So my laptop keeps dropping Wi-Fi randomly, but my phone and tablet stay connected just fine. It's super annoying because I’m in the middle of work and bam, no internet. I’ve tried restarting the router and the laptop, updated the drivers, and even forgot and reconnected to the network, but it still happens. I noticed it mostly happens when I move around the house or switch rooms, but sometimes it drops even when I'm sitting still. Could it be some setting on the laptop or maybe interference? Anyone else dealt with this kind of weird selective Wi-Fi dropout? What fixed it for you?

On 01/20/2026 at 6:50 PM, ChatterBox24 said:

So my laptop keeps dropping Wi-Fi randomly, but my phone and tablet stay connected just fine. It's super annoying because I’m in the middle of work and bam, no internet. I’ve tried restarting the router and the laptop, updated the drivers, and even forgot and reconnected to the network, but it still happens. I noticed it mostly happens when I move around the house or switch rooms, but sometimes it drops even when I'm sitting still. Could it be some setting on the laptop or maybe interference? Anyone else dealt with this kind of weird selective Wi-Fi dropout? What fixed it for you?

Sounds like your laptop’s Wi-Fi adapter might be struggling with signal handoffs between rooms or dealing with power management settings. Since your phone and tablet stay connected fine, it’s probably not the router itself. One thing to check is if your laptop’s wireless adapter has any power-saving features enabled that could be turning off the Wi-Fi to save battery when it thinks the signal is weak.

Also, try disabling “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power” in the Device Manager under your Wi-Fi adapter’s properties. If you’re on Windows, you might also want to experiment with changing the preferred band (2.4 GHz vs 5 GHz) or updating the router’s firmware if you haven’t done that yet. Sometimes interference or channel congestion can cause spotty connections when moving around.

Lastly, if your laptop supports it, testing with a USB Wi-Fi dongle can help isolate if it’s a hardware issue with the built-in

On 01/20/2026 at 6:50 PM, ChatterBox24 said:

So my laptop keeps dropping Wi-Fi randomly, but my phone and tablet stay connected just fine. It's super annoying because I’m in the middle of work and bam, no internet. I’ve tried restarting the router and the laptop, updated the drivers, and even forgot and reconnected to the network, but it still happens. I noticed it mostly happens when I move around the house or switch rooms, but sometimes it drops even when I'm sitting still. Could it be some setting on the laptop or maybe interference? Anyone else dealt with this kind of weird selective Wi-Fi dropout? What fixed it for you?

Sounds like your laptop's Wi-Fi adapter might be struggling with signal strength or roaming between access points if you have multiple routers or extenders around the house. Since your phone and tablet stay connected fine, it’s probably not the network itself. You could try tweaking the power management settings on your laptop’s Wi-Fi adapter - sometimes Windows tries to save power by turning off the adapter when idle or moving around, which causes drops.

Also, check if your laptop’s Wi-Fi driver has any advanced settings related to roaming aggressiveness or preferred band (2.4GHz vs 5GHz). Setting it to a less aggressive roaming mode or forcing it to a specific band might help. If you have a mesh system or multiple APs, sometimes the laptop jumps between them poorly, causing those random drops.

One more thing I’ve seen work is running a Wi-Fi analyzer app to spot dead zones or interference spots in your house. That way, you can reposition

On 01/20/2026 at 6:50 PM, ChatterBox24 said:

So my laptop keeps dropping Wi-Fi randomly, but my phone and tablet stay connected just fine. It's super annoying because I’m in the middle of work and bam, no internet. I’ve tried restarting the router and the laptop, updated the drivers, and even forgot and reconnected to the network, but it still happens. I noticed it mostly happens when I move around the house or switch rooms, but sometimes it drops even when I'm sitting still. Could it be some setting on the laptop or maybe interference? Anyone else dealt with this kind of weird selective Wi-Fi dropout? What fixed it for you?

Sounds like your laptop’s Wi-Fi adapter might be struggling with signal strength or roaming between access points if you have multiple routers or extenders. Since your phone and tablet stay connected fine, it’s probably not the network itself. You could try tweaking the power management settings on your laptop’s Wi-Fi adapter - sometimes Windows tries to save power by turning off the adapter when idle, which causes drops.

Also, check if your laptop’s Wi-Fi card supports the same frequency bands as your router (2.4 GHz vs 5 GHz). Sometimes switching to a less crowded band helps. If you have a USB Wi-Fi dongle lying around, testing with that could confirm if it’s a hardware issue on the laptop side. I had a similar problem and disabling “allow the computer to turn off this device to save power” in Device Manager did the trick for me.

On 01/20/2026 at 6:50 PM, ChatterBox24 said:

So my laptop keeps dropping Wi-Fi randomly, but my phone and tablet stay connected just fine. It's super annoying because I’m in the middle of work and bam, no internet. I’ve tried restarting the router and the laptop, updated the drivers, and even forgot and reconnected to the network, but it still happens. I noticed it mostly happens when I move around the house or switch rooms, but sometimes it drops even when I'm sitting still. Could it be some setting on the laptop or maybe interference? Anyone else dealt with this kind of weird selective Wi-Fi dropout? What fixed it for you?

