incompatibility.

If you cant do a speed test on a wired computer to see that the connection is fine then there is no furthur troubleshooting that can be done wireless. Wifi is going to be less reliable and slower than wired in almost all cases.

Richard rich.ms

wellygary

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#1558505 24-May-2016 10:33

richms: You are either too far from the router or there is interference or there is an incompatibility.

Other that a physical fault with the laptop, the next likely cause is some form of interference, have a sniff round and see if any new networks have popped up and what channel they are operating on, it may simply be the neightbours have got a AP sitting on a similar channel

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