Laptop issue

cloudy-day

Please be kind - non techy person!

DS got a laptop for Xmas, which uses the wi-fi from our Virgin hub. However, it frequently 'drops' the wi-fi and he has to re-connect all over again. The phones, wii and PC itself are all fine with the wi-fi its just the laptop.

When he reconnetcs it can see our account OK, but sometimes this happens every 5 mins. He's only in the next room so not sure what the issue could be.

Any thoughts please?

Thanks

dsavvy83

if it is just the laptop, it could have a faulty wi-fi adaptor, have you tried taking your laptop to a friends house to see if the problem persists?

If it is still a problem, i would find out if your laptop is in warranty and get the wi-fi card replaced.

Or if you really need a solution for now, you can get a wi-fi usb stick and use that.

cloudy-day

dsavvy83 wrote: »

if it is just the laptop, it could have a faulty wi-fi adaptor, have you tried taking your laptop to a friends house to see if the problem persists?

If it is still a problem, i would find out if your laptop is in warranty and get the wi-fi card replaced.

Or if you really need a solution for now, you can get a wi-fi usb stick and use that.

Thanks for the quick reponse. Should add that it worked for the first couple of months - its only been a problem within the last month.

I will see if it works anywhere else, it is in warranty, but I'm loath to take it back as i know how long these things can take (Tesco Direct).

Sorry to be dense - wi-fi USB, is that completly seperate from the Virgin package? Is it expensive? Seems silly if we already pay for the wi-fi, I suppose it depends how long they will take to fix the problem.

Thanks again

dsavvy83

I wifi usb is just a receiver, if the one in your laptop doesnt work you can use the wifi usb stick. But i will back up all your work and photos onto a external hard drive before handing it over to tesco.

This is what i mean by Wi-Fi USB Dongle
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Belkin-802-11g-Wireless-Network-Adapter/dp/B001J2XSMA/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1333999901&sr=1-1

cloudy-day

dsavvy83 wrote: »

I wifi usb is just a receiver, if the one in your laptop doesnt work you can use the wifi usb stick. But i will back up all your work and photos onto a external hard drive before handing it over to tesco.

This is what i mean by Wi-Fi USB Dongle
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Belkin-802-11g-Wireless-Network-Adapter/dp/B001J2XSMA/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1333999901&sr=1-1

Yeah, I'm nervous about that.

So if I bought the £5.99 gizmo above, would that replace the wi-fi card in the laptop? Sorry for the questions, but spending £6 to solve the problem seems way better than returning the laptop to Tesco Direct.

Not particulary money-saving, but certainly a lot less bother.

Thanks again for you quick response.

Browntoa

might be worth going to

https://www.windowsupdate.com

choose "custom"

look for updates to the wireless card or sodtware and do them

assume its windows 7 ??

also check the manufacturers site for similar updates to the drivers

cloudy-day

Browntoa wrote: »

might be worth going to

www.windowsupdate.com

choose "custom"

look for updates to the wireless card or sodtware and do them

assume its windows 7 ??

also check the manufacturers site for similar updates to the drivers

Thanks, I'm at work at the mo, but I'll get DS to check that tomorrow.

Would have thought it would be OK though as its a new laptop??

Thanks again

macman

I'd try changing the wireless channel via the router's web interface before you spend any money at all.
You may find that your neighbour is running on the same channel.
Your laptop was bought at Christmas, so it could have been built last summer. New drivers are released all the time.

cloudy-day

macman wrote: »

I'd try changing the wireless channel via the router's web interface before you spend any money at all.
You may find that your neighbour is running on the same channel.
Your laptop was bought at Christmas, so it could have been built last summer. New drivers are released all the time.

Sorry how do I change the wireless channel?

And I should really ask...what does that mean in layman's terms? Really trying to get to grips with all this but am feeling a bit lost at the mo.

On the plus side I can work my new smartphone - but thats mostly because of help from my 12 year old DS!

macman

Log into the router via your web browser and go to wireless settings-there will be an option to change the channel. If two routers within range of each other are on the same or nearby overlapping channels, then interference can be caused, just like on any wireless system.
The exact method will depend on the make and model of your router-see the manual.

GunJack

first, download, install and run inSSIDer on the laptop in question.

http://www.metageek.net/products/inssider/

this will tell you if your wifi is being interfered with by another router in your area. If it is, what mac is referring to above is changing the channel your router's wifi is using, so it's not getting the interference

Oh, and monitor with inssider in various rooms in the house, especially in the room you're having problems in....