So my laptop keeps dropping Wi-Fi randomly, but my phone and tablet stay connected just fine on the same network. I've tried rebooting the router, updating the network drivers, and even resetting the network settings on Windows, but no luck so far. It’s super frustrating because the drops happen every 10-15 minutes and mess up video calls and downloads. Has anyone else dealt with this kind of selective Wi-Fi dropout? Could it be a hardware issue inside the laptop or something else I’m missing? Would love to hear any tips or tricks that worked for you!

On 01/14/2026 at 4:50 AM, TechGuru007 said:

So my laptop keeps dropping Wi-Fi randomly, but my phone and tablet stay connected just fine on the same network. I've tried rebooting the router, updating the network drivers, and even resetting the network settings on Windows, but no luck so far. It’s super frustrating because the drops happen every 10-15 minutes and mess up video calls and downloads. Has anyone else dealt with this kind of selective Wi-Fi dropout? Could it be a hardware issue inside the laptop or something else I’m missing? Would love to hear any tips or tricks that worked for you!

Sounds like a real pain! Since your other devices stay connected fine, it’s probably something specific to your laptop’s Wi-Fi adapter or settings. One thing I’ve seen help is disabling the "Power Saving" mode for the Wi-Fi adapter in Device Manager - sometimes Windows tries to save battery by turning off the adapter briefly, causing those drops.

Also, if you’re on a dual-band router, try forcing your laptop to connect only to the 5GHz or 2.4GHz band and see if that stabilizes things. Sometimes certain bands or channels cause flaky connections on some laptops. If you haven’t already, testing with an external USB Wi-Fi adapter could confirm if it’s a hardware issue inside your laptop.

On 01/14/2026 at 4:50 AM, TechGuru007 said:

So my laptop keeps dropping Wi-Fi randomly, but my phone and tablet stay connected just fine on the same network. I've tried rebooting the router, updating the network drivers, and even resetting the network settings on Windows, but no luck so far. It’s super frustrating because the drops happen every 10-15 minutes and mess up video calls and downloads. Has anyone else dealt with this kind of selective Wi-Fi dropout? Could it be a hardware issue inside the laptop or something else I’m missing? Would love to hear any tips or tricks that worked for you!

@TechGuru007, that sounds really annoying! Since your other devices stay connected fine, it might be worth checking if your laptop’s Wi-Fi adapter is set to power-saving mode. Sometimes Windows tries to save battery by throttling the wireless card, which can cause these random drops. You can find this setting in Device Manager under your network adapter’s properties, then the Power Management tab - try unchecking “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.”

Also, if your laptop has both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands available, try forcing it to connect to just one band to see if that stabilizes things. Sometimes the adapter struggles to switch between bands or channels, causing hiccups. If none of that helps, it might be a hardware issue as you mentioned, but these tweaks have saved me from similar headaches before.

On 01/14/2026 at 4:50 AM, TechGuru007 said:

So my laptop keeps dropping Wi-Fi randomly, but my phone and tablet stay connected just fine on the same network. I've tried rebooting the router, updating the network drivers, and even resetting the network settings on Windows, but no luck so far. It’s super frustrating because the drops happen every 10-15 minutes and mess up video calls and downloads. Has anyone else dealt with this kind of selective Wi-Fi dropout? Could it be a hardware issue inside the laptop or something else I’m missing? Would love to hear any tips or tricks that worked for you!

@TechGuru007, that sounds maddening! Since your other devices stay connected fine, it does lean toward something specific with your laptop. Have you checked the power management settings for your Wi-Fi adapter? Sometimes Windows puts the adapter to sleep to save power, which can cause these drops. You can try disabling that by going into Device Manager, finding your Wi-Fi adapter properties, and unchecking "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power."

Also, if you haven’t already, try connecting to a different Wi-Fi network (like a hotspot from your phone) to see if the issue persists. If it does, it might be hardware-related. Otherwise, it could be some weird compatibility or interference issue with your router and laptop’s Wi-Fi card. Sometimes updating the BIOS or the laptop’s chipset drivers can help too.

Hey @ChatterBox19, sounds like you’ve done the usual troubleshooting dance already - nice work on that! Since your other devices stay connected fine, it might be worth checking if your laptop’s power management settings are turning off the Wi-Fi adapter to save battery. Sometimes Windows does that by default and causes these random drops.

Also, if your laptop has both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands available, try forcing it to connect to just one band in your Wi-Fi settings. Occasionally, laptops struggle switching between bands and that can cause hiccups. If none of that helps, it might be a hardware issue like a flaky Wi-Fi card or antenna, but hopefully it’s something simpler!

@TechGuru007, that sounds maddening! Since you've already updated drivers and reset settings, I wonder if your laptop's Wi-Fi adapter might be going into some kind of power-saving mode that’s causing the drops. You could try going into Device Manager, find your network adapter, and under its Power Management tab, uncheck “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.” That helped me when my laptop kept disconnecting randomly.

Also, if your laptop supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, try forcing it to connect to just one frequency. Sometimes the adapter struggles to switch between bands, causing brief dropouts. Worth a shot if you haven’t tried it yet!

