I don't have any great answers, but I can tell you that it happens to me too.

At my own house (before I moved in with relatives while my new one is being built), I think that the issue has been due to having satellite internet. There have been plenty of times that the laptop will not go online, but I can on my cell phone, or my wife can on her tablet. There are also other times where my laptop(s) have just decided to disconnect, and I've had to tell it go go back online.

At my parents house, they have cable, but there are times where its the same. Lightening fast on the cell phone, but the laptop will barely crawl along.

 

Have you tried hardwiring your laptop and seeing what it does?

 

Does it see the WiFi? or does it not register at all?

 

Possible the chip responsible for WiFi inside just went bad/malfunctioned?

 

Not to hijack the thread, but what would you suggest if a PC can connect to other networks without problem, but has trouble at home, while other devices have no trouble at home? Could one device and one router just "not like one another"?

 

OK, thats cool. Thank you, and I'll try to remember that when I get my own setup again. When my house is finished, there won't be any other routers around to interfere with at all, but then again there weren't at the old house either.

 

Yeah i use WiFi Analyzer to test the network, Netgear has an Android app netgear wifi analyze that gives channel recommendations on both 2.4Ghz channels and 5Ghz channels you should use; as Byroan says I would go into the router and set it for a specific channel that has the limited amount of chatter.

One thing though as Byroan mentioned Channel 11; that is for 2.4GHZ networks, if you have a router and network card that are connecting on the 5GHZ band you might be running into an issue with how your wifi is setup; 5Ghz gives greater speed but has a shorter distance that it works well on; depending on your house and where the router is, the quality of the WiFi chip in your laptop, etc you might be getting inteference on the 5GHz network if that is what you are on. I would test by forcing your laptop to only use the 2.4Ghz channels and see if that makes a difference.

The issues with the 5Ghz range is why so many companies have come out with Mesh devices; currently I use AmpliFi mesh routers but I have seen many friends use the Google Mesh routers successfully.

 

Dolfan22, what message are you getting? Do you have a screenshot? Are you getting this message after running the MS Troubleshooter?

The reason why your ability to roll back the network driver is grayed out is likely due to there being no further gens to roll back to.

I have seen a few issues with Win 7 and Wifi lately so a recent update might have farked things up. Send me a screenshot and I will do some more digging.

PT

 

Thanks for all the expert info, guys! I downloaded the Netgear app and found that the network where I'm living now is garbage, lol. I'm hoping to be able to set one up in June in my new house that will cover three floors well.

 

Main level, basement and upstairs kids room. My plan is to have the modem amd router in the pantry, which is close to central for the whole house, and close to directly above where my downstairs tv and ps4 will be.

 

Download "Greenshot" for free. It's great for copying and pasting screenshots.

 

Welcome! Using that app will help you build out the WiFi network in your new house, as I use it in addition to the tools the router provides for coverage mapping.

 

Depending on construction, you may have some dark zones, especially if it is in Pantry and htere are food items (cans) etc in with it. You have the app so at least you will be able to see your coverage, but like Byroan said you may want to try a mesh configuration like Google Wi-Fi, Amplifi, velop or others to get full coverage.

 

I'll experiment with what I've got once I set it up. The reason I'm thinking of putting it in the pantry is that the main level won't have an entertainment center. We're going to mount the TV directly to the wall. Do you think that putting the equipment in the basement, and getting a really strong router, would be a better call? Or is the mesh equipment the better way to go?

Its all very exciting for me, because I haven't had broadband in my home since 2005. I got giddy when the Comcast guy was at the telephone pole in front of where the house is being built yesterday, lol.

 

OK, thanks. I've been out of the loop for a while. I worked at Office Depot selling networking equipment for years, but a lot has changed since I was last working in 2013.

 

Yeah, a lot has changed in the last 5 years. Mesh is the way to go, especially as we have so many devices connecting, from TVs, phones, gaming devices and maybe a Laptop if we can get that working lol! I used to use all sorts of tricks to manage my WiFi network now I have a base, a couple of Mesh devices and my house which is a multi level house with a lot of interference works like a charm. At any time I have 4-5 phones on, 3 gaming devices and a TV or two and all connected to my mesh devices. Now if it wasn't so damn expensive for broadband I would be really happy!

 

Dolfan22, It sounds like your current wifi adapter is failing or one of the radios in your access point is failing. Your best bet is to take your laptop to a Starbucks or somewhere with public wifi and see if you are having the same issues there. Taking it to another network will help you diagnose it.

Can you log into your AP and see what band and protocol your other working devices are connecting at? Your laptop adapter is a A/G/N which can connect on A at 5 GHz or G/N at 2.4 GHz. N can connect at 5Ghz but some of the earlier N adapters can only connect at 2.4 GHz. Make a note of which band/protocol your devices are connecting to see if a trend forms.

What is the model of your AP? Is it an all in one router/modem/AP combo?

Your solution is going to either buy a new wifi adapter for your laptop or a new AP for your house.

 

Also the Marvell Yukon is your wired ethernet port. Try to update the driver on the Intel 5100