Wifi disconnecting/disappearing

Ravandel · Oct 3, 2023

Like 3 months ago. Though I asked on lenovo forum about that stuff and told me to try a few other things, it somehow works a bit better after I did power reset. It worked 3/3 times after it, I was optimistic then on 4th try wifi shut down again...

I got my laptop on warranty but I already sent it like 3 months ago because I needed to have my screen replaced. Even though it was quick as they knew already what was wrong, I prefer NOT to send it again. I'd rather use ethernet cable / usb wifi. This model is pain to open (I need to replace RAM / SSD for the original ones) and I am using that laptop quite a lot. In addition that issues might not be so easy to reproduce by them. That's why it would be way better to pay that 30$ or something, but the problem is with availability of spare parts (lenovo doesn't sell it in my country).

johnlgalt · Oct 3, 2023

Good luck then.

I haven't used a USB wireless transmitter in a long time, so I have no idea what is good or not, but some searching around should be able to get you some good quality dongles.

Anibor_11 · Oct 3, 2023

johnlgalt said:
Good luck then.

I haven't used a USB wireless transmitter in a long time, so I have no idea what is good or not, but some searching around should be able to get you some good quality dongles.

Very good, in my experience. I use it permanently:

TP-Link USB WiFi Adapter for Desktop PC, AC1300Mbps 3.0 Dual Band Network with 2.4GHz/5GHz High Gain Antenna(Archer T3U Plus), MU-MIMO, Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/XP, Mac OS 10.9-10.15

johnlgalt · Oct 3, 2023

Ravandel said:
nd I am using that laptop quite a lot.

One thought that hit me, and supports earlier suppositions, is that this thing is over heating. I would really consider cleaning it again if you use it that much, it might also buy a reprieve for you until you can get a quality dongle like posted above.

At any rate, with tight tolerances and limited airflow capabilities, laptops should be cleaned (at the very least, the vents cleaned using a can of compressed air) regularly. It depends of course on your environment, but having carpets, using (a lot) of fabric softener on your clothes, and having pets and / or children will definitely increase particulate count in general, so grab a flashlight and take a close look into the vents - if you see even a spec of dust, blow all the vents out.

Reasoning is simple - if the Wi-Fi card *is* overheating, that means that other components probably are as well. Which means this laptop which is important to you and that you use a lot could be in trouble down the road, sooner than you think.

OTOH, if it is software based, all you've done is cleaned out some vents to prevent other problems that other components could potentially face down the road.

And best part? No disassembly required

Ravandel · Oct 3, 2023

Since I sent it to warranty like 3 months ago it was cleaned inside. I had an internship many years ago so I know about cleaning PC/Laptops

Some PC's I cleaned got insane amount of dust.

So it is not overheating issue as the problems with wifi could happen right after I boot the system when the laptop is still cold. I also don't push it to the maximum.

Still WiFi now works more often that it isn't (previously I sometimes needed like 10 restarts in a row for it to start working correctly), but I have bought USB WiFi adapter anyway and as @Anibor_11 said it works well so far, even though I just took whatever was in the first shop I went to today for like 13$ and USB 2.0 (it works the same or even better than my PCI-e card so far in my initial testing.

Anway thanks for all ideas and help :)