Wifi keeps dropping out

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Alpha7

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Oct 29, 2014
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I built a new desktop last winter and it started off working great. Now though, all of a sudden, the wireless keeps dropping out. I tried everything that I could think of. I reset and reconfigured the router. I tried changing channels, frequencies, and the fragmentation. I reinstalled and made sure that I had the right wireless drivers. I bought a few new routers that were supposed to have better range. I scanned for viruses and malware, ect. I called comcast.

The other computers in my house are working fine on the same router so I think that is has to be my computer or antenna. Any thoughts? It's driving me nuts.

The weird thing is that when it drops out, the upload speed on speedtest is constant at 12mbps but the download speed drops to 2mbps. The only thing that helps is restarting.
 
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PsychoPsyops

PsychoPsyops

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Mar 31, 2014
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I'm having the exact same issue. Custom desktop, frequent wireless dropping after several months of working just fine, also through Comcast.
I know this won't really help, but I had also made a post about this problem.
That being said, I will track this thread and update you on the answers/solutions that I get as well as read yours.
 
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Alpha7

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Thanks that would be great. I'll shoot you a message if I make any progress.

I'm about to try moving my computer in the house to see if that helps. It might be that there is some interference in the neighborhood.... I'm also going to try putting a new wifi antenna on. I'm currently using the one that came with my motherboard.

What OS are you running. I have W7 on this computer but I'm about to add linux. If it works in linux, I feel like that helps isolate the problem to W7.

You could try a Ubuntu live CD if you don't want to install, just to test it.

 
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HyNrgy

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one thing you can try, if you have an android phone, is an app called Wifi Analyzer. It can give you real time information about signal strength (should be higher than -60db for better results) and network congestion as in how many networks are on what channel and more. This may help as you can move a phone around much easier and faster but you may need to give it a few seconds to update
 
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Alpha7

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My modem is a new motorola surfboard DOCSIS 3.0.

Router is new as well. Netgear WNDR4500v2.

Wifi card is an Intel Dual band, AC 7260.

I'll look into that App. Thanks for that.
 
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Alpha7

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I did it manually from intel's site.

I was reading another thread that made me recall something. I first started to notice an issue right after a W7 update. I did a system restore after that and the problem went away. Months down the line I did another update and the problem came back. I did a system restore again and the problem persisted. Any way to check to see if a W7 update is causing the issue?

Thanks
 
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PsychoPsyops

PsychoPsyops

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I originally replied to this letting you know I had the same exact problem.
I'm here again to let you know the problem has ceased. The only two things that changed were checking the "Connect to network even if not broadcasting SSID" within the network settings, and my father turning the heat on.
I once heard that WiFi weakens in the cold air. It is very possible that turning the heat on allowed the signal to stop dropping, although there is still the possibility that it was an issue with Comcast and it was only a coincidence that it stopped dropping once this happened.
Not sure if this helps, but it's all I can give.
 
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Alpha7

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Hey, thanks for writing back. I haven't made much progress on this issue but I also haven't put much time into it. I've been busy with work.

I don't think that the air temperature could be an issue for me because it's been doing this all summer long.

I just checked the box in my settings. Hopefully that will help. I will report back.

I'm glad that you got it figured out.

 
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Alpha7

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I figured out what the problem was. I installed chrome, firefox, and adobe flash. There were two flash entries in chrome. It was causing a crash in the browser. Even though I uninstalled adobe flash, chrome had to be uninstalled and reinsatlled. That fixed the random drop outs.

The other issue is my house has a lot of metal in the walls which limits my wifi signal strength. In addtion to that, I have an Intel AC 7260 card. I think the drivers for this card are crap. I've had issues with other intel cards before. I uninstalled the intel drivers and let windows install the drivers and the wifi is a little faster. Anyone else have problems with this card and know how to speed things up? I'm only averaging 12mbps upstairs. Sometimes it goes as low as 5. Downstairs my laptop gets 100 with a cheaper wifi card.

I'm about to do more research on this card and experiment with another intel card. I have an extra that I pulled out of a laptop.
 
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