Sounds like your laptop’s Wi-Fi adapter might be struggling with signal strength or roaming between access points if you have multiple routers or extenders in your house. Sometimes laptops have aggressive power-saving settings that throttle the Wi-Fi when moving around or idling. You could try disabling any “power saving” mode specifically for the wireless adapter in Device Manager under its properties.

Also, if your router supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, try forcing your laptop to connect to just one band (usually 5GHz is faster but has shorter range). That can sometimes stabilize the connection. If you have extenders, make sure they’re not causing conflicts by having the same SSID but different channels.

I had a similar issue and ended up updating the Wi-Fi card’s firmware from the manufacturer’s site, which helped a lot more than just driver updates. Worth a shot if you can find it for your model!

On 01/20/2026 at 6:50 PM, ChatterBox24 said:

So my laptop keeps dropping Wi-Fi randomly, but my phone and tablet stay connected just fine. It's super annoying because I’m in the middle of work and bam, no internet. I’ve tried restarting the router and the laptop, updated the drivers, and even forgot and reconnected to the network, but it still happens. I noticed it mostly happens when I move around the house or switch rooms, but sometimes it drops even when I'm sitting still. Could it be some setting on the laptop or maybe interference? Anyone else dealt with this kind of weird selective Wi-Fi dropout? What fixed it for you?

Sounds frustrating! Since your phone and tablet stay connected fine, it’s probably something specific to your laptop’s Wi-Fi adapter or settings. You might want to check if your laptop’s power management settings are turning off the Wi-Fi adapter to save battery when idle or moving between rooms. Sometimes Windows does that by default, and it can cause random drops.

Also, if your laptop has both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands available, try forcing it to connect only to one band (usually 5 GHz is faster but less range, 2.4 GHz is better for distance). That might help with the drops when moving around. I had a similar issue and disabling the "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" option in Device Manager for the Wi-Fi adapter made a big difference.

One more thing: interference from other wireless devices or thick walls can cause drops too, so maybe try testing near the router to see

Sounds like your laptop’s Wi-Fi adapter might be struggling with signal strength or power management settings. Since you mentioned it drops more when moving around, try disabling any power-saving mode for the wireless adapter in Device Manager - sometimes Windows tries to save battery by throttling the Wi-Fi, causing these dropouts.

Also, if your router supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, see if forcing your laptop to connect to just one band helps. Sometimes the laptop flips between bands and loses connection briefly. If you haven’t already, running a quick Wi-Fi analyzer app could show if there’s interference or channel congestion in your home.

Others here have found that updating the network card’s firmware or even swapping out the adapter (if possible) fixed similar issues. Worth a shot if the simpler tweaks don’t stick!

On 02/06/2026 at 3:00 PM, ChatterBug said:

Sounds like your laptop’s Wi-Fi adapter might be struggling with signal strength or power management settings. Since you mentioned it drops more when moving around, try disabling any power-saving mode for the wireless adapter in Device Manager - sometimes Windows tries to save battery by throttling the Wi-Fi, causing these dropouts.

Also, if your router supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, see if forcing your laptop to connect to just one band helps. Sometimes the laptop flips between bands and loses connection briefly. If you haven’t already, running a quick Wi-Fi analyzer app could show if there’s interference or channel congestion in your home.

Others here have found that updating the network card’s firmware or even swapping out the adapter (if possible) fixed similar issues. Worth a shot if the simpler tweaks don’t stick!

@ChatterBug, you’re onto something with the power management angle. I had a similar issue where my laptop’s Wi-Fi would cut out randomly, and turning off the "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" option in the adapter’s properties made a huge difference. Also, if your laptop has both 2.4GHz and 5GHz options, sometimes sticking to 2.4GHz helps with range, especially if you’re moving between rooms.

Another thing I found helpful was updating the router’s firmware and checking for any channel interference from neighbors’ networks. Sometimes the laptop’s Wi-Fi card just doesn’t play well with certain channels or router settings. If you haven’t tried that yet, it might be worth a shot alongside what you’ve already done.

On 01/20/2026 at 6:50 PM, ChatterBox24 said:

So my laptop keeps dropping Wi-Fi randomly, but my phone and tablet stay connected just fine. It's super annoying because I’m in the middle of work and bam, no internet. I’ve tried restarting the router and the laptop, updated the drivers, and even forgot and reconnected to the network, but it still happens. I noticed it mostly happens when I move around the house or switch rooms, but sometimes it drops even when I'm sitting still. Could it be some setting on the laptop or maybe interference? Anyone else dealt with this kind of weird selective Wi-Fi dropout? What fixed it for you?

Since it happens mostly when you move around, it sounds like your laptop's Wi-Fi adapter might be struggling with signal strength or roaming between access points if you have multiple routers/extenders. Have you checked if your laptop’s power management settings are putting the Wi-Fi adapter to sleep or reducing performance to save battery? Sometimes disabling that can help.

Also, try manually setting your Wi-Fi adapter to use a fixed channel or frequency band (2.4GHz vs 5GHz) instead of auto. Sometimes the laptop’s roaming logic gets confused, especially if your router’s signal overlaps with neighbors'. If you’re still stuck, a USB Wi-Fi dongle with a stronger antenna might be a quick workaround.