I've been having a frustrating issue where my Wi-Fi connection only works if I'm really close to the router. It used to work fine from another room, but now I can barely move without losing the connection. My laptop connects perfectly when I'm right next to the router. I've tried everything: a factory reset, a clean install of Windows 11, reinstalling and updating the Wi-Fi drivers, and restarting both my router and laptop multiple times. Other devices, like my phone, seem to connect just fine from a distance, so the router seems to be okay. I'm using an HP Victus gaming laptop (model 15-fb0xxx) with Windows 11. I'm starting to think it might be a hardware problem with the Wi-Fi card, but I'm not sure how to check that. Any thoughts?
3 Answers
Sounds like the antenna wire could be loose or even broken inside your laptop. If you're comfortable with it, you could check the connection to see if anything is detached. If not, it might be worth taking it to a repair shop for a closer look.
Have you tried connecting to some public Wi-Fi from a distance? If you can’t connect well to those either, the issue might be with your laptop's Wi-Fi hardware rather than the router. Otherwise, if just your laptop has problems, that's a strong indication something's off with its Wi-Fi card.
It sounds like you might be dealing with a hardware issue. What you described could be a sign that the Wi-Fi card antenna is either broken or disconnected. Typically, those wires run from the card on the motherboard, through the hinge, and around the edge of the screen. If your laptop has been used for a long time, the tension might have caused some damage. You could try testing the Wi-Fi connection on another network to see if the problem persists. If it does, it might be time to open up your laptop and take a look!
Thanks for the tip! I’ll definitely try out some public Wi-Fi to see how it goes.