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Question

Windows 10 wifi instability

Oct 15, 2015 4:00PM PDT

My computer (XPS 13) came with Windows 10 installed. It's very finicky about wifi. The computer thinks it doesn't have a wifi adapter at times. Drivers are current, and the adapter came brand new in the brand new computer from Dell, so you'd think it would work.

At home, it often takes at least one reboot to get a good connection. And often it will drop the connection after a while anyway. We even got a new router to see if a more modern system would help... not much.

At work, it connects and stays, but doesn't remember the connection so I have to tell it to connect on most days.

When traveling, it often won't connect to wifi no matter what I do. If it looks connected, it only says "limited" and no amount of forgetting the network and rebooting the computer changes that.

Any ideas?

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Yeah, I have an idea
Oct 15, 2015 4:23PM PDT

we've seen the problem here before and it's due to a weak wifi device in the Dell computer. Try using a USB wifi instead, which you can get for $15-20.

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I'd return as defective...
Oct 15, 2015 4:47PM PDT

and get a different one.
Dafydd.

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Answer
Let's check something basic.
Oct 15, 2015 5:21PM PDT

1. Distance to the router is ______.
2. The router's WiFi channels is __.
3. The router is set to ______ encryption.
4. The router's firmware is the latest?

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Answer
Network Setting change suggested
Oct 15, 2015 5:28PM PDT

I had similar problems. In settings I defined an order for the adapters.
The first is wired-adapter, 2nd is Wi-Fi interface. That took care of it.
Since that fix, it connects every time. Hope it helps.

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To fix wifi
Oct 15, 2015 11:12PM PDT

Step 1 – First things first, Right-Click the newly-reinstated Start Menu and select Command Prompt (Admin) from the drop-down menu.

Step 2 – Type out the following command, then hit the Enter key

reg delete HKCRCLSID{988248f3-a1ad-49bf-9170-676cbbc36ba3} /va /f

Step 3 – Enter the below command into the Command Prompt and then triumphantly hit the Enter key

netcfg -v -u dni_dne

Step 4 – Restart the PC and then double-check your wifi settings. You should now see a revived list of all of the available networks within range.