WiFi Woes and a curious conundrum

21stCentury

Hiya, i have a weird issue.

i use wifi that's provided by my apartment building (Cheap, decent speed, unlimited badwidth.) but every now and again, and with increasing frequency, i have periods that can last hours where my PC gets extremely spotty internet access. i'm talking 1 minute of access then 10 minutes of not access with no explanation.

The strange thing is, my iPhone does not experience those issues when connected to the same wifi network.

I thought maybe it's because my wifi dongle is no longer working well, but the weird thing is, if I make a personal hotspot using my iPhone, my PC has perfect connectivity.

So, what could cause network access to be nearly non-existent on a PC but not a smart phone, on the same wifi network?

Thanks in advance.

PS: I tried flushing the DNS, unplugging/plugging back the dongle and rebooting the computer and nothing seems to work. The internet access randomly comes back and is fine for some time before going to hell in the evening.

21stCentury

Oh, a note: When i have no internet access, the little Wifi indicator in the taskbar doesn't say "no internet connection".

bowen

Sounds like your wifi radio on your PC is weaker than your phone's.

21stCentury

So why does it only happen intermittently and mostly on evenings? that's the part i don't get.

i don't want to buy a network card and realize that it doesn't resolve the problem at all.

How can i check the strength of my wifi radio?

Edit: also what could explain that it worsened considerably after over 5 months of moving here?

Shadowfire

They break sometimes, it happens. See if you can get a cheap Wi-Fi dongle.

It also may be that there are other devices in the house that are interfering with the signal. Or that at night, more people are using the connection so your dongle has to compete harder.

21stCentury

Shadowfire wrote: »

They break sometimes, it happens. See if you can get a cheap Wi-Fi dongle.

It also may be that there are other devices in the house that are interfering with the signal. Or that at night, more people are using the connection so your dongle has to compete harder.

That's already what i have. So i guess i should upgrade?

21stCentury

Apparently there's new Win10 drivers... so i downloaded the TP-Link WN823n drivers because that appears to be what i have (Lost the packaging).

I manage to download the drivers, run the setup wizard and it doesn't find a network adapter (It seems to look for network cards and not dongles). Does anyone know how to manually install drivers? Is that even possible?

DasUberEdward

My guess is that there is interference on whatever frequency your dongle is attempting to use. Did the dongle come with any sort of software that allowed you to manage your wi fi access? I am not certain but you may be able to try a different frequency. I believe I've seen software with that option. Usually it's just a function of the router though.

21stCentury

DasUberEdward wrote: »

My guess is that there is interference on whatever frequency your dongle is attempting to use. Did the dongle come with any sort of software that allowed you to manage your wi fi access? I am not certain but you may be able to try a different frequency. I believe I've seen software with that option. Usually it's just a function of the router though.

i don't have the option to change frequencies. no. I thought that was a router thing.

And i don't have access to the routers for the buildings Wifi because of obvious reasons.

21stCentury

I can, however, turn SoftAP mode. not sure i fully understand what that would do, however.

hsu

I had your exact problem when I was using USB wifi dongles and wifi PCI cards, no matter the brand, no matter how good the reviews, I still had your exact problems.

I ended up getting a wifi media bridge (the now discontinued TrendNet TEW-640MB), which are really normal wifi routers in bridge mode, and that solved all of these wifi problems (eventually I wired the house, but that's another story).

You run ethernet wire from your computer to the media bridge and let the bridge talk to your router via wifi. They work so well that I still use both of mine to this day, one in the living room for the old PS3 I use as my Netflix/Hulu/HBO Go/Bluray player, and the second in my computer room, connected to my 55" smart TV in my computer room, again for Netflix/etc, when I'm not using it for gaming. Even though both the PS3 and the smart TV have built in wifi, the media bridge's connection is significantly more stable.

21stCentury

And now the problem is resolved as unexpectedly and suddenly as it occurred.

No clue what caused it but my connection is back to working order.

I'm guessing it was due to the router and something was done on that side, but i have no way of knowing.

bowen

Here's the fun part, if someone uses their microwave or wireless handset phone, it will cause problems with your wifi, since wireless g uses 2.4GHz.

Guess what also broadcasts on 2.4GHz.

A leaky microwave will basically fuck over wifi.

21stCentury

bowen wrote: »

Here's the fun part, if someone uses their microwave or wireless handset phone, it will cause problems with your wifi, since wireless g uses 2.4GHz.

Guess what also broadcasts on 2.4GHz.

A leaky microwave will basically fuck over wifi.

i know, i found that out when i lived in my sister's condo briefly.

The microwave was straight in the line between the router and my PC.

but unless someone has been microwaving all non-stop since last night, i don't think that's the issue.

Even when i microwave stuff, i don't get interuptions here.

21stCentury

Alright, i'll go with the idea that my dongle is broken and no longer can get the signal from the router.

What's a good brand of network cards? i'll shop around before work today.

bowen

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LGN8I40

maybe this

I'd recommend one with an antenna since you seem to be having issues with signal where you are. Also your computer is probably under your desk too.

All those nano USB ones are great if it's like.. a single wall between you and the router.

21stCentury

in a hilarious twist of fate, I managed to get, install and configure a proper network card with antennas and now the actual wifi signal isn't working.

So thanks for the tips.

Now i need to get FATE ITSELF to let me use the wifi. (I'm not getting any internet on my phone on the same network.... yay)

EDIT: Turns out my ISP had problems, they're fixed and my connection seems stable. THANKS GUYS!