Windows 10 only connects to Home Network 20% of time and Internet 5% of the time

[morlaine]

I have two laptops. My old one runs Windows 7, the new one runs Windows 10. The Win7 connects to the Home Network about 90% of the time, the Win10 only about 20% of the time. The Win7 connects to the Internet 98% of the time compared to 5% for the Win10 laptop. I have a wireless setup that both laptops should connect to and both do, on occasion, as you can see by the percentages. But certainly not satisfactory percentages for the Win10 laptop.

If the Win10 didn't connect at all, I would suspect settings but since it does connect occasionally, I have no idea what the problem is and I hope someone can help.

I am trying to copy data files from the Win7 to the Win10. I open Windows Explorer on Win7 and can see both laptops under Network. On the Win10, File Explorer, I can only see the Win10 machine. I can still copy the files.

I would hate to think that the Win10 laptop is going to turn out to be a very expensive external hard drive because it won't connect to the internet. Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Tim Locke]

I think that the 90% figure is suspicious to start with. Have you rebooted your router recently?

My w10, w7 and Linux machines connect 100% of the time.

I just read your other post.

This 3G card is connected to your wireless router? So the router should be providing your home network and also connecting to the internet?

 

[morlaine]

I used to have a Zoom wireless router but the signal is not very strong in my area. I complained to the phone company who provided the 3G card and the terrible signal (it looked like a a USB data stick). There are no other options in this area. The woman there suggested that I use my cell phone as it might have better reception. She swapped the 3G chip to my phone and showed me which buttons to push to get it to work. And it does have better reception, immensely better. I reboot it every day and sometimes a couple of times a day if I have connectivity problems on the Win7. And yesterday I rebooted it and both the laptops and still no connection on the Win10. Still no connection this morning.

I don't understand why when I have both laptops on at the same time that only the Win7 has connectivity to both the Home Network and to the Internet, while the Win10 does not connect to either.

Do you think turning the Win10 on first after I reboot the router would make a difference. Maybe some kind of conflict that the Win10 can't handle?

 

[morlaine]

A bit more info.
I turned off both laptops and turned off the router. Made myself a cup of coffee, rebooted the router, turned on the Win10 first, thinking that maybe it had to establish connection before the Win7. But again, no internet connection. I then turned on the Win7, I got internet connection within 30 seconds which is about the normal amount of time it takes to connect. Still no internet connection on the Win10.

Then I checked the Home Network, by opening Windows Explorer and looking at the Network, and had the Home Network on the Win7 which I expected. And surprisingly, I had Home Network on the Win10. I didn't have that all day yesterday, no matter how many times I rebooted the laptop or the router. I am copying about 2gb of data from the Win7 to the Win10, as I write. But still no internet connectivity.

Although I've changed batteries, hard drives, screens, and keyboards on various laptops over the years, I don't know much about what's inside. Is there some kind of internet/network chip that might be going bad or might be loose and only work now and then? That's only a guess on my part, not even an educated guess.

Do you have any other ideas?

 

[morlaine]

And still more info. Are you tired of hearing all this? I certainly am.

The Win10 laptop indicators finally showed that it was connected to the internet. I quickly checked the drivers for all the internet/network adapters I could find under Device Manager. It showed them as all being up to date. I assume that it connected to some site on the internet to make that determination. However, when I tried to connect to www.ebay.com it said Connecting for about 3 minutes and then said Server Not Found.

The internet indicator light on the front of the laptop is lit supposedly indicating it is connected to the internet. However, when I click on the little icon on the taskbar, it opens a popup that says, AndroidAP6505 No Internet, Open.

With that said, it is still connected to the Home Network and I'm able to copy files from one laptop to the other. Now the little icon on the taskbar has a little yellow triangle in front of the internet icon. But the copying continues.

In looking back at your previous note, 3 posts ago, I'm not sure I completely answered your question. You asked, ***This 3G card is connected to your wireless router? So the router should be providing your home network and also connecting to the internet?*** And the answer is yes, the 3G card (chip) is inside my Samsung phone which picks up the signal from the ISP provider and sends it out to both my laptops. As far as I know the Samsung phone is doing it all. I don't have any other piece of equipment that would handle the Home Network. My only other piece of equipment is a printer and it is turned off.

I'm not sure if any of this is helping to solve this but I certainly hope so. This is very frustrating and I'm out of ideas.

 

[Trouble]

But still no internet connectivity.

