laptop wifi can't catch wifi signals? how to fix

ndriqimrrahmani

Reputable
Jan 6, 2015
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4,510
I have an acer aspire e1-522 with windows 8.1 pro activated and all last drivers on it. It can connect my home wifi but it can't even catch neighbors wifi signals that even my phone does.
Some info:
My neighbors have wifi
My dads laptop(other laptop ) can catch them
I have changed received buffers value from 256 to 512(max) but still nothing.
My laptop's wifi card isn't broken.
I tried uninstalling wifi driver and reinstallin it but still nothing.
This is starting to annoy me.
 
Solution


Yes, a 5 GHz signal from an AC will not be detected by older gear. However, all the AC routers also put out the 2.4 GHz signal, unless they get manually configured otherwise, which would be kind of unusual.
Not all Wi-Fi adapters are going to support the same standards. Perhaps the neighbors are running a different standard of wireless network that your laptop doesn't support? If you aren't very far away from the signal and don't have too much in the way of obstructions, that's probably the case. Most laptops have replaceable Wi-Fi adapters, but you have to be careful with the antenna connectors and you may also run into white listing in BIOS for what adapters you can even install.
 
If its not an issue with the class of wireless (like a G wireless card cant see an N-class network) and the Acer had been serviced at some point, then you might want to make sure that the antenna was properly reconnected to the adapter.
 
I agree with both points made so far...
Laptop signal type may not be able to connect to the wireless signal your neighbors are using.
Example: Laptop can do G and N wireless types but your neighbor may use wireless AC which will work with newer computers but older ones would not be able to connect to that signal type.

Also, being a laptop technician I know that sometimes the long wires that make up the wireless antenna can get disconnected or mistakenly, they don't get reconnected when someone disconnects them.

If you really want to see all of the wireless signals around you try using https://www.kali.org/downloads/
It's free and you don't need to install it.. All you have to do is burn it to a disc and then boot from that disc into Kali Linux.
Then go here and do all of step 3: http://lifehacker.com/5873407/how-to-crack-a-wi-fi-networks-wpa-password-with-reaver
until you have a list of all of the wireless signals your laptop is picking up.
 


All the AC routers provide a backwards compatible signal, and support the B, G and N standards.
 


First of all, if you have your own WiFi, not sure why you would want to connect to your neighbors.

At any rate, the range on your notebook's wifi may simply not be as long as your smartphones. Perhaps your notebook's wifi is having an antenna issue. Finally, not every device plays well with each router, and certain devices simply do not connect to certain routers. A USB WiFi adapter can help get around this issue.
 


Yes, a 5 GHz signal from an AC will not be detected by older gear. However, all the AC routers also put out the 2.4 GHz signal, unless they get manually configured otherwise, which would be kind of unusual.
 
Solution