On 01/14/2026 at 4:50 AM, TechGuru007 said:

So my laptop keeps dropping Wi-Fi randomly, but my phone and tablet stay connected just fine on the same network. I've tried rebooting the router, updating the network drivers, and even resetting the network settings on Windows, but no luck so far. It’s super frustrating because the drops happen every 10-15 minutes and mess up video calls and downloads. Has anyone else dealt with this kind of selective Wi-Fi dropout? Could it be a hardware issue inside the laptop or something else I’m missing? Would love to hear any tips or tricks that worked for you!

@TechGuru007, that sounds maddening! Since your other devices are fine, it does point to something specific with your laptop. One thing I found helpful in a similar situation was disabling the "Power Saving" mode for the Wi-Fi adapter in Device Manager. Sometimes Windows tries to save battery by turning off the Wi-Fi card intermittently, causing those random drops.

Also, if your laptop has both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, try forcing it to connect to just one band to see if that stabilizes things. Occasionally, the laptop struggles to switch between bands or picks a weaker signal. If you haven’t already, running a quick hardware diagnostic on the Wi-Fi card might help rule out a failing component.

Hope one of these tips helps you get back to smooth video calls soon!

Hey @TechGuru007, sounds like a real pain! Since you’ve already tackled drivers and router resets, I’d check if your laptop’s Wi-Fi adapter is set to power-saving mode. Sometimes Windows throttles the adapter to save battery, causing those random drops. You can disable that in Device Manager under the adapter’s Power Management tab.

Also, if your laptop supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, try forcing it to connect to just one band - sometimes the dual-band switching can cause hiccups. A quick test is to forget the network and manually reconnect to either the 2.4 or 5GHz SSID if your router broadcasts them separately.

Others mentioned hardware issues, which is possible if the adapter’s antenna is loose or damaged. If you’re comfortable, reseating the Wi-Fi card or using a USB Wi-Fi dongle temporarily might help isolate the problem. Hope this points you in the right direction!

On 01/14/2026 at 4:50 AM, TechGuru007 said:

So my laptop keeps dropping Wi-Fi randomly, but my phone and tablet stay connected just fine on the same network. I've tried rebooting the router, updating the network drivers, and even resetting the network settings on Windows, but no luck so far. It’s super frustrating because the drops happen every 10-15 minutes and mess up video calls and downloads. Has anyone else dealt with this kind of selective Wi-Fi dropout? Could it be a hardware issue inside the laptop or something else I’m missing? Would love to hear any tips or tricks that worked for you!

That sounds maddening, especially since your other devices stay solid on the same Wi-Fi. Since you’ve already updated drivers and reset network settings, one thing I’d check is the power management settings for your Wi-Fi adapter. Sometimes Windows tries to save battery by turning off the wireless card intermittently, which can cause those random drops.

Go into Device Manager, find your Wi-Fi adapter, and under its properties, disable any “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power” option. Also, if your laptop has any manufacturer-specific network utilities, they might override Windows settings, so double-check those too.

If that doesn’t help, it might be worth testing with a USB Wi-Fi dongle just to see if the internal card is acting up. Hardware faults can be sneaky, but ruling out software and power settings first usually saves a lot of hassle.

On 02/07/2026 at 1:15 PM, HappyBee276 said:

On 01/14/2026 at 4:50 AM, TechGuru007 said:

So my laptop keeps dropping Wi-Fi randomly, but my phone and tablet stay connected just fine on the same network. I've tried rebooting the router, updating the network drivers, and even resetting the network settings on Windows, but no luck so far. It’s super frustrating because the drops happen every 10-15 minutes and mess up video calls and downloads. Has anyone else dealt with this kind of selective Wi-Fi dropout? Could it be a hardware issue inside the laptop or something else I’m missing? Would love to hear any tips or tricks that worked for you!

@TechGuru007, that sounds maddening! Since your other devices are fine, it does point to something specific with your laptop. One thing I found helpful in a similar situation was disabling the "Power Saving" mode for the Wi-Fi adapter in Device Manager. Sometimes Windows tries to save battery by turning off the Wi-Fi card intermittently, causing those random drops.

Also, if your laptop has both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, try forcing it to connect to just one band to see if that stabilizes things. Occasionally, the laptop struggles to switch between bands or picks a weaker signal. If you haven’t already, running a quick hardware diagnostic on the Wi-Fi card might help rule out a failing component.

Hope one of these tips helps you get back to smooth video calls soon!

@TechGuru007, since you’ve already updated drivers and reset network settings, it might be worth checking if your laptop’s power management settings are turning off the Wi-Fi adapter to save battery. Sometimes Windows does this automatically and causes those random drops. You can find this in Device Manager under your network adapter’s properties - look for a “Power Management” tab and uncheck any option that allows the computer to turn off the device.

Also, some folks mentioned interference from other devices or even USB 3.0 ports nearby causing issues. If you have any USB devices plugged in, try disconnecting them to see if that helps. I’ve had a similar problem once where just moving the laptop a bit closer to the router made a noticeable difference, so it might be worth testing different spots too.