Unlike general networking (which according to you seems to be working currently and allowing you to transfer files) an Internet connection requires two things that a LAN connection does not.
A "default gateway" which as it sort of suggests, allows a path off your LAN and onto an outside network through the gate.
AND]
A or multiple DNS servers to resolve host names to IP addresses
My suspicion is that you are not getting one or perhaps both of these from the DHCP device on your network, so....
open a command prompt and type
ipconfig /all
on the problem computer
and hit enter
That should provide you with information on all network adapters on your computer.
Use that information and compare it to the same results from doing the same thing on the computer that works without issue and see if you can discover, what is different between the two.

 

[morlaine]

I ran the ipconfig command on both laptops as you suggested. I don't see that much difference except for a number of mentions about ethernet but I'm not using ethernet cables, only wi-fi. I'm not sure what I'm looking at and have no idea how to change anything but am willing to follow your directions. If you could explain any problems you find it would be great because I would like to learn. I attached both files so maybe you can take a look and tell me what, if anything, is wrong and how to fix it.

I'm sorry to become your November/December project but I certainly do appreciate your help.

 

[Trouble]

On the problem machine
Please open a command prompt and type
ping 173.194.196.105
hit enter
Let me know the results.
NOW type
ping www.google.com
hit enter
let me know the results.
Open a browser and in the URL address bar at the very top of the browser window (not the search box) clear the contents and type
173.194.196.105
hit enter
let me know the results

 

[morlaine]

On the problem machine
Please open a command prompt and type
ping 173.194.196.105
hit enter
Let me know the results.
NOW type
ping www.google.com
hit enter
let me know the results.
Open a browser and in the URL address bar at the very top of the browser window (not the search box) clear the contents and type
173.194.196.105
hit enter
let me know the results

 

[morlaine]

I've attached the file showing the two pings I did. And when I entered the 173.194.196.105 in the address bar in Firefox, which I usually use, it showed Connecting, in fact it still is, Then I tried the same thing in Microsoft Edge, which I rarely use, and it is still trying to connect. This has been probably five minutes. I don't hold much hope of getting a response.

 

[morlaine]

Does anyone else have any ideas about this issue?

 

[Trouble]

Sorry, I thought I replied to this thread days ago.... must have forgot to hit the Post Reply button and now it's gone so I'll try again.
By comparison, you can see my ping times average from the low to high 20ms and often are consistently in the low 20ms
ping 173.194.196.105
Pinging 173.194.196.105 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 173.194.196.105: bytes=32 time=21ms TTL=45
Reply from 173.194.196.105: bytes=32 time=28ms TTL=45
Reply from 173.194.196.105: bytes=32 time=21ms TTL=45
Reply from 173.194.196.105: bytes=32 time=29ms TTL=45

Yours on the otherhand are averaging in the low 200ms, those are ping times I would expect to see on a very highly congested network (wireless most likely).
I don't suspect that your issue is with either computer but more likely with your wireless router.
Do you have the option to test the computer at another location to see if performance and ping statistics improve
OR
Do you have the option to limit the congestion on your wireless router. It may be that you have some environmental interference from other routers or cordless phones or other electrical appliances generating noise in the 2.4Ghz range. Do you have an option on your wireless router to switch channels, use 5Ghz or perhaps update the firmware on that router.

 

[Tim Locke]

@ Trouble REreading post #3 it looks as if a Samsung phone is being used as a router/hotspot/modem. I wondr if the problem is a function of that combined with not much real internet service in the are?

 

[Trouble]

Possibly......
Although I have very little experience in that configuration, so I can't speak to how robust the ability to configure it might be. It should be a simple matter to decrease the potential congestion however, by simply not using more than a single computer at a time on the connection when accessing the internet.
It doesn't seem to be a Windows problem although it does seem to work better with the Windows 7 compared to the Windows 10 machine, that might just be a matter of the intricacies of the network stack between the two versions of Windows and the feature set or lack thereof, of the connection being used.

 

[morlaine]

Thanks for all the suggestions, I do appreciate your ideas and expertise.
When I started this thread, being new to Windows 10, I thought there might be some features that I could disable that might help with the speed. I did turn off Cortana which seemed pretty much useless. I thought it would be a resource hog but didn't see much, if any, difference without it. Then I stopped logging into my Microsoft account and just use a local account. Maybe a fractional difference there.

The 200ms speed is about normal for my area. I attribute that to the poor wireless signal. I am going to check after the holidays to see if I can get a 3g chip that might be somehow better/faster. But I don't hold much hope there.

