Wifi doesnt stay connected

[jimr1354]

I have a little Dell Inspiron 700m. The internal Wifi doesn't stay connected all the time. I go online, and suddenly it will disconnect and then it will connect again. I never know when it will disconnect. Is there something that isn't configured correctly? I've tried everything but it keeps doing it.

The operating system is Win7 Home Premium
Wifi is Intel PRO/Wireless LAN 2100 3A Mini PCI Adapter

 

[Onus]

Two possible causes are interference, which is hard to predict and prevent, although being closer to the router and/or re-orienting your computer might help some; and heat, which might cause sporadic failures, although I'd think it wouldn't immediately re-connect. Rule that out by giving your machine a good cleaning with pressurized air (never a vacuum cleaner, which can cause destructive static).

 

[jimr1354]

Nope. I work on the computer right near the router and it connects for a bit and then it disconnects and in about 10-15 seconds it reconnects.
I now have two of these Dell inspiron 700m's and both of them do the same thing, disconnecting & reconnecting. If I plug in a usb wifi dongle, it work great. No problems. Both of them are like that. I have other laptops and the wifi's in them work fine. Oh well.

 

[Onus]

This might be worth a call to Dell. It might be a heating issue caused by a design flaw. It may be possible to get them to replace the wifi module (one of the few replaceable items in a laptop) in your systems since multiple machines have the problem.

 

[aylafan]

Wow. That's a very old laptop from like 10-11 years ago with an old wireless B/G card. You'll need to make sure your wireless router is on G/N mixed mode. You will also have to downgrade the wireless encryption from WPA2 to WPA or WEP. I have the same laptop in my closet right now.