My dongle appears to have a weakened signal, possibly corrupted

Wonder Reece

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Hey everyone. Within the past couple of days, I have noticed that the internet speed on my desktop computer has dropped significantly, and at times disconnect frequently. I have tested two different WiFi laptops, and the connections seems stable and normal, which leads me to believe that there is an issue with my dongle.

It is a Laptone Wireless 150Mbps Adapter, and until now I have not had any issues with it since I bought it last year. Recently, however, it has been very slow at loading web pages or failed to load them at all. Oddly, the signal in the notification tray is at or near maximum most of the time, even when it is clearly slow. I haven't seen many disconnects today, but yesterday it was switching between connected, limited connectivity and no connection found.

I actually tested this dongle on my laptop, and both times I removed it, I received a blue screen; the first time I just pulled it out, and the second I disconnected from my router's connection before removing it. Both times resulted in the same screen. My laptop appears to be working fine, though. However, I felt this worth mentioning, in case the dongle is corrupted or something. I did plug it in when the laptop already had it's own different dongle plugged in though -- would having two dongles plugged in simultaneously affect anything?

I ran a few software checks just on the off-chance that something would help the issue, although I knew most of these wouldn't help the problem. Here's what I did anyway, in case these rule anything out:
  • I have run "sfc /scannow" - I received "Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations."
  • I ran a Windows scheduled disk check.
  • I ran SuperAntiSpyware, Malwarebytes and AdwCleaner - no threats found.

The dongle's performance remains the same. Is there anything else I can do or check to see if I can resolve the problem, or should I get a replacement?

UPDATE: I just ran Windows Network Diagnostics Troubleshooter and received the following results:

"Problems found:
The connection between your access point, router, or cable modem and the Internet is broken - Detected
The default gateway is not available - Fixed"

PrintWindows Network Diagnostics Publisher details

Issues found
The connection between your access point, router, or cable modem and the Internet is brokenThe connection between your access point, router, or cable modem and the Internet is broken
The network gateway is accessible, but Windows couldn’t receive network traffic from the Internet. Detected Detected
Your broadband modem is experiencing connectivity issues Not run

The default gateway is not availableThe default gateway is not available
The default gateway is a device that connects a local network or computer to the Internet. A broadband modem or router is usually the default gateway. Fixed Fixed
Reset the "Wireless Network Connection" adapter Completed
Investigate router or broadband modem issues Not run


Issues found Detection details

6 The connection between your access point, router, or cable modem and the Internet is broken Detected Detected

The network gateway is accessible, but Windows couldn’t receive network traffic from the Internet.
Your broadband modem is experiencing connectivity issues Not run

Restart your broadband modem: 1. Unplug or turn off the modem. 2. After all the lights on the modem are off, wait at least 10 seconds. 3. Turn the modem on or plug it back into the power outlet. To restart a modem that has a built-in battery, press and quickly release the Reset button. If this doesn't fix the problem, contact your Internet service provider.

6 The default gateway is not available Fixed Fixed

The default gateway is a device that connects a local network or computer to the Internet. A broadband modem or router is usually the default gateway.
Reset the "Wireless Network Connection" adapter Completed

This can sometimes resolve an intermittent problem.
InformationalNetwork Diagnostics Log
File Name: 3E91DB57-DB5E-424B-950E-D50859275B8A.Repair.Admin.1.etl


Investigate router or broadband modem issues Not run

If you're connected to a hotspot or domain network, contact the network administrator. Otherwise: 1. Unplug or turn off the device. 2. After all the lights on the device are off, wait at least 10 seconds. 3. Turn the device on or plug it back into the power outlet. To restart a router or modem that has a built-in battery, press and quickly release the Reset button.


Detection details Expand

InformationalDiagnostics Information (Network Adapter)
Details about network adapter diagnosis:

Network adapter Wireless Network Connection driver information:

Description . . . . . . . . . . : 802.11 USB Wireless LAN Card
Manufacturer . . . . . . . . . : Ralink Technology, Corp.
Provider . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft
Version . . . . . . . . . . . : 3.0.0.61
Inf File Name . . . . . . . . . : C:\Windows\INF\netr28ux.inf
Inf File Date . . . . . . . . . : 13 July 2009 20:37:32
Section Name . . . . . . . . . : OS61_Ralink_3070.ndi
Hardware ID . . . . . . . . . . : usb\vid_148f&pid_3070
Instance Status Flags . . . . . : 0x180600a
Device Manager Status Code . . : 0
IfType . . . . . . . . . . . . : 71
Physical Media Type . . . . . . : 9



InformationalDiagnostics Information (Wireless Connectivity)
Details about wireless connectivity diagnosis:

Information for connection being diagnosed
Interface GUID: 1d990e3d-adf4-4452-9b2b-40e61e23eec5
Interface name: 802.11 USB Wireless LAN Card
Interface type: Native WiFi

Connection incident diagnosed
Auto Configuration ID: 1
Connection ID: 1

Connection status summary
Connection started at: 2014-06-15 17:29:05-841
Profile match: Success
Pre-Association: Success
Association: Success
Security and Authentication: Success

List of visible access point(s): 3 item(s) total, 3 item(s) displayed
BSSID BSS Type PHY Signal(dB) Chnl/freq SSID
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
00-22-3F-C6-1D-B8 Infra g -63 9 absolute
7C-4C-A5-90-CF-01 Infra <unknown> -63 1 SKYAE402
00-22-3F-CF-6F-6E Infra g -73 6 Clare

Connection History

Information for Auto Configuration ID 1

List of visible networks: 3 item(s) total, 3 item(s) displayed
BSS Type PHY Security Signal(RSSI) Compatible SSID
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Infra g Yes 68 Yes absolute
Infra <unknown> Yes 68 Yes SKYAE402
Infra g Yes 42 Yes Clare

List of preferred networks: 1 item(s)
Profile: absolute
SSID: absolute
SSID length: 8
Connection mode: Infra
Security: Yes
Set by group policy: No
Connect even if network is not broadcasting: No
Connectable: Yes

Information for Connection ID 1
Connection started at: 2014-06-15 17:29:05-841
Auto Configuration ID: 1
Profile: absolute
SSID: absolute
SSID length: 8
Connection mode: Infra
Security: Yes
Pre-Association and Association
Connectivity settings provided by hardware manufacturer (IHV): No
Security settings provided by hardware manufacturer (IHV): No
Profile matches network requirements: Success
Pre-association status: Success
Association status: Success
Last AP: 00-22-3f-c6-1d-b8
Security and Authentication
Configured security type: Open
Configured encryption type: WEP
802.1X protocol: No
Key exchange initiated: Yes
Unicast key received: No
Multicast key received: No
Number of security packets received: 0
Number of security packets sent: 0
Security attempt status: Success
Connectivity
Packet statistics
Ndis Rx: 12923
Ndis Tx: 10744
Unicast decrypt success: 0
Multicast decrypt success: 0
Unicast decrypt failure: 0
Multicast decrypt failure: 0
Rx success: 551
Rx failure: 0
Tx success: 144
Tx failure: 0
Tx retry: 0
Tx multiple retry: 0
Tx max lifetime exceeded: 0
Tx ACK failure: 0
Roaming history: 0 item(s)




InformationalDiagnostics Information (Wireless Connectivity)
Details about wireless connectivity diagnosis:

For complete information about this session see the wireless connectivity information event.

Helper Class: Auto Configuration
Initialize status: Success

Information for connection being diagnosed
Interface GUID: 1d990e3d-adf4-4452-9b2b-40e61e23eec5
Interface name: 802.11 USB Wireless LAN Card
Interface type: Native WiFi

Result of diagnosis: There may be problem






InformationalDiagnostics Information (Wireless Network Adapter)
Details about wireless network adapter diagnosis:

For complete information about this session see the wireless connectivity information event.

Helper Class: Native WiFi MSM
Initialize status: Success

Information for connection being diagnosed
Interface GUID: 1d990e3d-adf4-4452-9b2b-40e61e23eec5
Interface name: 802.11 USB Wireless LAN Card
Interface type: Native WiFi
Profile: absolute
SSID: absolute
SSID length: 8
Connection mode: Infra
Security: Yes
Connect even if network is not broadcasting: No

Result of diagnosis: There may be problem






InformationalNetwork Diagnostics Log
File Name: 3E91DB57-DB5E-424B-950E-D50859275B8A.Diagnose.Admin.0.etl

InformationalOther Networking Configuration and Logs
File Name: NetworkConfiguration.cab

Collection information
Computer Name: REECE-PC
Windows Version: 6.1
Architecture: amd64
Time: Sunday, June 15, 2014 5:43:17 PM

Publisher details Expand

Windows Network Diagnostics
Detects problems with network connectivity.
Package Version: 1.0
Publisher: Microsoft Windows

Not sure if that's helpful at all. Sorry for all the wall of text too, couldn't find a way to minimise/expand it on here (like a spoiler tag) but I felt it necessary to include any information that might be useful.
 
Last edited:

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Wonder Reece I cannot find much in the way of drivers for this device only this Laptone - USB Adapters, USB Hub, HDMI Cables I am assuming this is the device in question and also I am wondering what your motherboard is as I again thinking what if there is something in the drivers updates could be used.
 

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