I don't have any cordless phones. My only phone is a cell phone and it is 3 rooms away from the router. The only electrical appliance in the bedroom where the Samsung is located is the printer which I only turn on when I'm going to use it. So I don't think interference is the problem, plus I would think that would affect both laptops the same, not just the Windows 10.

I expected the speed on the Windows 10 to be faster than the Windows 7 machine. Especially when used at the same time. At least I expected, if the OS was new and improved, that access speed would be included in those improvements. I certainly didn't expect it to be worse. But it is noticeably worse.

I have exactly the same applications running on both machines, for now. I'm thinking that the Windows 10 will be relegated to mainly email. The only difference between the two is the operating system. So I have to think that Windows 10 is the culprit. And now I keep getting a pop-up on the older laptop to upgrade to Windows 10 but do I really want to chance having two slow machines? I'm in a quandary about that.

I did try my laptop at a location closer to town but that was connecting to a different router, not my Samsung phone. And the speed was noticeably better. But that has always been the case, even with my older Windows 7 machine.

The signal in my area is only about 2 bars on the Samsung but that is MUCH better than on the Zoom router that I had been using. Even with the Samsung, I have to reboot it 2 or 3 times a day as it somehow loses the signal.

And even with all this said, when using both laptops side by side, hooking into the same router, receiving the same wireless signal, both using Firefox to access websites, I still expected the newer laptop with a newer operating system to be faster.

I suppose this thread can be closed. No use beating a dead horse. There doesn't seen to be a resolution. Again thanks for the suggestions. I do appreciate your time.

 

[morlaine]

Here's a better description of my wireless nightmare. In this area, there is only wireless. There are no lines for house phones or I would go that route. So wireless it is. And it's 3G wireless. The phone company (the only game in town) gave me a little 3G data card to connect to my laptop via a USB port. It looks like a 3 inch long data stick. And the signal is terrible. I can only find an internet signal in the northeast corner of my bedroom about 5 feet in the air. You can't imagine how many hours I spent trying to find that little spot. I bought a Zoom router because it was the only affordable one I could find with a USB port to accommodate the 3G data card. I'm sure it would be a good router if I lived in the city but where I live it didn't pick up the signal most of the time. I complained to the phone company and the lady there showed me how to use my Samsung cell phone as a router (?) to pick up the wireless signal by putting the 3G chip in it. That works fairly well, at least it stays connected most of the time, but the speed is about 200ms.

With that long explanation out of the way, are you saying I should use the setup I have and add another wireless adapter that plugs into a USB port on the laptop to pick up the signal from the Samsung?

The ethernet cable would not be an option because the phone doesn't have an eithernet port. Plus the cable would have to be over 30 feet long to reach from where the computer is to the Samsung.

 

[Trouble]

I think you have zero'd in on your primary problem.
You have a very poor, principal connection to the internet, using your phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot, which is apparently your only reasonably decent solution, give where you are geographically.

The difference in performance between the Windows 7 machine and the Windows 10 machine that you are experiencing is most likely due to the fact that they did a lot of reworking of the Windows 10 network stack and as a consequence it may not work as well with older hardware, especially if as in your case, it's more or less a one size fits all solution and your ability to tweak it, is limited or non-existent.

I don't suppose that your provider is considering upping their game to 4G or 4G-LTE anytime soon?

 

[morlaine]

Are the 4G signals stronger? Would that make my internet access more stable?

Interesting that you should mention 4G. Just yesterday a friend was at my house and I helped him browse the internet. He said that they are just starting 4G in this area. He's not techie at all, doesn't even own a computer, and I can't imagine life without one. Of course, he practically lives on his phone and I hate cell phones, well any kind of phone, actually. He found a 4G iphone for about $500.00 that he liked. Holy cow, that's expensive.

If the phone company can give/sell me a 4G chip and data stick I may give that a try again. Do you have any recommendation as far as a decent 4G wireless router that would accept a USB data stick for under $100.00? My current Samsung phone doesn't do 4G and I sure can't afford another phone at those prices. Suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your help. Have a great day.

 

[Trouble]

IN most 4G and or 4G LTE rollouts here in the U.S. they seem to be stronger, faster and more reliable.
I suppose that, that would still be dependent upon your proximity to their tower.

 

[Win10doesNotConnect]

I would like to add that I have the same or similar experience : 1 router and two windows systems, 1 win7 desktop and 1 win10 laptop. The win7 connects 100%. The win10 is impossible to use with the internet. Win10 either does not connect or 'drops-out' after about 2 minutes. Win10 troubleshooter reports that it is a DNS server problem but both use the same DNS server on the routher.