Slow/ missing internet connection.

[amfisted]

Might be one for the Microsoft forums this one, but I'll try here first.

I'm running an HP Pavilion laptop and a Dell Inspiron PC, both wireless on my home network.
The PC is on Windows 7, the laptop on 8.1.

I have few if any problems with the internet connection on the PC, even though there are a couple of brick walls between it and the router. By contrast, the laptop is normally used within six feet of the router and in the same room, and yet I regularly get a "This page cannot be displayed" message when I try to open webpages, and although displays and diagnostics tell me that I DO have an internet connection, I also regularly suffer from a "You do not have an internet connection" message. When I do load pages they are almost always infuriatingly slow on the laptop, but much quicker on the PC, which is also wireless.

Short of hardwiring the lappy to the router by Ethernet cable and giving up the fight, can anyone suggest a solution to the apparent inability of the laptop to maintain a wireless connection?

I've run a speed test and although not brilliant, the connection is certainly good enough for bog standard browsing.

Ta.

 

[Astra99]

First and foremost, make sure the wireless device in the laptop has the latest drivers installed. When Win8 upgraded to Win 8.1 there were many instances of device drivers no longer functioning correctly.

If you go into Device Manager (right-click on the Windows flag and select Device Manager from the list) and expand Network Adapters this should tell you the exact make & model of your WLAN network card. You will then be able to go to Dell's website and download the Win 8.1 driver, or alternatively go to the WLAN card manufacturer's website and download the driver from there.

 

[amfisted]

Thanks for your response, Astra; I'll do that this afternoon.

 

[motorbiking]

right click the connection and look at the status. what speed are you connecting on and is your router dual band? i.e support 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz connections. Its possible that new laptop is connecting on a faster channel which is less reliable. You should be able to change the connection priority.

A wifi repeater might help or a powerline network - £30-40 typically.

 

[amfisted]

Sorry, but where exactly do I right click to find that info? The connection logo on the toolbar, or do I go into the Network and Sharing Centre and do it there? Or device manager, or somewhere else that I haven't thought of yet?

Thanks.

I do have powerline adaptors which I received with my current broadband package, but I've read somewhere that they're not secure so would prefer not to use them.

 

[motorbiking]

open the wifi by clicking on the wifi strength bar. right click on the wifi connection then click status.
Power line networks are no less secure than any network.. the difference is, in theory your neighbor could add an adapter to his ring main and sniff your network traffic. A lot of powerline networks support encryption and the pairing process makes it hard to get on your network. For someone to gain access to your network via your powerline, they'd need to be very close (e.g. next door), know what they are doing, and be actually interested in your network traffic. The consumer unit will stop most of the traffic going outside your house.

 

[amfisted]

Thanks again. On a different computer at present, but when I get back on the laptop I'll check status as you recommend.

 

[poshram]

you never said what type of wireless router you were using (sky/VM/BT etc) if you have a smartphone- download a wifi analyser that can help troubleshoot issues with signal strength and channels used for your router. if you dont have issues with a smart phone wifi then it must be a driver issue on the laptop (may need updating DIRECT from the hardware manufacturer, and NOT windows)

this url may help
https://www.broadbandchoices.co.uk/ask-our-expert/boosting-a-wifi-signal-ask-our-expert

but as others have said, using a wifi repeater could help

 

[amfisted]

Thank you. I'm with TalkTalk and using one of their routers, but reading elsewhere it appears unlikely to be a particularly reliable model. Maybe I should start by replacing that, and work from there to the laptop. Having said that, my wife has a smart phone and seems to have no problem with her wifi connection, so you may well be correct that something in the laptop needs updating. I did receive regular update prompts from HP until about 18 months after purchase, but that no longer happens. So maybe I need to go to their website and check for drivers manually.

 

[poshram]

Don't use the HP wifi driver. Go direct to the wifi chipset manufactor and update the driver from here.

 

[Astra99]

In my experience, some of the WLAN cards used by HP have the firmware modified. Thus I would suggest HP's website is the first place to look, then the card manufacturer's site. If you get the PCI\VEN ID (from the properties of the device) then you can search for the WLAN manufacturer and model.