Wifi problem aspire 5 a515-44

ricardo2323

Acer aspire 5 a515-44. Since buying this laptop, the wifi for all devices randomly disconnects from the internet. Only resetting the router (TP-Link) restores our connection. On average, daily, I am resetting the router 15/20 times. When connected, internet speed is fine. I have updated drivers, changed various settings (preferred band, roaming aggressiveness etc etc) AND disabled power saving options. I've tried everything I can think of. On a good day, we can remain connected for around 12 hours, on a bad day, resetting the router three times in ten minutes. I am sure it is this laptop as all devices connect without dropouts until I boot this one. I am loathe to update the BIOS as I have only had this laptop a month or so and don't want to invalidate the warranty or cause further problems. Please help! TIA

ricardo2323

To add. Have also updated the router's firmware and disabled bluetooth on the laptop. The problem persists.

billsey

Let's take a look at the network software and also at the signal strength. Are the IPv4 properties set for DHCP (get addresses automatically) and are the IPv6 set the same? If you move the laptop to somewhere really close to the router does it's reliability improve? When the network is dropped do the IP addresses stay the same or do they go away?

ricardo2323

Thanks for your reply, billsey.

IPv4 properties are set to automatic.

As for IPv6 settings, can't find anything in control panel and (excuse my ignorance) not sure this laptop supports that.

After three or four disconnects in the last couple of hours, the IP addresses stay the same. I saved a log (copied from IP settings) in notepad but not sure what is safe to post on here, security-wise.

Laptop is always only a few meters away from the router, not hindered by walls, etc. Little home private network is a few laptops (Windows 7) this one (first Windows 10 on network)and a couple of rarely used phones, if this helps. Spending more time in the last few weeks trying to correct this issue than actually using as intended

Can give more info if necessary.

Thanks again.

billsey

OK, what type and model of router is it? 2.4GHz, 5GHz? 802.11a, .11b, .11g, .11n, .11ac, .11ax? Since the network sounds as if it might be an older one there might be firmware issues with the router and the newer modes.

ricardo2323

Router is TP-Link TL-WR841N. 2.4 GHz. Router mode is set to: 11bgn mixed. Other option is bg mixed. I've upgraded the firmware

to the latest possible version a few days ago and the problem persists. As previously stated, when connected, speeds are fine. Is it possible any MS Apps or bloatware are causing the random dropouts? I uninstalled OneDrive (as I'd read it caused many users to disconnect) but still hasn't solved the issue. Also, I remain connected when using Ethernet, but, kinda defeats the object of having a laptop.

billsey

OK, your laptop is 802.11ax (WiFi 6) using the AX200 chipset from Intel, I believe. I don't have one to test, but there might be settings in Properties to disable AC and AX modes. Try that if you can.

ricardo2323

From the Tech Specs:

Network & Communication

Wireless LAN Standard IEEE 802.11ac

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I read some reviews before purchasing the laptop on Amazon and some users were disappointed the laptop wasn't Wifi 6. Should I still try and disable AC and AX modes given this??

I'm in Spain so the last thing I want to do is return the laptop to the UK. I'm assuming the Wifi card can't be faulty as the connection speed is optimum when not randomly dropping out. My ISP technician is coming on Monday, so I'm hoping they'll bring another router and that'll finally fix the problem. I'm not sure I can take another month of fruitless googling.

billsey

My specs on the Aspire A515-44 shows:

Does Device Manager show something different?

ricardo2323

I've got the Ryzen 7 version of the A515-44. There are various flavours of this model, it seems. How do I copy and paste this info from device manager?

I get the feeling this is one of those unsolvable issues. Had enough of this really. Surely the wifi card can't be faulty if it performs at full speed until it disconnects... randomly, always randomly, And frequently. Wifi was fine until this laptop was introduced to the mix.

billsey

I do see a few of them, all Ryzen based (3, 5 & 7). There are different screens and different amounts of memory. The G models also have an RX 640 GPU. Several options for drive size and type, ranging from 128GB SSD to 2TB HDD. As fr as I can tell all models have the AX200 WiFi card though. You can do a print screen then paste into a paint program and crop to appropriate size to show Device Manager info...

ricardo2323

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billsey

OK, that is certainly not the Intel card. Likely they switched to the Atheros at some during production, though the Atheros is only 802.11ac instead of 11ax. That hints at possible issues they were having with the Intel, or supply shortages. Check in Device Manager to see which version of the drivers are being used with it. Are they the Acer drivers supplied with the laptop or have they been upgraded? Let's see what your tech says today...

ricardo2323

Well. The tech came, said very little and installed a new router. I don't want to mark the thread 'SOLVED' as yet (I'll give it another 24 hours), but no dropouts since. The new router supports 8011.ac and is far sexier than the old one. Can prematurely conclude that some flavours of Aspire 5's wifi card play nicer with routers that aren't over five years old. As soon as I post this, the internet will probably go down again... 1...2....3......

ricardo2323

No dropouts since the new router was installed 24 hours later. Happy. Please delete this thread if it's no use to anyone.

billsey

It's bound to be of use to someone else...