16 Fixes For WiFi Keeps Disconnecting In Windows

The Internet is a very valuable asset to every device with the ability to connect to a network. A computer with an internet connection can be very powerful. But a computer with a network that keeps disconnecting is just plain annoying. This article will help you fix the annoying WiFi keeps disconnecting issue on computers powered by Windows 10. 

Why does my WiFi keep disconnecting?

Most users experience the WiFi keeps disconnecting issue shortly after they upgrade their OS to a newer version. There are several other plausible explanations as to why this error happens on your computer. 

  1. Old or Corrupt Network drivers 

Drivers are important for the Out of date or corrupt drivers can be responsible for a lot of inconvenience on your computer. If the WiFi keeps disconnecting on your computer because of a driver-related cause, you will have to update it or remove it and then reinstall it to fix it. 

  1. Misconfigured Wireless Network Adapters 

Wireless Adapters are integral to a Wi-Fi network. If its configurations are not accepted by the computer, users may not be able to connect to a network properly. For instance, If the frequencies of your network are changed, your WiFi keeps disconnecting, even if this does not seem like a very big change.

  1. Improper Power Management

If your laptop’s power usage increases or dips, the Operating System (OS) automatically stops some features on the device to ensure a proper power supply. If this had occurred, you will have to change the 

  1. Wi-Fi sense

WiFi sense is a Windows 10 feature that was implemented to make wireless connectivity easier. The key purpose of this feature is to connect the device with any WiFI network that is available for connection. Your device may keep disconnecting when the WiFi sense feature detects two or more open connections, that the computer can connect to. 

  1. Damaged Router

Your router could be damaged or loosely connected. This will cause network problems on your computer and you will not be able to connect to a network.

Methods to fix WiFi keeps disconnecting on Windows 10

  1. Make Sure that your WiFi driver stays On
  2. Update the Wi-Fi driver
  3. Update your Network Adapter locally
  4. Remove and Reinstall your WiFi adapter driver
  5. Enable high-performance mode
  6. Change your Wireless adapter’s power-saving mode
  7. Turn the WiFi Sense feature off
  8. Reset the adapter’s TCP/IP configuration
  9. Deactivate the 802.11n mode
  10. Change your Network’s DNS settings
  11. Change the WLAN AutoConfig to Automatic
  12. Make your home network private
  13. Modify the Scan value interval
  14. Troubleshoot the Wi-Fi network
  15. Switch to a different Wi-Fi channel
  16. Use an external Adapter

Fixing the WiFi keeps disconnecting Windows 10

Make Sure that your WiFi driver stays On

A driver is one of the most important aspects of any computer component. If this is disabled, your driver will not be functional. If your wifi adapter driver is off, you will face many problems, one of which is the frequent disconnecting.

Follow these steps:

  1. Type in Network Connection in the search box on your taskbar. Open the search result named ‘View Network Connections’.
Search result for network connections
  1. You’ll be taken to a Control Panel window with all your network connections. Here, right-click on the active WiFi connection and select Properties in the context menu.
The Network properties option in the context menu
  1. Under the Networking tab in the Wi-Fi properties window, click on the Configure button.
The networking tab in adapter properties
  1. Open the Power Management tab and uncheck the “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power” checkbox.
Power Management tab in the Adapter properties
  1. Once you’re done, click Ok to save changes and close the window.

Update the Wi-Fi network driver

There are two ways to fix an issue that is caused by a faulty driver. The first of which is to obtain a newer version of the irksome driver.

  1. Right-click on the Start button to bring up the Quick Link menu. 
  2. Choose Device Manager to open it. 
Device Manager option in the Quick Link menu
  1. Expand Network Adapters into a list of all the network adapters available on your computer, by clicking on it. 
List of Network Adapters in Device Manager
  1. Find the problematic wireless network adapter and right-click on it. 
  2. Select Update driver from the context menu that appears. 
The Update driver option in a device context menu
  1. In the driver update wizards, select Search automatically for updated driver software to let the OS look for a compatible network driver.
The Driver update wizard
  1. Once the driver installation is complete, you have to restart your computer to save changes that were recently made. 

Reconnect to your WiFi to see if your WiFI keeps disconnecting again.

Update your Network Adapter locally

To update a WiFi adapter driver locally, you will need a wireless adapter driver on your computer to install. The steps in this procedure install an existing update that was downloaded previously.

