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HP WiFi Problem

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SILVER SURFER

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We have Xfinity wifi using their Arris TG1682G gateway. My Lenovo Ideapad works fine with it. But our HP laptop takes a long time to connect on bootup, sometimes won't connect automatically or manually, and drops connection. All this is pretty random and I haven't been able to identify a cause. There are occasions that seem to sometimes cause a drop: (1) when emails (Thunderbird on Outlook account) are received, especially from a smartphone, (2) after an upgrade of software that accesses the internet (Windows, Thunderbird, Firefox), and (3) when the computer sleeps. In addition to the aforementioned Lenovo, wireless devices include a Xfinity Pace TV box, a Samsung smart TV, and an Epson printer - all three are seldom used but work fine when they are. Any help with this frustrating problem will be appreciated.
 
CHuDWah said:
We have Xfinity wifi using their Arris TG1682G gateway. My Lenovo Ideapad works fine with it. But our HP laptop takes a long time to connect on bootup, sometimes won't connect automatically or manually, and drops connection. All this is pretty random and I haven't been able to identify a cause. There are occasions that seem to sometimes cause a drop: (1) when emails (Thunderbird on Outlook account) are received, especially from a smartphone, (2) after an upgrade of software that accesses the internet (Windows, Thunderbird, Firefox), and (3) when the computer sleeps. In addition to the aforementioned Lenovo, wireless devices include a Xfinity Pace TV box, a Samsung smart TV, and an Epson printer - all three are seldom used but work fine when they are. Any help with this frustrating problem will be appreciated.
Click to expand...
I have an HP laptop, and my WiFi regularly drops for no reason. I have to click the system tray icon, disable the WiFi, then re-enable it for it to reconnect. I've got a RealTek RTL8822BE adapter, and a Googling of that device returns many results describing the same issue. There's allegedly a fix, but it involves downloading drivers yourself and installing them. I tried this once, and the problem went away for a few months but has returned. Some people report success, though.

Best of luck.
 
Having a lot of experience in this type of thing. I'll give some of the following tips.

1) If you can put two laptops side by side and clearly one is operating much better (speed, reliability, etc..) then you've eliminated some major sources of error, which is the internet provider, modem, and router (well mostly router). *there are a few settings you could try tweak in the router, but I"m pretty confident it's coming from hp hardware/software.
2) You could try to update, reinstall driver, and or tweak settings.
3) HP is notorious for having poor wifi/ethernet cards inside. I found you can simply replace the internal one with a $20 something dollar card from amazon. If that's too complicated, get a usb external wifi/ethernet adapter.
That has solved many problems I had with HP wifi in the past.
 
The problem has more to do with Xfinity than your device. Xfinity changed their firmware and older devices have a tough time staying connected. Schweddy had the same issue and after following my suggestion his problem went away, just as mine did.

You can try updating the firmware on your internal adaptor or you can buy a new one. This one works great and is pretty inexpensive. It's actually cheaper now than when I bought mine.

 
RedAkston said:
The problem has more to do with Xfinity than your device. Xfinity changed their firmware and older devices have a tough time staying connected. Schweddy had the same issue and after following my suggestion his problem went away, just as mine did.

You can try updating the firmware on your internal adaptor or you can buy a new one. This one works great and is pretty inexpensive. It's actually cheaper now than when I bought mine.

Click to expand...


I don't think Xfinity is the problem - our other devices work fine on the wifi network and the HP that doesn't is less than a year old. I think the problem is the wifi card in that machine and that seems to be the consensus with replies here. I'm going to try updating the firmware. If that doesn't work, probably the easiest/cheapest solution is a USB adapter (thanks for the tip on the Asus one). I have used a Logitech wireless mouse with its USB adapter on the HP, and it works fine.
 
Just to follow up...

Bought one of these guys:

41YCmKhaC+L._AC_.jpg


Archer T2U Nano AC600 Nano Wireless USB Adapter

Plugged it in and Windows recognized it, although I did download and install the vendor's driver. I also disabled the onboard wifi card. No more connection problems and upload/download speeds are considerably faster.
 
RedAkston said:
The problem has more to do with Xfinity than your device. Xfinity changed their firmware and older devices have a tough time staying connected. Schweddy had the same issue and after following my suggestion his problem went away, just as mine did.

You can try updating the firmware on your internal adaptor or you can buy a new one. This one works great and is pretty inexpensive. It's actually cheaper now than when I bought mine.

Click to expand...
Whoa! +10 on the tech meter!
Well done!
 
CHuDWah said:
The Archer is half the speed of the Asus, but it also costs half as much.
Click to expand...
I've had pretty good luck with TPLink WiFi routers. Not used as routers, but config dumbed down to be access points.
For the best networking gear at an affordable price, check out Ubiquiti.
Gives you the capabilities you need and want and doesn't break your bank.
 
CHuDWah said:
I don't think Xfinity is the problem - our other devices work fine on the wifi network and the HP that doesn't is less than a year old. I think the problem is the wifi card in that machine and that seems to be the consensus with replies here. I'm going to try updating the firmware. If that doesn't work, probably the easiest/cheapest solution is a USB adapter (thanks for the tip on the Asus one). I have used a Logitech wireless mouse with its USB adapter on the HP, and it works fine.
Click to expand...
Wireless networking is very different from standard ethernet in terms of standardization and compatibility. If the wireless network is working on some devices, but not others there's very likely a compatibility issue between the devices or a misconfiguration somewhere. I doubt Comcast gives you much control over the wireless network, but you can try decreasing the channel width (as a test) or changing the encryption type. Likewise, you can update the wireless NIC firmware and make sure it is the primary wireless network for the client device. Aside from those things, troubleshooting can be more involved and will likely be resolved more easily by changing the wireless NIC to something else. As a final test you can hardwire the HP client to see if it works wired just to make sure it works and isolate it as a wireless issue.

There's essentially three types of external wireless NICs that I'd describe as: low profile, standard, and bulky.

Low profile ones sit more flush against the client and are less likely to break off, however, their signal strength and capabilities will be more limited due to less room for MIMO antennas and processing.

Standard ones are kinda old school and look like a USB flash drive that sticks out of the laptop. These will sometimes have better capabilities than a low profile and may even be cheaper for the performance they provide, but they are sometimes at risk for the usb interface bending or being damaged from being bumped.

Bulky ones come in all different shapes and sizes, but some can be connected by a USB cable rather than a direct connection and typically have external antennas. These will have more computing power and better range/performance, but they aren't ideal if your device is mobile.

If the client device has support you may be better off going through the manufacturer's support. They may ask you to take an over the air packet capture from another device to diagnose the issue.
 
Grizzly Adams said:
I have an HP laptop, and my WiFi regularly drops for no reason. I have to click the system tray icon, disable the WiFi, then re-enable it for it to reconnect. I've got a RealTek RTL8822BE adapter, and a Googling of that device returns many results describing the same issue. There's allegedly a fix, but it involves downloading drivers yourself and installing them. I tried this once, and the problem went away for a few months but has returned. Some people report success, though.

Best of luck.
Click to expand...
Maybe there's a firmware fix.
 
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