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I have an old MSI laptop that I used rely on for everything, but haven't needed it for a couple of years now. It's still running Windows 8.1. Everything worked fine those few times I needed to boot it up for one thing or another.

Until recently.

Last March, my home's SSID suddently stopped appearing in "Network and Sharing Center > Networks". My neighbors' SSIDs appear. My cell phone's hotspot appears (if turn it on) and I can connect. Everything other wifi device (other PCs, our TV, our Kindles ... our cell phones) can see our home's SSID and connect with no problem.

"Nothing changed" since my MSI laptop was last able to see the home SSID and connect.

I tried many things, including "Connect to hidden SSID", "Connect to a wifi network manually" and disabling/renenabling my laptop's Wifi: nothing has worked. I also logged on to our ATT home router to see if the MSI somehow got "blacklisted". Nothing :(

I'm stumped :(

Q: Any ideas what might be wrong?

Q: Any suggestions for troubleshooting?

Detailed info:

- Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network connections > Wifi > Right-Click, Properties >
      Realtek RTL8723AE Wireless LAN 802.1 > [Configure] > Advanced] >
      - 802.11d Disabled => Enabled
      - Wireless Mode: IEEE 802.11b/g/n

- http://192.168.1.254/ > [Home Network] > Status > Wi-Fi status >
                    2.4 GHz    5 GHz
                    -------    -----
Wifi Radio status   Enabled    Enabled
Mode                B/G/N      AC/N
Current channel     3          44
Channel selection   Auto       Auto
Home SSID           On         On
Hide network name   Off        Off
Security            WPA        WPA

Update:

  • I tried Gregg's suggestions (thank you again, Gregg!) and a few other things (e.g. download an alternate driver for the on-board Realtek RTL8723AE Wifi adapter): still no-go.

BACKGROUND:

  • I bought the laptop about 10 years ago; basically "put it on the shelf" about three years ago ... and I could use it again now.
  • I haven't changed my home router or explicitly done any Windows updates since it "last worked OK" (2019-2020 timeframe).
  • The central problem is that it simply isn't seeing all the SSIDs I need it to. For reasons unknown.
  • It's failing to see my home broadband (either the 2.5GHz or 5GHz channel), or the guest wifi at another site that also used to work.

MAIN QUESTION(S):

  • Q: How can I determine exactly WHY (i.e. exactly "how") it's failing?
  • Q: Any suggestions for "troubleshooting the problem"?

Update:

  • I installed Ubuntu 22.0.4 LTS on a USB stick, booted in "demo" mode ... and it was able to see my home router with absolutely no problem. The laptop h/w is fine; Windows is the problem.
  • Automatic updates are OFF. I uninstalled my last update (for Windows Mgmt Framework, 2021 timeframe): still no-go.
  • I created a new user, "TestWifi". TestWifi can see lots of different SSIDs (including other ATT routers, and including "Elvis" ;))... but not mine.
  • It's an ATT router, Model: BGW210-700, S/W version: 4.22.5
  • The problem is occuring with the WiFi in multiple different locations (i.e. many completely different kinds of routers and different Wifi configurations). Including at least one other place where it USED to work.
  • Ideally, I can find some diagnostic tool or log file that would help me understand why Windows isn't seeing the SSID and won't let connect manually.
paulsm4
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    Did you try a laptop restart? Is the SSID among Settings -> Wi-Fi -> Known networks? – Destroy666 Apr 11 '23 at 00:04
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    Also try forgetting the Wireless settings and setting it up again. – John Apr 11 '23 at 00:40
  • Yes, I've restarted the laptop (many times). No, the SSID isn't among those shown "Wifi > Networks > Wi-Fi 2". That's basically the whol problem :) I tried several different ways to "forget Wireless settings", including `netsh wlan delete profile name="ATTvpujUI"`, and "Device Mgr > Delete Realtek RTL8723AE Wifi" adapter" – paulsm4 Apr 11 '23 at 17:03
  • Try to change the channel on the wifi router to 11. – harrymc Apr 14 '23 at 08:01
  • @harrymc: The router for my home broadband is set to "auto". The current channel for 2.4 GHz is "3". I need to figure out what's wrong with my *LAPTOP*. So I can use it at home (which used to work) and other locations (which also used to work). Q: Any suggestions for troubleshooting, and/or configuring the laptop? – paulsm4 Apr 14 '23 at 14:24
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    Disable security software and firewall? These kinds of software auto-update, so don't do "Nothing changed". – harrymc Apr 14 '23 at 14:45
  • Windows 8 still allowed you to disable automatic updates. There were no manual updates prior to this problem. The questions remain: Q1: Any suggestions for configuring the NIC? Q2: Any suggestions for troubleshooting Windows Wifi? – paulsm4 Apr 14 '23 at 16:25
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    1)So just to confirm MSI/troubled laptop can connect to another Wi-Fi (smartphone hotspot) fine? 2)Per another comment I see you deleted Wi-Fi card from device manager, be sure to check the box that says to delete drivers. 3)do a [TCP/IP reset](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/how-to-reset-tcp-ip-by-using-the-netshell-utility-d954430c-9b11-43f0-6081-0fc9235a8b4a): `netsh int ip reset` . 4)[do a static discharge](https://superuser.com/a/1434229/160219): remove battery & power cord, hold pwr button 10-20sec; it's fixed so odd things in my experience – gregg Apr 14 '23 at 17:39
  • @gregg - excellent advice: thank you. 1) Correct. 2) No, I *didn't* pay close attention to the checkbox. I'll delete again - and make sure I check "delete drivers". I'll also see if there are any newer drivers, and/or a Realtek driver. 3) Will do. 4) Will do. 5) I'll also double-check all "advanced options", and take a search-and-destroy stroll through Regedit. Thank you again; I'll keep you posted. – paulsm4 Apr 14 '23 at 20:20
  • 6) Did you disable security SW & firewall as asked by @harrymc? 7) Have you tried restarting your Wi-Fi router? 8) Event Viewer, Applications and Services Logs, Microsoft, Windows, WLAN-AutoConfig; also TCPIP; Application; System logs. 9) I'd try a Linux Live USB environment on this laptop if it connects to Wi-Fi you know its not a HW fault by something in Windows, at this point it might be a wipe & reload Windows, although [Win8 has a reset](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/how-to-refresh-reset-or-restore-your-windows-8-1-pc-51391d9a-eb0a-84a7-69e4-c2c1fbceb8dd) I'd try first – gregg Apr 17 '23 at 14:04
  • 10) you mentioned getting into your ATT router confirming MSI didn't get blacklisted, did you validate MAC filtering isn't turned on? Maybe if you provide your router model we could help with that. 11) guessing you won't want to, but you could backup your router config that reset it, do a quick setup of it then see if MSI connects before loading from backup file – gregg Apr 17 '23 at 14:06

