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All devices I have tried (a laptop, all smartphones, a PlayStation) with my WiFi networks work perfectly. The only problem is my desktop PC.

Adapter No. 1

Sometimes the adapter wouldn't even find any network (and there are lots of them as I live in a building).

When it did find the signal from my network, it was usually above 80%, so that's not the problem. Connection was very unstable, I usually got only local access with the classic yellow admiration sign over the signal bars.

I'm on Windows 7 and my WiFi adapter was a TP-LINK TL-WN751ND (PCI).

Things I've tried:

  • Uninstall and reinstall drivers. This fixed the problem for a while, but after some days the exact same problem started again.

  • Disable and then enable the device. This didn't change anything, the problem went on.

  • Reset TCP/IP settings. This didn't work either.

Adapter No. 2

So I thought that the problem would be the network adapter. I bought a new one: TP-Link Wireless USB Adapter TL-WN823N. This one works, but 5 or 6 times a day it just doesn't detect any network, and a reset is needed for it to start working again. The usual procedure is the following:

  1. WiFi works ok.
  2. Suddenly, it stops working. The image says "Not connected. No connections available." enter image description here
  3. If I click on Solve problems, Windows solves the issue straightaway. The picture says that a problem with the wireless adapter was detected, and it was corrected by restoring the adapter. enter image description here

Current issue

I would like to make the second adapter to work. I mean, I can get it to work every time, but it's very annoying to do these steps all the time, and being affraid of connection being lost randomly at any moment. Is there any way to fix this permanently?

Tendero
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  • Are these both USB adapters? – Giacomo1968 May 24 '18 at 00:03
  • @JakeGould No, the current one is USB. The previous one was installed inside the case, in a PCI slot. – Tendero May 24 '18 at 00:04
  • You say that uninstall and reinstall driver fixes the problem for a while. You might try again, and if it works add to it [this answer](https://superuser.com/a/968749/8672) to block driver updates by Windows. – harrymc May 24 '18 at 08:26
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    last Windows 7 update broke network ["Microsoft is aware that some customers have reported that network drivers are intentionally uninstalled, then fail to reinstall after applying the May 8, 2018 update. This can result in the loss of network connectivity."](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4103718). so uninstall last Windows 7 updates and look if network works again. – magicandre1981 May 24 '18 at 15:35
  • have you tried rolling back to previous driver versions? sometimes you find older drivers working better than the newer ones. – Mastaxx May 29 '18 at 15:39

1 Answers1

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You say :

Uninstall and reinstall drivers. This fixed the problem for a while, but after some days the exact same problem started again.

If this "fix" stops working after some time, it is most probably because Windows has updated the installed display driver with a problematic version.

As a workaround, until the problem is fixed by Microsoft, I would suggest to try once again to uninstall and reinstall the driver. If this still fixes the problem, execute also this answer, which explains how to permanently block driver updates by Windows for one specific device, while still allowing updates to all other devices.

harrymc
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