Aaaaaaaaaaagh Bloody Computers!

Slouching Raymond

Slouching Raymond

Well-known member
So my fangled new Win 11 laptop, bought for general internet browsing, has decided it will no longer connect to my phone's wifi hotspot, despite the fact it has been connecting ok for some time. The best I can get is seeing its attempts flicker between 'Disconnected' and 'Connecting'. It knows the hotspot is there, but just won't play.
This is worrying as wifi is the only way it can connect.
The old 10" laptop I'm typing on connects fine, and my music Win 10 laptop connects fine.
Other developments are: I have ordered full fibre broadband, and have bought a wifi 6 router for it (TP-Link AX5400 AX73).
If the Win 11 laptop doesn't start behaving soon, I'll be looking for a desktop with a proper ethernet port.
 
Sounds like it's the laptop's wireless thingie is on the fritz - buy a USB wireless dongle (they are cheap - less than $15 at Walmart) and see if it connects.
 
My win 11 laptop doesn't like Bluetooth. It connects 1% of the time when attempting to Share or Send Files. The wifi has been stable and dependable but not as fast as my IP provides. Checking drivers and Troubleshooting has never helped - everything always comes back as fully updated and no trouble found.
 
First of all if it's new it should be under warranty... If it is just take it in and tell em to fix it or replace it. If not though it sounds scary changing out the wireless card in these newer laptops is really pretty damn easy just get a cup or magnet to keep track of the screws take a picture of the innards once you get it open for memory purposes and bam. I swapped the one out in my lennovo in about 15 minutes. You can buy em off Amazon for under $50

I do not like that they are eliminating the ethernet port on these newer laptops....lame but that's the deal.
 
Macbooks have been getting away with just two USB-C (and you use one for the power) for ages and they've only just given in to customers. I'd first check the laptop canniot connect to a different wifi network - if two won't connect, then it's a warranty issue, but if one connects and one doesn't you're in the muddy ground.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions guys.
Unfortunately I don't have any other accessable hotspot to hand.
I wondered if the laptop antenae had become disconnected.
Tried fully charging the laptop to no avail.
Tried telling the laptop to forget my mobile hotspot, then perhaps re-learn of it.

However, just now I told the laptop to reset the network interface to factory settings.
Then my mobile hotspot appeared in the available list, connected, and entered the appropriate password, and bingo......here I am online.
Hope this lasts for the next time I boot up, but it looks promising.
Thanks once again guys.
 
Slouching Raymond said:
However, just now I told the laptop to reset the network interface to factory settings.
Then my mobile hotspot appeared in the available list, connected, and entered the appropriate password, and bingo......here I am online.
Hope this lasts for the next time I boot up, but it looks promising.
Thanks once again guys.
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Glad that worked. I think there are a couple of quirks in the win11 wifi code as I've seen this happen with a couple of other machines. It happens in other versions of Windows too, just usually not very often.
 
zer0sig said:
Glad that worked. I think there are a couple of quirks in the win11 wifi code as I've seen this happen with a couple of other machines. It happens in other versions of Windows too, just usually not very often.
Click to expand...
Good to know zerOsig, for me and everyone else.
 
If it comes back/continues to be an issue...

1) Get a usb (or usb-c) to ethernet adapter, for situations where a wired connection is the only one available or wireless is acting up.
2) Google "uninstall wireless device manager windows 11", follow those steps, then reboot the laptop. The wireless will get reinstalled by the operating system when the laptop boots.
3) Now that you're back online, go to the laptop manufacturer's website and see if they have a software/driver update utility you can install and run. Alternatively, step #2 will tell you the exact make and model of the builtin wireless, and that manufacturer might have their own driver update for the wireless adapter.
4) Running windows updates may resolve the issue if the problem is with the windows operating system. These types of issues get resolved with windows and driver updates.

Based on what you did to fix it, #2 might have worked as the reinstall of the device clears the embedded network config for the adapter (similar to some of the steps the 'reset network settings' fix executes). I have seen this happen randomly on customer machines, and the issue was permanently resolved using this reset function. So there is hope you've fixed your issue.
 
It did it again, as I just booted up.
Flickering between 'Disconnected' and 'Connecting'.
So I just opened up the wifi settings panels, and saw it set as an unmetered connection. Changed that to metered.
Then after a few seconds it connected. No resetting factory settings this time.
The laptop is on a warpath to update itself at the moment, but I'll do that at the library next week.
 
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