We have 2 laptops. On one, ACER 5155, the wireless connections keep dropping or connections are not found at all. The other laptop, Dell, is fine.
The Acer is 3 years old and the Dell is pretty knew.
I have reset the router, reset the comcast box, and still no connections found.
Very frustrating.
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Anonymous
offlineUnregisteredPosted 10 months ago # -
If the problem is limited to one device, I'd look at that device.
I would start by assuring that the machine is clean. At the very least, run a full scan with whatever Anti-malware program you have installed, I usually run Malwarebyte's tool. It's free, quick, easy and quite functional.
Link: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/malwarebytes-anti-malware/After that, see that the wireless adapter's drivers are fully up to date. Go to the Acer support website with model # from back of lappy in hand, then download and install the newest wireless network adapter drivers. Reboot and try again.
Posted 10 months ago # -
Pierre
offlineMemberIn addition: a 3-year old device is probably less sensitive than a recent one (on account of technology, not age). Try moving the Acer around and see if location has a significant effect on the connection. Possibly there's some obstable or some interference that prevents it from keeeping a stable connection.
"To err is human, but it feels divine" (Mae West)
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"Earth is the cradle of mankind. Nobody can live in the cradle forever" (Constantin Tsiolkovski – 1857-1935)Posted 10 months ago # -
Anonymous
offlineUnregisteredThanks all. I moved the laptop closer to the router - no change. Ran the malware checker, found a few things but no change. Disabled, then reinstalled the network adapter. That seem to work until I rebooted the computer. Then again, no networks found.
Posted 10 months ago # -
Pierre
offlineMembereaglesfan146 said:
Thanks all. I moved the laptop closer to the router - no change. Ran the malware checker, found a few things but no change. Disabled, then reinstalled the network adapter. That seem to work until I rebooted the computer. Then again, no networks found.That would seem to indicate a problem with the wireless card drivers, unless you have a rootkit (which cannot be found or removed from within Windows – you need to boot from a cleanup CD or USB device). But let's not be pessimistic right away. Try getting and installing the latest drivers from the wireless card manufacturer, or from the Acer site if the card is built-in. And as Nate suggests, try connecting the card, not through Windows's control, but through the manufacturer-provided software, if any.
Of course, there's also the possibility that the wireless antenna developped a fault (a loose connection or a broken solder point).
Posted 10 months ago # -
Pierre said:
Of course, there's also the possibility that the wireless antenna developped a fault (a loose connection or a broken solder point).
I've ran into several of these lately. One, I was able to source a new wifi 'card'. Others, I sold the customers a small usb wifi dongle and they left happy.
Posted 10 months ago # -
Anonymous
offlineUnregisteredI took the back off the laptop to make sure the wireless adapter was still attached. I don't even see the adapter.
Posted 10 months ago # -
Pierre
offlineMembereaglesfan146 said:
I took the back off the laptop to make sure the wireless adapter was still attached. I don't even see the adapter.That was superfluous
If you can see a list of available networks right after rebooting, then the adapter is functional. The fact that it drops out after a while means it has developped a fault. It might be a physical connection problem, or a faulty capacitor. More likely than not the adaptor is integrated with the motherboard, so you can probably see it only by removing the keyboard. If the problem is a faulty capacitor, your only option is to disable the built-in adaptor (if that's possible – some laptops have a dedicated switch) and use an USB wireless adaptor instead.
Posted 10 months ago #