  1. Bring up the Run tool by pressing the Windows key and R together.
  2. Input the devmgmt.msc command and run it to open the Device Manager.
The Run command for device manager
  1. In the Device Manager window, click on the Network Adapters section to see a list of all the network-related devices on your computer.  
  2. Locate and right-click on your Wi-Fi adapter to open a context menu.
  3. Select Update driver and the Update wizard will open.
Browse my computer for drivers option in Driver update wizard
  1. Choose Browse my computer for driver software > Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer.
Driver Update wizard
  1. Select an apt driver and install it.
  2. After all, these steps are complete, try connecting to a wireless network and see if the issue is fixed. 

Remove and Reinstall your WiFi adapter driver

Uninstalling it and installing the device driver again is a very useful solution to any kind of driver-related errors.

  1. Open the Device Manager through the Quick Link menu (Windows + X) or through the Run utility(Windows + R) with the devmgmt.msc command.
  2. Locate your Wireless driver. It will be present in the Network Adapters section. 
  3. Right-click on the driver that you want to remove and select Uninstall device to open the Uninstall device window.
Uninstall device option for a wireless driver
  1. After the removal of this driver is complete, bring the Action menu down on the Menu bar of the Device Manager.
  2. Choose the Scan for hardware changes option. 
Scan for Hardware changes option in Action menu
  1. This will detect that the wireless device is missing a driver and install a new one, again. 

Enable high-performance mode

High Performance mode lets chosen features of the computer prioritize the system resources to themselves to provide the highest performance possible.

  1. Click on the Start menu or press Windows key and type in powercfg.cpl.
Search result for powercfg.cpl
  1. You will be taken to the Power Options window in the Control Panel. 
  2. Expand the Show additional plans option and click on the High Performance radio button to enable this mode. 

Change your Wireless Adapter’s power-saving mode

The Power Supply to your wifi adapter can fluctuate, causing the users to experience inconvenience while trying to connect to a wireless network.

  1. Press Windows key + R key, simultaneously on your keyboard, to launch the Run tool.
  2. In the Open field type in control.exe powercfg.cpl and run this command to open the Power Options settings in the Control Panel.
The Power Options command in Run tool
  1. Click on the Change Plan Settings link.
The power plan customization window
  1. And, then select Change advanced power settings
Change plan settings window
  1. In the Power Options window, select High Performance from the dropdown menu.
  2. Expand Wireless Adapter Settings > Power Saving Mode.
WiFi adapter power settings
  1. Change the Setting to Maximum Performance.

If you are changing this configuration on a laptop, you have to change it for both the On battery and Plugged in options to Maximum Performance.

Turn the WiFi Sense feature off

WiFi Sense is a feature that was implemented in Windows 10 to make wireless connectivity easier. But there is a chance that this issue can prevent you from connecting to a network, around many other networks, when it is enabled. Turn it off to see if you are able to connect to a wireless network.

  1. Launch the Windows Settings through the gear icon on the left side of the Start menu or using the keyboard shortcut (Windows + I).
  2. Go into the tile named Network & Internet
Network & Internet tile in Windows Settings
  1. Click on the Wi-Fi tab on the left panel.
  2. Select the Manage WiFi settings link, under the active wireless network connection. 
  3. Locate the section named WIFi sense and disable the toggle switch named Connect to networks shared by my contacts, by clicking on it, if it is activated. 

Reconfigure the adapter’s TCP/IP

The TVP/IP is a simple network protocol that is responsible for two computers to connect with a network over a long distance. Changing the faulty adapter’s TCP/IP may be the fix to this issue.

This is the correct procedure. 

  1. Launch the command prompt tool with the system admin privileges. You can search for it in the search bar, right-click on the best result and choose Run as Administrator.
Search result for cmd
  1. Enter and execute all the commands below:
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
arp -d *
nbtstat -R
nbtstat -RR
ipconfig /flushdns
ipconfig /registerdns
netsh winsock reset
netsh int ip reset c:\resetlog.txt

Type in each command and press Enter, after each one. 

Deactivate the 802.11n Mode

If your 802.11 mode is active on your system, there are chances that your computer may not connect to a WiFi network properly.

  1. Open the Network Connections window by searching for it and opening the top-most search result. 
  2. Right-click on the wireless network connection that is connecting your system to the internet and choose Properties.
  3.  You’ll see the Wi-Fi Properties window. Go into the Networking tab, if you aren’t in it already, and then click on the Configure button.
  4. Go to the Advanced tab and select the Property named ‘802.11n Mode’.
  5. Change its value to disabled and then, click on the Ok button to keep the changes and close the window.
Advanced tab in Adapter properties window

Change your Network’s DNS settings

The Domain Name System (DNS) is the feature that converts the name of a website into an IP address for the interpretation of the web browser. Changing this is a possible solution to the WiFi keeps disconnecting issue on a Windows 10 computer. 

