[SOLVED] My WiFi is malfunctioning. Stumped on what else to try.

[thexyad]

So since about a few days ago, maybe a week I've started having huge issues with my wifi connection on my desktop computer.
It either says there's "No Internet" while staying connected, or it drops the connection altogether. Turning WiFi on or off sometimes works and sometimes the WiFi button on the taskbar freezes and does nothing and other times it says there are no WiFi networks.

It's not the modem or router - my laptop and phone are at the same desk and work perfectly with speeds faster than the desktop.

My WiFi adapter is USB but can take speeds of up to 1200 Mbps and has an antenna. I've had it since August 2019 and had no real issues until now.

I thought maybe it was my new wireless headphones interfering with the signal, but even with them turned off this still happens.

I have made sure in power management that the computer doesn't turn off the network adapter to save power.

I also cannot find any specific posts with the exact some issue? People have random wifi issues with Windows Updates or some antiviruses but I just have Windows Defender.

Also, I've uninstalled the latest updates and still the issue persists.

And I've definitely reinstalled the drivers for the USB WiFi adapter.

HELP!

 

[The_Prophecy]

I've actually been running into a bunch of these issues lately with corporate machines for my employer. We've found that a bunch of them actually are caused by the person's home router. Just because other devices can connect to it, doesn't mean one (or more) other devices won't have problems. We've been able to get people working remotely to fix a bunch of these issues with a simple power cycle of their router. Power it off for 30 seconds and then back on again and see what happens.

 

[thexyad]

I've actually been running into a bunch of these issues lately with corporate machines for my employer. We've found that a bunch of them actually are caused by the person's home router. Just because other devices can connect to it, doesn't mean one (or more) other devices won't have problems. We've been able to get people working remotely to fix a bunch of these issues with a simple power cycle of their router. Power it off for 30 seconds and then back on again and see what happens.

Hmm. I see. I definitely have turned it off and back on before but I don't know if it was for thirty seconds

 

[The_Prophecy]

Sometimes if you don't shut it off completely for long enough, the unit will retain power through capacitors on the logic board to keep whatever was causing your problem intact. If you ever look inside a computer built in the last 5+ years or so, most will have an LED on the board indicating it is getting power.

It's similar to when you physically unplug said computer, the motherboard LED does not power off right away. It only dims initially and then finally goes out completely after a number of seconds. Same principle for the router, except instead of a simple light, it may retain actual data or settings.