Today we are going to talk about wireless and why it occasionally disconnects. Wifi connections have made a huge impact on our lives and the way we do things around the home and office. It allows us to take our laptops, phones and tablets almost anywhere and allows us to work in places such as our deck or back porch. We no longer need to run long sections of cat 5 cables through the house or office to get an Internet connection. In recent years, wireless has achieved faster speeds and a longer operating range. Even with all these improvements, wireless can still pose problems with occasional to frequent disconnects which can be irritating at best.
Trying to diagnose a wireless problem can be a challenge for even the most seasoned technician. There are countless reasons for this to happen but I will touch the most common reasons in this article.
Interference is probably one of the most common reasons for wireless to disconnect. One of the biggest culprits can be your microwave oven. Test your system to see if that is when you get the majority of your disconnects.
Distance from the router is another big factor that can cause interference and disconnects. In larger buildings this can be a big problem. Every wall that the signal has to travel through will slightly reduce the signal. Trying to place the router in a central location in the structure will help distribute the radio coverage evenly. In addition, if you have a two-story house, you will get wider coverage if you put the router upstairs. The higher elevation will allow for a much farther signal. If you consistently have problems in a particular location, you might have electrical interference from wires within the wall. You can test this by moving the location of your computer to another room to see if it improves.
Sometimes connection issues are caused by virus infections. We have seen root kits and Trojans actually rip out files that are needed for a connection to a network. Often times this problem can be repaired by a trained computer technician but there are times when we have had to do a repair install of Windows. Having to do a reinstall of Windows is not the usual but it occasionally happens, especially with severe root kits. We have seen many people try to remove these nasty bugs themselves but most people do not realize how dangerous they can be. It is a lot less expensive to get your system properly cleaned then it is to loose your identity or have your bank account drained.
There are other times when the hardware is at fault. We have seen hardware problems with the wireless card cause temporary or intermittent disconnects. If you have a laptop, you can always purchase n external USB card to use for your Wifi. If you are using a desktop computer, simply replace the card that is located in a serial slot on the motherboard. They are relatively inexpensive and easy to configure. Be sure you have your wireless password before installing your card, as you will need it in order to reconnect to the network.
See also: What cases WI FI Drops and Disconnects.
Author: Joe Zelenak, Staff Writer
Leave a Reply