Why does turning on my gaming PC disconnect Wi‑Fi for the entire house?
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MellowCactus42
I never had Wi‑Fi problems before getting my first gaming PC. Now, whenever I start it, the internet either stops working immediately or drops shortly afterward for every device in the house. The connection stays unusable until the PC is turned off. I'm not sure where to begin with troubleshooting or which network settings or hardware to check.
Answers
First, check whether only the 2.4 GHz band is affected or whether both 2.4 and 5 GHz go down. If it’s only 2.4 GHz, USB 3 devices, cables, or external drives near the router or PC can create interference, so try moving them farther away. Since every device loses its connection in this case, though, it sounds more like the PC may be interfering with the network itself. Virtual network adapters from software such as Hyper‑V or VMware can sometimes cause problems, so those are worth checking if installed.
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Try removing the PC’s Wi‑Fi adapter from Device Manager, choosing the option to uninstall or delete its driver, and then use the Device Manager action to scan for hardware changes. Windows should reinstall the adapter, although you’ll probably need to enter the Wi‑Fi password again. If that doesn’t help, temporarily using Ethernet can help confirm whether the issue is specific to the wireless adapter or its driver.
MellowCactus42: I think that troubleshooting step has already been tried, so I may need to find a way to run an Ethernet cable to the PC as a test.
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MellowCactus42: It takes down everything—once I turn the PC on, all the other devices lose their connection too.