Failure to connect....suggestions please

I've got the 76Mb FTTC service. Sometimes the web browsing is fine (although the wireless hardly ever gives speeds above 28Mbps). But a lot of the time there is a problem. I type a URL into the browser, nothing happens for 30 seconds, then a message appears saying that the web page cannot be displayed, and then a second later it is displayed. Sometimes nothing at all happens. This morning, everything was fine for a couple of hours, and now every page takes ages to load.

I get these problems with my Windows 8.1 laptop but not with my iPad. So I thought the problem is not with Plusnet but with Windows. But my son also has a Windows 8.1 laptop which works fine with the Wifi in his house but he gets the same problems as me when he comes home. So that makes it look like it might be a wifi problem in my house.

I contacted Plusnet months ago. They told me to try different wifi channels and I have been working through the channels one by one, without any improvement.

In desperation I am willing to move to another ISP, just in case it solves the problem. But before I do, I hope someone here has seen this problem before and can offer some advice.

If you are seeing issues with one device and not another, it's unlikely to be the wireless channel, but more likely the wireless adaptor on the laptop. That assumes that you've tested the iPad from the same location as the laptop.

Possible suspect is the wireless adaptor in the laptop - is it a fairly new laptop or have you upgraded an old one to Windows 8.1? It would be worth checking for updated drivers.

Another way you could check the laptop would be to take it to your son's house and see if you have the same problems connecting to his router. That also assumes your son lives close enough to home for you to try that. If not, if you're on good terms with your neighbours, perhaps one of them would be up for letting you try theirs?

You could try changing the DNS settings on the laptop to use public DNS servers, Googles (8.8.8.8 & 8.8.4.4) or OpenDNS (208.67.222.222 208.67.220.220). There are plenty of guides available through a Google search.

EDIT: You can proabably ignore the above, I misread and thought all the computers were being used in your house.

Edited by deleted (Sat 09-May-15 13:44:36)

Have you tried a few different web browsers?

I usually use Chrome but the problem is the same with Firefox and IE. I have not seen the problem with Safari on my iPad. My laptop is about 18 months old and I upgraded it to Windows 8.1 as soon as it arrived with Windows 8 on it.

I might take my laptop somewhere else and I'm sure I have used it in other places in the past. The problem is that it's only an intermittent problem. So I might have to use it for several hours somewhere else to be sure about the results. But, as I say, my son's laptop gives no problems at his place (so he tells me) but starts giving these connection problems here and he also uses Windows 8.1.

I forgot to say that sometimes when this connection problem happens, I disconnect the wifi on the laptop and then reconnect. That often fixes the problem, at least for a while.

Apart from moving ISP, I am thinking if I should get a router to replace Plusnet's technicolour router or buy a wifi booster. But if it's some network problem in Windows that might not be a solution either.

Thanks for the suggestion. I found the wireless network adaptor in Device Manager and asked to update it. But Windows searched online for a couple of minutes and then told me the driver is up to date. I get normal Microsoft updates installed automatically anyway.

what router are you using?

Technicolour TG582n.

Bin it and use a decent branded one is a start.

Yes definitely git rid of that, even if it isn't the cause of your problems you're better off without it