wi-fi drops connection requires router reboot

okay so I'm not very tech-savvy but I know the basics and then some. I'll lay out the problem as intelligibly as possible.

I have a Dell Studio XPS-13 laptop, been working great since I got it about a year ago. it has the built-in Wi-Fi that I have set up to automatically detect and connect to the Verizon router at my house (in another room, hooked up the main desktop PC, a new HP). never before has my computer been turned on while the router is on and not detected it.

one morning (2 days ago) I got on my laptop, connected to the internet as usual right off the bat, and got off and shut it down. about five hours later I return, open up my laptop, and it doesn't automatically connect. I open the View Available Networks and there my home network is, as usual, on the list with great signal strength. However, I can't connect. I've even gone into that room right by the router and HP and still my laptop won't connect. I tried rebooting my system and still nothing. Finally I just turn off the router turn it back on and voila -- my laptop instantly connects.

so the past two days that's all I need to do...turn on my laptop, let it NOT connect (though the network is essentially available, and viewable), go into the other room and restart the router, return to my laptop, it connects.

this was so all-of-sudden it doesn't seem to make sense. why would my laptop abruptly be unable to connect automatically as it has been doing for the longest time, and require a reboot of the router to let it do so? doesn't make any sense to me and it's becoming aggravating. please help. thanks in advance

 

The AP in the router may be failing.

 

You could try updating your drivers and clearing the network logon.

Go to Control Panel - Network - write down make and model of Wifi - double click on it - driver's tab - write
down version - click Update Driver (you may have to manually download the driver, as it may not update/install it for you) Then
Right Click on Wifi Device and UNINSTALL - Reboot.
You can look at dell's site for your driver if need be. idk.just another idea

 

Let me guess, is the router a Linksys or a Belkin? Both are known to just freeze up at times, necessitating a reboot.

 

no actually it's a Westel

 

Westell is usually a provider's leased/provided box... was it given to you by your ISP?

 

I don't want to sound like I am bashing you in publich, but it looks like you didn't configure your network properly. You might want to get professional tech to come in and do it for you.

You laptop might mess up too.

 

I had the same problem with an Netgear DT834GT , with an cheap netbook , cannot remember the wifi card, but it was not Intel, it would connect the first time, then when i re-booted the netbook, i could not get an connection till i re-booted the router.

 

If you have a set up CD run it once more from the beginning.It will probably straighten things once more.I had your problem in the past and I did that,and still do it when the problem re-occures once every few months.

 

note: I haven't read any of the replies

It sounds like a DHCP issue to me. It's normal for cable/fttp/dsl to go out momentarily and lose internet acces, most routers, however, don't constantly seek to reestablish a connection after this happens, they usually just do it upon bootup. Some have an option to periodically check for internet access, it should be somewhere in your settings.

 

Connecting to a wireless LAN is totally independent of whether the specified WLAN has WAN access or not. They don't stop issuing IP's just because there's no WAN access. But you are correct about the modems. They usually are demand based, especially DSL, and if there's no network activity for an allotted amount of time, the sync is terminated, then the modem will re-sync the connection when network activity is requested, but all of that takes place in a way that's transparent to the user. The OP should be able to connect locally with no issues.

@ OP.. Have you tried going into the Networking and Sharing Center --> Manage Connections... then delete the history of "remembered" networks. That will clean out all the old settings related to your WiFi networks. Then re-connect and let it remember the settings. Also, when you can't connect to your router, have you tried physically plugging in a ethernet line to your computer to see if it's the router freezing up, or just your WiFi card?

 

I guess I should point out I didn't read the original post either.

 

Might be a NAT issue. Do you notice this during d/l as i know multiple peer to peer connection via NAT can make a router Go kinda of carzy and the reboot flushes the NAT table....Just a thought, try give an example of what you are doing when this happnes