If your phone or any other device that uses Wi-Fi keeps losing its internet connection, we have a few solutions which should help.
Why do I keep getting disconnected from my Wi-Fi?
If your wireless signal strength is low, try moving closer to your router. If there are any obstacles such as walls between the device and the router this could be hindering wireless signal. Also, some electrical devices including microwaves, baby monitors or even lights can wreak havoc with Wi-Fi as they can use the same radio frequencies.
If you don’t think signal strength is the problem and you’re seeing all the bars lit up in your device’s Wi-Fi con, then here are some fixes that you can try and they’ll work on your PC and laptop too.
If you want to change your Wi-Fi password then we have a guide for that too, and while you’re here make sure you’re keeping yourself safe online.
How do I fix my internet randomly disconnecting?
Method 1. Make sure your device is up to date
Often the fix for a whole raft of problems is to ensure your devices are running the latest version of their operating systems.
In Android, open Settings, then look for a menu such as System, or Update. On many Android phones it’s under System > Software update.
On an iPhone or iPad, open Settings, tap General and then Software Update.
For Windows, in the Start menu, click the settings cog, then go to Update & security > Windows Update.
Method 2. Turn Wi-Fi off and on again
This is a quick, simple test which may or may not fix your problem.
If you have a PC or laptop, you can try restarting your computer’s network adapter:
- Press your Windows key + R at the same time, and the Run dialog box will appear
- Type ncpa.cpl into the Run box and click ‘OK’
- Right-click on your Wi-Fi adapter and select Disable
- Right-click your network adapter once more, and hit Enable.. or just double-click on it to have the same effect
Method 3. Set a static IP address
This involves logging into your router’s management web pages. Here’s how to go about accessing your router if you’re not sure.
By default, it will assign a different IP address each time your device connects to it, but some don’t like this – especially Amazon Fire tablets.
Telling your router to always give a particular device the same IP address each time – a static one – can help with Wi-Fi connection problems.
All routers are different, so we can’t explain step-by-step how to achieve this on your router, but look for a network settings menu and a DHCP reservation list or similar.
Try and locate your device. If your router is friendly, it might display the make and model of your phone / tablet or another device. Or it might just list a MAC address. If the latter, you’ll have to search through your system settings on that device to try and track down that MAC address so you can match it up in the list.
Once you have this information, you should be able to tell your router to always give that device the same IP address, and you’ll have to enter this address yourself. But typically your router will help you out with the first three sets of digits – such as 192.168.0. It’s only the final digit you need to specify, and it’s a good idea to make sure this is outside of the range of addresses the DHCP server assigns. Again, you should be able to see this in your router’s interface, so just pick a number (between 1 and 254) that is outside of that range and you won’t have any problems.
Method 4. Update Wi-Fi drivers
This applies only to PCs and laptops of course.
- Head to the search bar at the bottom left of your screen again, and type in ‘Device Manager’
- Once you’ve found it, open it up and find your way to the Network Adapter section as seen below
- Right-click on your Wi-Fi network adapter
- Click ‘Update Driver Software’ at the top of the menu that appears
Method 5. Stop your network adapter entering power saving mode
Again, this is a Windows-only tip, but you can also disable power-saving modes on your phone or tablet to see if it helps.
If Windows has power-saving mode enabled, then it will disable the network adapter if it thinks it is not being used. This can cause your connection to drop out which is more than a little bit annoying.
To turn off power-saving mode for your network adapter, complete the following steps:
- Open Device Manager (Win+X, M)
- Find the Network Adapters arrow and expand it.
- Select your network adapter and right click, enter Properties.
- Select the Power Management tab.
- Uncheck the option to ‘Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power”.
Method 6. Run the Windows Network Troubleshooter
The Windows 10 troubleshooter is surprisingly good at fixing simple issues and can resolve problems by itself sometimes. It’s certainly worth giving it a try.
- Down in the search box, type in ‘Network troubleshooter’ and select it
- Click ‘Identify and repair network problems’ and follow the instructions on your screen
Method 7. Turn off Wi-Fi Sense in Windows 10
Wi-Fi Sense can cause your connection to be interrupted if it’s trying to connect to another network repeatedly. The best way to solve this is to disable Wi-Fi Sense.
- Click Start and head into your Settings.
- Select Network and Internet
- Click on ‘Wi-Fi’ on the left.
- On the right-hand side, find your way to ‘Manage Wi-Fi Settings’ and click on it.
- Disable the settings named ‘Connect to suggested open hotspots’ and ‘Connect to networks shared by my friends’.
Method 8. Reset your TCP/IP stack in Windows 10
The last thing to try is to flush your TCP/IP stack. This essentially just resets it, so if anything is wrong it can rebuild and hopefully connect the issue.
- Hit your Windows Key + R to open up the Run window then type ‘CMD’.
- Once the command window opens, enter the following text ‘netsh int tcp set heuristics disabled’ and press enter.
- Now enter this string of text ‘netsh int tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled’ and hit eneter.
- Finally, enter this third string ‘netsh int tcp set global rss=enabled’ and hit enter.
- Now restart your computer, and you will get a confirmation that you’ve reset your computer’s TCP/IP.