Wifi Drops Out Occasionally and Reconnects

bingefeller said:

Hi guys,

I'm having a problem whereby my wifi drops out and then reconnects a few seconds later. This problem is on my computer as I've checked my router's logs and it doesn't mention anything untowards.

The Event Viewer reports this:

The TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper service entered the stopped state.

Log Name: System
Source: Service Control Manager
Event ID: 7036
Level: Information
User: N/A
OpCode: Info
Logged: 26/04/12 19:25:54
Task Category: None
Keywords: Classic
Computer: computer

It doesn't happen every day and always happens when I'm using the computer. Can anyone off me advice please? I have my computer set up to only connect to one specific network and it always does this.

This problem usually occurs because your router is set to use a wireless channel that is overloaded by your neighbors WIFI connection.

It's best to scan the networks in your area then choose a channel that is furthest away from the ones your neighbors are using. Xirrus WIFI scanner works well for this. You can post the results here if you still aren't sure which channel to choose.

Wi-Fi Inspector | Xirrus

Hi Chev,

I checked the other routers in the area and they are all using channel 1 and 6. I'm using 11 + 7. I'm still adament that this is a problem with Windows 7.

bingefeller said:

Hi Chev,

I checked the other routers in the area and they are all using channel 1 and 6. I'm using 11 + 7. I'm still adament that this is a problem with Windows 7.

You have channel bonding enabled which causes you to crossover into the range of channel 6 because you are using both channels 11 and 7. Wireless channels use the bandwidth of the other channels around them.

You should try turning off channel bonding by changing to the 20Mhz setting rather that using the 40Mhz setting that you are using now. This can be done from your routers set up page.

Channel bonding usually only works well if the channels around you aren't being used and it also requires that you have a very strong signal or it actually can give you a weaker connection.