My Wi-Fi works normally on every other device, but my laptop is nearly unusable over wireless. It shows as connected, yet apps that require internet either load forever or respond extremely slowly. The laptop works normally when connected through Ethernet. I have no VPN or proxy enabled, and I've already tried changing DNS servers, flushing DNS, switching between 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, restarting the router several times, and leaving it powered off for about 20 minutes. None of that helped. What should I check next?
4 Answers
Start with the laptop’s Wi-Fi driver. Check Windows Update, including optional driver updates, or remove and reinstall the adapter through Device Manager. If it uses an Intel wireless card, Intel’s update utility may also provide a newer driver. The exact laptop and Wi-Fi card models would help narrow this down.
The internal Wi-Fi antenna may be loose or disconnected from the wireless card, especially if the laptop has been opened or dropped. A damaged antenna or wireless card can still show a connection while providing very poor performance. Ethernet working normally makes the laptop’s wireless hardware or driver more suspicious.
Try booting the laptop from a Linux live USB and choose the option to try it without installing. If Wi-Fi works normally there for several minutes, the hardware is probably fine and the problem is likely within the operating system, such as a driver, security program, or network setting. If it is still slow, hardware or signal-related issues become more likely.
Since you already tested automatic, Google, and Cloudflare DNS, DNS probably isn’t the cause. You could temporarily disable third-party antivirus or firewall software and check the adapter’s advanced settings, but write down the original values first. Also check the laptop’s exact model and Wi-Fi card so you can install the manufacturer’s recommended driver rather than relying only on a generic one.
I already tried automatic DNS as well as Google and Cloudflare, but the behavior stayed the same.