Win 10 - internet connection problems started

JohnB47

Hi all. I have a win 10 laptop - latest software.
I normally leave the laptop in standby mode. In recent days, when I wake it up, there is no internet connection.
I should say, straight away, that two mobiles in the house remain connected to the internet throughout this process.
So, on the laptop I see a little world symbol on the taskbar (where the wifi symbol normally is). I click on it and go through the process of selecting our router and clicking 'Automatically Connect' then 'Connect'. After a few seconds  the message 'Unable to connect to this network' appears. If I try choosing 'forget' and re enter the router key, same thing happens. If go through a troubleshooter it say I haven't chosen to automatically connect (although I have). If I agree for the troubleshooter to fix this, it doesn't actually change anything.
When I step over that option, it presents a message saying:
'Troublesooting was unable to fix all of the issues found. Problems found:
This computer is set manually to connect to "Amazon-RQR" Not fixed
This computer is set manually to connect to "HappyHols1" Not fixed'
What is that all about? If they are router IDs, neither one is mine. And why two? Edit: I've just looked at the list of nearby wifi routers and neither of those show up in the list - if they are router ID's that is. It's possible that they are routers that I would have connected to while on holiday in the past.
So then I power off the Laptop and power on. This time I go through the same process, without success, but I now see and option to 'Disconnect', rather than just 'Connect'. If I do this and retry 'Connect', I can connect successfully and all is OK. (Using Disconnect then Connect has worked in the past also).
This has happened a few times now in recent days.
Any ideas what's going on?
How can I easily get to the 'Disconnect' option - it doesn't seem to appear as an option every time.

steviebabes

Sometimes just restarting your router can fix these odd connection problems.

grumpycrab

JohnB47 said:

This computer is set manually to connect to "Amazon-RQR" Not fixed
This computer is set manually to connect to "HappyHols1" Not fixed'

These ring alarm bells.  (well, I've never seen them before). How old's the latop?  What make is router AND how old is it?
What antti-virus do you have?  Run a manual scan.  Scan computer with malwarebytes.

Biggus_Dickus

Select “Open Network & Internet settings” by right clicking on your taskbar wireless icon.

Select ‘WiFi’...then select ‘Manage known Networks’

Your two rogue ‘networks’ should??  appear on the list. 

Click the unwanted network name/s then click ‘Forget’...do that for any network names that aren’t current.

See how you get on from there.

 

neilmcl

As mentioned above. The simplest solution is to switch off every device that connects to your routers, restart the router, then when they are up and running and connected to the internet start to switch on your devices again in turn, starting with the PC.

JohnB47

Biggus_Dickus said:

Select “Open Network & Internet settings” by right clicking on your taskbar wireless icon.

Select ‘WiFi’...then select ‘Manage known Networks’

Your two rogue ‘networks’ should??  appear on the list. 

Click the unwanted network name/s then click ‘Forget’...do that for any network names that aren’t current.

See how you get on from there.

 

OK, I've done that. Yes those two and others showed up on the list - obviously hubs that I've connected to in the past (hols. cafes, etc.). I've deleted all but my own.
Also, to answer grumpycrabs questions, its a Toshiba Sattelite pro, about four years old. Router is Plusnet, again about 4 or 5 years old.
I use Windows defender. I'll do a manual scan and see how to run malwarebytes.
Thanks for the help guys.

grumpycrab

JohnB47 said:

Router is Plusnet, again about 4 or 5 years old.

It may not be the problem but may be worth asking Plusnet if you can have a router upgrade. (4 or 5 years is a bit old.) Should be free if you've been with them that long.

tallmansix

JohnB47 said:

Any ideas what's going on?

I've come across this issue with a few laptops with Intel Wifi cards not connecting after standby, could be one of two things:
1. Power management issue - the card isn't responding properly to standby so isn't waking up properly, solution here:
https://www.thewindowsclub.com/wifi-gets-disconnected-after-sleep

2. Driver versions - some laptops prefer their own manufacturer version of the wifi driver rather than the Intel or Windows version, installing the manufacturer version is worth trying if not already installed.

Biggus_Dickus

OP,...

Just throwing this in as a wild-card, but I've read in the past that Win10 updates have caused the problem you described. 

Have you had any updates recently that have perhaps coincided with the start of your problem?

I have a HP-17 laptop with a Realtek 802.11ac wireless adaptor that goes a bit nutty sometimes in as much as the ‘wireless mode’ values mysteriously change which causes  my download speed to fall by 50%;... I’m fairly confident that it’s related to updates.

 

JohnB47

tallmansix said:

JohnB47 said:

Any ideas what's going on?

I've come across this issue with a few laptops with Intel Wifi cards not connecting after standby, could be one of two things:
1. Power management issue - the card isn't responding properly to standby so isn't waking up properly, solution here:
https://www.thewindowsclub.com/wifi-gets-disconnected-after-sleep

2. Driver versions - some laptops prefer their own manufacturer version of the wifi driver rather than the Intel or Windows version, installing the manufacturer version is worth trying if not already installed.

Thanks for this. I've gone with the first suggestion on this site for now (stopping the PC turning off the wifi adapter to save power). Let's see if that helps. The driver I have is Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 3160. It's what came with the laptop. I'l not do anything about that for now.

JohnB47

Biggus_Dickus said:

OP,...

Just throwing this in as a wild-card, but I've read in the past that Win10 updates have caused the problem you described. 

Have you had any updates recently that have perhaps coincided with the start of your problem?

I have a HP-17 laptop with a Realtek 802.11ac wireless adaptor that goes a bit nutty sometimes in as much as the ‘wireless mode’ values mysteriously change which causes  my download speed to fall by 50%;... I’m fairly confident that it’s related to updates.

 

Well my laptop gets updates all the time. Last ones were a feature update for Windows 10, version 20H2 on 08/01/2021 and a cumulative update (KB4598242) on 14/01/2021. I can't really say that this wifi problem started around then.