A friend was given an older PC, which I factory-reset and set up. Everything works normally except connecting to the home Wi‑Fi: the PC crashes with a watchdog error whenever it tries to connect. It connects to a phone hotspot without any problems.
I've already reinstalled the Wi‑Fi adapter driver from the manufacturer, tried another known-good adapter, changed the adapter to 2.4 GHz and older 802.11 modes, restarted the PC, and forgotten and re-added the network. None of that helped.
The PC is in an outdoor room several metres from the house, while the router is inside. The network only shows around two bars, whereas the phone hotspot has a stronger signal. Both adapters support up to WPA2, so I'm wondering whether the router is using WPA3 or another security setting the older hardware cannot handle. Could the distance, walls, weak signal, or router configuration be causing this? I'd prefer to fix it without immediately buying more equipment, but Ethernet or another networking solution may be necessary.
4 Answers
The first thing to establish is whether this is compatibility or signal strength. Take the PC close to the router and try connecting there. If it works indoors but not in the outdoor room, the distance and building materials are the main problem. Two bars through external walls can be unreliable, even if other devices appear to work.
If it works reliably near the router but not in the outdoor room, the practical fix is improving the link rather than repeatedly reinstalling drivers. Ethernet is the most dependable option. Otherwise, a mesh access point, properly positioned extender, or wireless bridge placed between the house and outdoor room may help. A second router is not necessarily required unless it is configured as an access point.
Older adapters may not support a router configured for WPA3-only security, newer authentication modes, or certain Wi‑Fi standards. Check the router settings and temporarily enable WPA2/WPA3 mixed mode, or WPA2-Personal with AES. Also make sure the 2.4 GHz network has a separate name and is not using an unusual channel or security mode. Changing the adapter to older 802.11 modes alone will not fix an unsupported security protocol.
Both adapters appear to support WPA2 but not WPA3, so mixed mode or WPA2-only would be worth testing. Testing beside the router first should show whether the security setting or the weak outdoor signal is the bigger issue.
Because the PC is crashing with a watchdog error rather than simply reporting an incorrect password, check Windows Event Viewer and Reliability Monitor after reproducing it. The crash could still involve an old chipset, USB, or network driver conflict. Install the motherboard and chipset drivers as well as the Wi‑Fi driver, and test with the PC connected directly beside the router before changing more adapter settings.
The computer is several metres away in the outdoor room and only shows about two bars, so weak signal is definitely possible. The phone hotspot is much stronger in the same location.