This is one of the methods to change your network DNS. If you wish to know the other ways to change the DNS settings on your Windows 10 system, check out our article.

  1. Search for Network Connections and you should see the View network connections option in the search result. Click on it to launch a window containing all the present and past network connections.
  2. Right-click on the connected wireless network and select Properties from the pop-up menu.
  3. Locate the Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) option and open it by double-clicking on it. 
The IPV4 (TCP/IPV4) option for a network
  1. Click on the radio button that reads Use the following DNS server addresses and type in the DNS address of your choice. We recommend using Google DNS (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4).
Google DNS option for a network
  1. Select Ok to save your changes. 

Change the WLAN AutoConfig to Automatic

The WLAN AutoConfig is used to manage the wireless networks on a computer, depending on the system settings and user’s choices. 

You can change this wireless network configuration with these steps:

  1. Press Windows key + R on your keyboard to bring up the Run tool on your screen.
  2. Use the services.msc command to open the Services window. 
Run command for Services window
  1. Navigate to the WLAN AutoConfig service from the enormous list of Windows system services. 
WLAN AutoConfig service in Services
  1. Right-click on it and select Properties to open the WLAN AutoConfig Properties window. 
Properties in WLAN AutoConfig context menu
  1. In the General tab, click on the drop-down menu next to Startup type and select Automatic in it.
The WLAN Config properties
  1. Select Apply and then Ok, to save the recently made changes. 
  2. Restart your computer to keep the changes you made on your computer. 

Make your home network private

If you suspect the involvement of other parties in the issue your device is facing, you can change your network to a private one and grant very limited access. 

Here’s how you can limit access to your network on Windows 10: 

  1. You’ll see a WiFi icon on the right side of your taskbar. 
image 169
  1. Click on the network icon and then, select the Properties link under the connected wireless network.
WiFi properties link
  1. This action will take you to the Network settings in the Windows Settings. 
  2. Under the Network Profile section, select the Private radio button.
Network Profile Section in Windows Settings

This will restrict network access to other devices until you grant it. 

Modify the Scan valid interval

The Scan valid interval is the duration your network adapters need to locate a good access point to a network with internet access. The amount of time the network looks for an access point reduces with the increase in the value. This is generally done to fix network-related issues.

  1. Type in Network Connections in the search bar and launch the first result to be directed to a window with all the networks that were connected to your device. 
  2. Double-click on the active network connection and select Properties in the Network Status window. 
  3. Click on the Configure button to be taken to the Adapter Properties window.
  4. Open the Advanced tab, select the Scan valid interval property and change its value to 120.

Troubleshoot the Wi-Fi network

Troubleshooting the issues on your network will help you detect the factor responsible for the WiFi keeps disconnecting issue on your Windows 10 computer. 

These are the steps to run the Network Adapter troubleshooter:

  1. Type in Control Panel in the search bar and open the best result.
  2. Set the icon sizes to Large, with the help of the View by drop-down menu.
  3. Go into the Troubleshooting settings.
Troubleshooting window in Control Panel
  1. Select the Network and Internet option and choose Network Adapter.
The Network Adapter troubleshooting option
  1. Do as the Network Troubleshooter instructs you to do. 

This troubleshooter will detect and fix the issues your network adapter is facing, with a little cooperation from the user, without having to involve in many complicated procedures. 

Switch to a different Wi-Fi channel

If your Wireless network channels intertwine at times causing the network to become weak. This is a common occurrence that can happen when there are multiple signals and multiple routers. If there is traffic on your channel, you can detect it and clear the traffic using third-party applications.

Use an external Adapter

External WiFi adapter

The in-built network adapter on your computer might be damaged or face any other problems. You can always purchase an external network adapter, that can be connected through the USB port on your computer. 

FAQs

Why does my PC keep disconnecting from WiFi?

If you’re having trouble connecting to WiFi, it’s possible that you’re running an outdated or incorrect network driver on your laptop. If that’s the case, then you should try updating this driver.

Why does my connection keep dropping?

If your internet connection is frequently dropping, one of the most likely causes is frayed or damaged wires.

Why is my WiFi so weak all of a sudden?

Other radio-transmitting gadgets are causing interference. Degraded wireless signal quality due to the use of older, less efficient technology. It is possible for the signal to look faint because of technical difficulties with the receiving equipment. This results in a lesser signal from the wireless router.

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Abdul Rahim has been working in Information Technology for over two decades. Learn how Abdul got his start as a Tech Blogger , and why he decided to start this Software blog. If you want to send Abdul a quick message, then visit his contact page here.