Fault-finding
WiFi keeps dropping and reconnecting
Check three things in order: channel congestion from neighbouring networks, a device power-saving setting switching the adapter off, and whether the drop coincides with a specific appliance starting. In a dense sector, congestion is the answer more often than anything on your own equipment.
Written and reviewed by our networks and fiber bench · Last reviewed
Congestion in a dense sector
In a markaz plaza or a tightly packed sector, a dozen networks may share the same channel. Devices then spend more time waiting than transmitting, and marginal ones drop. Picking a channel against what the neighbours are actually using is free and is the single most effective fix in this environment.
Power saving on the client
Laptops switch their wireless adapter to a low-power state to save battery, and some drivers do it badly enough to drop the link. If a machine disconnects when idle and reconnects when touched, that is the cause. Disabling power management for the adapter is a two-minute change with no downside on a desk machine.
Interference from something in the building
Microwave ovens, some cordless phones and poorly shielded power supplies sit in the 2.4GHz band. If drops correlate with an appliance running, that is the link. Moving to 5GHz usually sidesteps it entirely, which is worth trying before assuming the router is faulty.
Roaming between access points
In a building with more than one access point, a device that keeps switching between them drops briefly each time. This is usually transmit power set too high, so both radios remain reachable everywhere and the device cannot settle. Turning power down gives each radio a clear territory and stops the ping-ponging.
Why does my WiFi keep disconnecting?
Only one laptop drops and everything else is fine. Why?
That points at the laptop rather than the network — almost always the adapter's power-management setting or an old driver. Disable power saving for the wireless adapter and install the manufacturer's driver rather than the generic one. If it persists on a second network, the card itself is suspect.
It drops at the same time every evening. What causes that?
Peak congestion, when every neighbouring network is busiest, or a scheduled task on your own network like a backup saturating the link. Check whether a speed test also collapses at that hour. If it does, something is consuming the connection; if not, it is airtime congestion and a channel change helps.
Would a new router fix it?
Only if the current one is genuinely failing, and that is less common than it is assumed. Congestion, client power saving and interference are all free to test and account for most of these. Change the channel and the power-saving setting first — if the drops survive both, then the hardware conversation is a fair one.
Rather have it done?
Proper WiFi coverage means access points placed from a survey and wired back to the switch, not repeaters guessing at each other. A three-access-point house or office runs PKR 55,000 to 120,000 installed, and the survey is what stops it becoming another dead corner.
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