2 Answers2

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Understood your question, but save yourself from so much work, just buy a TP-link usb wifi dongle and it should work just fine without any further intervention, just plug and play, oh and one time driver install.

link >> https://www.tp-link.com/in/home-networking/adapter/tl-wn725n/

explore the product page to see the detailed info.(not promoting, just helping what helped revive my laptop wifi)

What's happening with your Win8.1 MSI laptop happened with mine also, so i tried bunch of different stuffs and finally got this TP-link stuff which works fast simple plug-n-play.

Oh and one more thing, electronics die, after certain time they die, so that natural that your wifi just gave up or some physical malfunction at it's chip level(wear and tear) hence considering an upgrade of that module would save your time and effort.

Nandini
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  • Q: Can you suggest any tools I can use to analyze the traffic at the 802.11 level? To understand why Linux can see the SSID, but not Windows 8.1? On the same PC/same hardware? NOTE: Failing all else, I suspect my next step might be to scrub Windows 8.1. – paulsm4 Apr 20 '23 at 14:52
  • Wireshark, the software to analyze the traffic. And also, if scrubbing Windows 8.1 make sure to make a custom Windows 10/11 ISO before installing the new OS. – Nandini Apr 20 '23 at 17:06
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    It's been a long time since I used Wireshark (nee "Ethereal") - I completely forgot about it. Thank you for reminding me. Here's 50 points :) I'll keep you posted what (if anything) I learn about the "root causre". – paulsm4 Apr 20 '23 at 21:27
  • Glad to hear that it helped you, have a great day. – Nandini Apr 21 '23 at 19:00
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    I haven't had a chance to investigate further. FYI, I never got a Windows CD (it came factory pre-installed, there was an "OEM install" partition I deleted and freed up a long time ago). If I scrub Windows 8.1, I'll need to reinstall everything. I'll take a backup (and make a boot USB) afterwards. REQUEST: please consider "upvoting" my question, if don't mind. Thank you in advance :) – paulsm4 Apr 21 '23 at 20:56
  • sure, if need any help in creating bootable usb and or custom Windows ISO do let me know – Nandini Apr 22 '23 at 06:29
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Create a new user in your Windows OS and give a try. Maybe something related with registry causes you to see your ssid.

ozgurkolukisa
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  • Unlikely ... but I tried it. It didn't help :( Q: any suggestions how I can *troubleshoot* the problem? Not just "fix" it, but *understand* why it's occurring? Please see my updates above for more details. Please feel free to let me know if you need more details. – paulsm4 Apr 19 '23 at 03:13