Wifi randomly turns off

Hi @coolmon

If you have a Windows PC try downloading, installing and running this free WiFi sniffer program.

This will let you know the signal strength of your WiFi network (-ve dBm value, so the higher the number, the lower the signal strength) and also if there are other WiFi networks nearby that may be operating on the same channel and if their signal is strong enough can cause interference.

If other networks are on the same channel, switch your router to a quieter channel i.e. no appearances in the WiFi sniffer program. Most routers default to Ch 1, 6 or 11 (if using 2.4GHz) straight out of the box and nobody bothers to change it. Check the settings in the router setup if you want to change it.

If you have a laptop, try the program on the laptop and run it close to where your parents use their connection and measure the signal strength there. -40dBm to -60dBm is considered to be excellent - good signal strength values. -70dBm and up e.g. -80dBm, -90dBm etc and you start to run into problems. The same if the signal is too strong i.e. -20dBm to -30dBm, it could then be overloading the adapter which also causes problems.

If the signal is low where your parents need to use it, try boosting the signal or moving the router to a different position and measure the signal again. I haven’t checked the user manual for your model but most have a “boost” type setting which can be enabled/disabled if the signal is too weak or too strong (if enabled)

Internal walls and electrical appliances (especially when first starting e.g. Air Con, refrigerator compressor etc) can also degrade the signal, so something to watch out for since it is intermittent.

This is all assuming it loses connections and not that the router switches off etc.