ASUS Laptop Wireless Adapter Requires Regular Disable/Re-Enable

[osonegro]

Wireless adapter for ASUS X551M laptop needs to be regularly disabled and re-enabled because connection fails. It seems to happen every hour or so.

I have an ASUS X551M laptop that I use as a secondary/backup computer and over the last 2-3 months, it has started dropping the wireless connection. I replaced the original Atheros AR9485 card with an Intel AC-3160 a month ago, thinking this might solve the problem. It gave me better signal (I've always had bad signal problems with Atheros), but the connection still disappears after an hour or so. It will be working fine, and then I will try to access a webpage, or connect to my IRC client, and the signal indicator in the system tray will show full bars, whatever page or program I'm using will fail to connect or show no connection, and I get the little yellow alert triangle on the wireless icon in the system tray. I can get it working again if I go into Device Manager to disable/re-enable wireless network adapter. There is no yellow alert triangle on the icon for the wireless card in Device Manager, and it says the device is working properly, even though I can't access the internet and the triangle appears on the signal icon in the system tray.

The problem is the same, and is 'fixed' in the same way, if I use the original Atheros card. Connecting to the modem/router via ethernet does not present any issues. I would like to find out if it is a hardware issue so I can send it to get fixed on my protection plan. If it's something I can do, I'd rather take care of it myself.

 

[digitaldoc]

These Asus notebooks have wifi issues reported. I linked to the download page for this notebook. Make sure you have the latest drivers installed- there were new ones last month.

http://www.asus.com/Notebooks_Ultrabooks/X551MA/HelpDesk_Download/

 

[osonegro]

These Asus notebooks have wifi issues reported. I linked to the download page for this notebook. Make sure you have the latest drivers installed- there were new ones last month.

http://www.asus.com/Notebooks_Ultrabooks/X551MA/HelpDesk_Download/

Thanks, but I already downloaded and installed the latest drivers from the manufacturers' websites. I've also completely reinstalled Windows 8 (and installed updates & most recent drivers). I was hoping it was just a software issue since it would work after disabling/re-enabling the adapter, but maybe it's a hardware issue?

 

[digitaldoc]

It is most likely a hardware issue if you have the latest drivers, and the issues persist. At this point, I recommend that you go with a USB wifi adapter which should get around the issue.

 

[Omamo]

These Asus notebooks have wifi issues reported. I linked to the download page for this notebook. Make sure you have the latest drivers installed- there were new ones last month.

http://www.asus.com/Notebooks_Ultrabooks/X551MA/HelpDesk_Download/

Thanks, but I already downloaded and installed the latest drivers from the manufacturers' websites. I've also completely reinstalled Windows 8 (and installed updates & most recent drivers). I was hoping it was just a software issue since it would work after disabling/re-enabling the adapter, but maybe it's a hardware issue?

Hi I know this is kind of late but I have the perfect fix for you. I bought the same model Asus as you and had the same WiFi issues including an extremely weak WiFi signal, I'd be sitting right next to the router and only getting 3 bars. I tried reinstalling Windows updating drivers etc but nothing worked until yesterday. My laptop refused to charge and was dead so I had to remove the battery. Upon unscrewing the laptop to access battery motherboard etc I noticed that the WiFi cards two connections, the main and auxiliary cables were barely connected and just simply hanging on to it by a thread I firmly connected them and BOOM my WiFi is working how it's meant to be with an extremely impressive range