A few years ago, laptop sales already surpassed desktops. Laptops have won over consumers with their portability, making wireless networks more popular than traditional wired connections. Since Wi-Fi is so widespread, frequent disconnection issues have become more common. What should you do when your laptop keeps dropping the connection? Below is a summary of the causes and fixes for laptop Wi-Fi disconnection problems.
If the distance between the wireless router and the laptop is significant, with thick walls in between, signal attenuation and interference will be substantial, affecting connection stability and causing the wireless adapter to drop the connection. In this case, you can solve the problem by repositioning the router or setting up multiple routers in bridge mode.
Besides the wireless router, the issue could also stem from the laptop itself, specifically the wireless adapter. One scenario that causes frequent disconnections is PSPM mode incompatibility.
PSPM, which stands for Power Save Polling Mode, is a wireless network power-saving technology designed to extend laptop battery life. This technology requires support from both the wireless router and the laptop’s wireless adapter. However, some wireless routers do not support PSPM, which can lead to the wireless adapter dropping the connection.
There are two solutions: one is to configure the wireless adapter settings, and the other is to update the wireless adapter driver.
Method 1: System Settings
1. Open Control Panel 鈥?Network Connections, right-click on the Wireless Network Connection, select Properties to open the Wireless Network Connection Properties settings.
2. Click Configure to open the wireless adapter configuration interface.
3. Select the “Advanced” tab, find “Power Management” in the left pane, and select it; uncheck the “Use default value” box on the right; slide the slider all the way to “Highest”; finally click “OK”. Check if the previous problem is resolved.
Method 2: Update the Driver
A common wireless adapter found in laptops is the Intel 5100, such as in Lenovo laptops. The Intel driver provided on Lenovo’s official website is usually a relatively low version, and the same goes for the driver CD included with the laptop (