Wireless only works when second laptop is connected

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
J

jenna0

Honorable
May 11, 2013
3
0
10,510
My roommate and I are struggling with a bizarre connection issue. We have two Windows laptops trying to connect to the same wifi network. The wireless on the first only works when the second is connected. That is, if the second is connected, everything is fine, but as soon as the second disconnects, the first does as well. If the second is disconnected, the first simply cannot use the network. It is possible to reconnect for a few seconds, but it always drops. We're not aware of any other connection between the laptops. Also, a few weeks ago this issue did not exist.

We're happy to provide any other information that might be helpful. Thanks in advance for any advice! :)
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
N

noidea_77

Distinguished
Jul 28, 2012
6,527
0
19,960
Connect both laptops to the net. Next open a command prompt on both (search for "cmd" in start menu) and type "ipconfig -all". Either check if both laptops got an IP address from the routers DHCP range.... or post the output here, if you don't understand the cryptic stuff. :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
J

jenna0

Honorable
May 11, 2013
3
0
10,510
Thanks for your replies. We did try resetting the router, but it didn't work.

Here are the results from "ipconfig /all".
This is what I got on the computer with faulty connection, when the computer was connected to the wifi.
I hope I'm posting the relevant part...

Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : Home
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Atheros AR1111 WB-EG Wireless Network Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 94-DB-C9-5B-42-77
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : fd00::75de:3b4a:fde3:625d(Preferred)
Temporary IPv6 Address. . . . . . : fd00::a511:f430:d5cc:e68f(Preferred)
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::75de:3b4a:fde3:625d%14(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.49(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, May 11, 2013 11:09:25 AM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, May 12, 2013 11:09:35 AM
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
205.171.2.65
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Here's what I got from the same computer, but when the wifi was dropped:

Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : Home
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Atheros AR1111 WB-EG Wireless Network Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 94-DB-C9-5B-42-77
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : fd00::75de:3b4a:fde3:625d(Preferred)
Temporary IPv6 Address. . . . . . : fd00::a511:f430:d5cc:e68f(Preferred)
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::75de:3b4a:fde3:625d%14(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.49(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, May 11, 2013 11:09:25 AM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, May 12, 2013 11:09:35 AM
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
205.171.2.65
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled


Here's what we got from the other laptop when it was connected:

Wireless LAN adapter Wi-Fi:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : Home
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) WiFi Link 5300 AGN
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-21-6A-46-2C-CE
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : fd00::7d3d:8f84:288:1b(Preferred)
Temporary IPv6 Address. . . . . . : fd00::19d2:9bb7:cb2f:52dc(Preferred)
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::7d3d:8f84:288:1b%12(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.72(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Friday, May 10, 2013 6:52:20 PM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, May 12, 2013 2:08:25 PM
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 251666794
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-18-CF-F4-D8-00-21-6A-46-2C-CE
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
205.171.2.65
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
N

noidea_77

Distinguished
Jul 28, 2012
6,527
0
19,960
First of all: perfect post! I don't see an obvious problem with the ip configuration, but the ip addresses are a bit strange. Are there many more devices connected to the router? One Laptop got the 192.168.0.49, the other got 192.168.0.72. Both are relatively high and 22 between them.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
N

noidea_77

Distinguished
Jul 28, 2012
6,527
0
19,960

I don't the make/model of your router, but if you login to it, there should be a menu somewhere, where you can see the connected devices. In addition you can check the DHCP address range. Do you have security, like WPA enabled, so nobody can use your wifi for free?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom