I've been having a frustrating issue with my internet connection on my PC for the last two weeks. Even though the Wi-Fi symbol doesn't show that I'm disconnected, I lose connection for about 10-20 seconds every 5-10 minutes, which really disrupts my gaming sessions and video calls on Discord. I have an NZXT computer with a Wi-Fi card since I can't connect it directly to the router with an Ethernet cable. I've had this computer for four years without any issues, so this sudden connectivity problem is perplexing. I've already tried the usual fixes like checking the antennas, unplugging everything, restarting both my network adapters and router, but nothing seems to work. I'd really appreciate any help or advice on whether this is an issue with my computer or my internet provider. Also, I recently updated to Windows 11 — could that be related?
3 Answers
Have you noticed if other devices, like your phone or smart TV, are losing connection too? If it’s just your PC, that might point to an issue with your Wi-Fi driver. I'd recommend reinstalling that as a first step. If other devices are also having issues, the problem might be your router or access point instead.
There was a recent Windows update (KB5064081 from August 29) that caused internet connectivity problems for many people, so it might be the reason for your issues. You can try the 'network reset' tool in Windows to revert your internet settings to default; it shouldn’t cause any harm and could potentially fix the problem!
I tried that already, but sadly it didn’t help. I feel like I'm running out of options, but one person did suggest my Wi-Fi card might be failing since my connectivity tests sometimes show 'request timed out'.
Since you mentioned losing connection during gaming and video calls, make sure your Windows updates are all current. If possible, you could also connect your PC to the internet using an Ethernet cable to see if that stabilizes the connection. Checking the Event Logs in your system may give some insights into what's going wrong.
That's definitely on my to-do list. Hoping to get some clear answers!
Currently, I only have my PC, a couple of cell phones, and my TV’s fire stick connected to the router. Usually, the internet speed is decent with about 26 PING, so it seems more isolated to my PC.