Wi-Fi works normally on every other device in the house, but my laptop shows as connected while internet-based apps load indefinitely or respond extremely slowly. The connection works perfectly when I use Ethernet. I do not have a VPN or proxy enabled. I have tried changing between Google and Cloudflare DNS, flushing the DNS cache, switching from 2.4 GHz to 5 GHz, restarting the router several times, and leaving it powered off for about 20 minutes, but nothing has helped. What else should I check?
4 Answers
DNS is worth testing, but since you already tried automatic settings, Google, and Cloudflare without improvement, it probably is not the root cause. Also check the adapter's advanced settings, temporarily disable third-party antivirus, and test after resetting or reinstalling the network adapter. The laptop model and exact Wi-Fi card would help narrow down known driver or compatibility problems.
The internal Wi-Fi hardware could be the problem. The antenna cable may have come loose from the M.2 wireless card, or the card itself could be failing. If possible, test with a USB Wi-Fi adapter; if that works normally, the internal card or antenna is likely at fault.
Try booting the laptop from a Linux live USB and select the option to try it without installing. Connect to Wi-Fi and browse for a few minutes. If internet access works normally there, the hardware is probably fine and the issue is likely a Windows driver, setting, or installed security program. If it is still slow, hardware or compatibility becomes more likely.
Check the laptop's Wi-Fi driver first. Use the manufacturer's support page or the operating system's optional updates to install the newest driver. You can also remove the adapter from Device Manager and reinstall it. If it uses an Intel Wi-Fi card, Intel's driver utility may help identify an update.
I already tested automatic DNS as well as Google and Cloudflare, but none of them changed the behavior.