Windows 10: Why does it show my wifi is connected when it isn't

Why does it show my wifi is connected when it is not connected

:)

 

When will the wifi connectivity problems be solved?


OK, so the Windows 10 engineers bollixed up the wifi connectivity part of the operating system. Everybody knows that by now. It seems they are making some progress in resolving it. Now, instead of seeing "Secured, No Internet" on your list of wifi connections, you see "Connected, Secured" EXCEPT no webpages will load. So you really aren't connected. It does seem to be a step in the right direction. Does anybody know when they plan on a full and complete repair of this screw up of epic proportions?

 

When will the wifi connectivity problems be solved?

Hi Wabbles and welcome to Tenforums.

I've got 4 systems connecting via wireless; all adapters are different makes; all have zero issues, and two of them are old (wireless-G only). Most every issue I have seen with wireless connections has been driver-related. (Or, impending router failure.) I would suggest identifying your adapter model/make, and searching for different drivers that you can try out. And, sometimes an older driver works better than a newer one (just had this issue on a system I was working on yesterday). Also, verify you have these same connection issues when connecting to different routers, just to rule that out.

 

How to connect to an existing wifi network?

As you suggested, I tried disabling the ethernet adapter and that caused wi-fi to connect, so the desktop wifi does work. Also, I accessed the router and changed the wireless network name (to wfCHS). Thanks!

However many problems are still unresolved:

My laptop behaves just as I want it to. Assuming the router has wifi turned on and the laptop has an ethernet connection, connection to the internet is by ethernet (no private network name), and the wi-fi connection is to my private network "wfCHS", but with no connection to the internet. (If I disconnect the ethernet cable, then wfCHS becomes connected to the internet and stays that way even if I reconnect the cable.) A directory listing shows both laptop and desktop under "Network". Great!

Things are rather different with the desktop. With Ethernet disabled, the desktop shows a wi-fi connection to the internet. Under Settings > Status it's called "wfCHS" but under Network Connections it's called wfCHS2. If I then re-enable the ethernet connection, the wifi connection stays enabled for a minute or two, then disconnects. Further, the ethernet connection is given the name wfCHS2 under both Status and Network Connections.

Why does the desktop give an (unwanted) name to the ethernet connection while the laptop doesn't?

Why does the desktop disconnect its wi-fi connection a minute or so after the ethernet connection is enabled, while the laptop doesn't?

Why does the desktop give two different names to the wifi connection, depending on whether it's viewed under Status or Network Connections, while the laptop doesn't?

Why does the laptop show the desktop under Network, while the desktop shows only itself?

Things are so convoluted that I'd be happy to start over. I've had the desktop "forget" the wi-fi connection as you suggested, then re-established it, but this hasn't helped. Can the ethernet connection also be "forgotten"?

Really appreciate the help you've given so far!