Wi-Fi Stays Connected, Internet not available

[Turukmactau]

I'm new to this forum (or any forum for that matter) so sorry for any errors.
At least daily, my internet cuts out. When I check the Wi-Fi connection, it says that it's connected, but no internet access. My wife doesn't have this problem with her computer. It's really upsetting, especially when I'm on a Zoom meeting or doing some sort of other work. Can anyone help?
(I'm not sure that it matters, but I'm running an HP with an Intel Core i7 CPU and Windows 10 64-bit.)

 

[DelJo63]

This is usually associated with your DNS settings.

Force 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 as your DNS Settings

 

[Turukmactau]

Okay, I did that.
Do I need to adjust the IP address settings also?

 

[Kshipper]

Is you wife WIFI too? If yes....are those 2 computers in the same room? What I am driving at is that the signal of WIFI can degrade and reflect off the different materials in a home for one person and not for the other, because they are in different locations in the house/apartment.

You should not have to adjust your IP but there is much we can do to suss this all out. Another quick idea is to make sure your laptop is not switching access points IE: joining a nearby wireless printer for example. When you go down, are you still joined to the correct access point?

 

[DelJo63]

Okay, I did that.
Do I need to adjust the IP address settings also?

No. test using

• ping 8.8.8.8
• ping dns.google.com
• ping techspot.com

 

[Turukmactau]

Is you wife WIFI too? If yes....are those 2 computers in the same room? What I am driving at is that the signal of WIFI can degrade and reflect off the different materials in a home for one person and not for the other, because they are in different locations in the house/apartment.

You should not have to adjust your IP but there is much we can do to suss this all out. Another quick idea is to make sure your laptop is not switching access points IE: joining a nearby wireless printer for example. When you go down, are you still joined to the correct access point?

We're usually sitting in the living room together. I'm maybe 5 feet closer to the modem and router.
I only have one access point I think

 

[Endymio]

If your wifi is connected, but you have no internet access, it could very well be your modem's connection back to your ISP. The router should have some firmware on it that you can connect to tell for sure. An easy way to tell for sure is, if possible, to simply plug into one of the wired ports on the router, and bypass the wifi entirely.

 

[Kshipper]

We're usually sitting in the living room together. I'm maybe 5 feet closer to the modem and router.
I only have one access point I think

OK, so when you go through a disconnect just go to the bottom right and check if you are still joined to the same WIFI network your wife is (who is 5' away and not having any problems). How is the signal strength? Pretty strong? If you are still connected to the access point you expect, then we know it is something with your machine.

FIrst thing to do is seek out the support pages for your laptop and download and install the latest driver for your WIFI card (commonly Intel, Realtek, Broadcom). If you are not sure which WIFI card you have you can use Device Manager to check. To do that: On the bottom left of your desktop screen search This PC [right click] on that, [Left Click] on Properties, then [Left Click] on Device Manager (on the left). Expand Network Adapters and ignore all those WAN Miniport entries.

If you do end up installing a new driver then reboot even though it won't ask you to do that. Rinse and repeat the test. There is more we can do but another way is to go out to your local electronic supply store and just purchase a USB WIFI Adapter or get one from Amazon. I use these a lot (sorry for the Canadian link where I am). They are cheap and cheerful:

WISE TIGER Wifi Adapter Ac 600Mbps Dual Band 5Ghz / 2.4Ghz Long Range Wireless Adapter with Antenna Support for Win Vista /7/8.1/10/XP/MAC 10.6-10.15 - Install Fast, Just 3 Minutes : Amazon.ca: Electronics

WISE TIGER Wifi Adapter Ac 600Mbps Dual Band 5Ghz / 2.4Ghz Long Range Wireless Adapter with Antenna Support for Win Vista /7/8.1/10/XP/MAC 10.6-10.15 - Install Fast, Just 3 Minutes : Amazon.ca: Electronics

www.amazon.ca

You could plug that one in and see if anything changes and it is not a big expense. You can disable the original using the device manager I showed you how to use above.