New router and connection keeps dropping on laptop only

freebetsfreetips

Hi

We moved from normal to fibre with plusnet and it works fine on phones and TV but not my laptop which I use all the time. It worls fine but keeps losing connection very frequently and it is driving me mad.

Have tried Plusnet who were useless and a few things but not getting anywhere.

If I use windows troubleshooting it fixes it quickly for a short period of time. It says "The default gateway is not available - fixed".

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Neil_Jones

If the laptop is connected wireless it will usually be because of wireless channel interference.

What router are you using, is it the PlusNet One, the white one with a long blue light across the bottom front?

freebetsfreetips

Yup, that's the one. They said to change the channel but didn't advise how and their online info didn't seem that helpful. As far as I could understand it uses both channels/frequencies? Would this be consistent with it working fine on TVs, phones etc?

molerat

Is your laptop connecting to 5GHz or 2.4GHz ? A problem I have seen is that if you have the 5 and 2.4 named the same and your device is capable of using both then it can get confused. Giving separate SSIDs to each and selecting which you connect to often solves this.

JJ_Egan

freebetsfreetips wrote: »

Yup, that's the one. They said to change the channel but didn't advise how and their online info didn't seem that helpful. As far as I could understand it uses both channels/frequencies? Would this be consistent with it working fine on TVs, phones etc?

Channel setup via router .
set to channel 1 6 or 11 .
Interferance from neighbours etc then change channel again .
5ghz start with channel 44 .

freebetsfreetips

Not 100% sure what you mean.

I get the impression this router chooses gbetween them but not sure.

Got to go out now but will be back tomorrow day.

freebetsfreetips

JJ_Egan wrote: »

Channel setup via router .
set to channel 1 6 or 11 .
Interferance from neighbours etc then change channel again .
5ghz start with channel 44 .

Ah right, I see. Have tried 1 on 2.4 and 44 on 5. will see how that goes. Is that better than letting it auto/smart wireless?

Cheers all!

thorganby

The info that you need is here:

https://www.plus.net/help/broadband/router-user-guides/

Scroll down and click on How do I check or change my WiFi settings?

and do as molerat has suggested regarding changing the 2.4 & 5 SSID's

JJ_Egan

No it does not choose .
The basics are it broadcasts 2.4 and 5 ghz .
On both channels their is a range ie 1 6 11 etc .
Key is the wireless card on your machine and its capabilities .


https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=wifi+channels+plusnet+router

freebetsfreetips

Tried 1 and 44 and still had similar problem so should i try 6 and 44?

thorganby

JJ_Egan wrote: »

No it does not choose .
The basics are it broadcasts 2.4 and 5 ghz .
On both channels their is a range ie 1 6 11 etc .
Key is the wireless card on your machine and its capabilities .


https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=wifi+channels+plusnet+router

It does choose according to their website:

https://www.plus.net/help/broadband/getting-the-best-wifi-signal/

How do I get the best from my WiFi Channel?

For 2.4GHz Wi-Fi routers there are 13 channels for Wi-Fi in the UK, each giving a slightly different frequency. You'll only be connected to one, so the others can sometimes disturb your connection.

So, how does your router decide which one to connect to? Well, it'll usually try to choose the one being used the least in the area.

The new Plusnet Hub One router is even cleverer. It uses dual-band Wi-Fi, which means it connects to two different frequencies, to give you an even stronger Wi-Fi signal.

Get the best from your new Hub One router by using devices alongside it which work on 5GHz. Newer computers should work fine, but older machines might need a bit of upgrading. You can do this easily using a dual-band USB dongle. Have a look at our Router guides for a bit more on this.

If you're having problems with any router, you should check it's connected to a channel that's as free as possible. There are ways to check how many routers are using the same channel as you, have a look on our forums for more info. If, when you look, your router is using a channel with a lot of routers on it, you'll be better off changing to a less common one. Channel one, six or eleven will usually give you the best speed.

If the laptop is older then you need to ensure that it only connects to the 2.4 Ghz SSID by making it different to the 5Ghz SSID.