Member Avatar for quiptro

Hi there,

I have a very strange problem. Two days ago my internet connection died for no apparent reason and my laptop cannot detect it anymore. I tried to release/renew the IP but it didn't work. I also reinstalled the wireless card drivers and changed the MAC address, no luck. I then restored my system using System Restore to the day before my internet stopped working, again, no luck.

The strange thing is that I can connect to other networks but not my own. Also, I could connect to my own network using my phone, so I know that the internet works fine. My network is hidden and it is manually set up as a preferred network on my laptop and so far I haven't had any problems (about 10 months now). Now it looks like my network doesn't exist. Can anybody please help?

I haven't installed any new software/updates and my antivirus scan didn't find any viruses or malware on the computer.

I'll be grateful if anybody could help me in any way. Thanks in advance.

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Dani AI

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Brief summary and practical explanation: this kind of symptom — one laptop suddenly unable to see a home AP while other devices work fine and Ethernet works — is commonly caused by radio interference or channel congestion rather than a bad NIC or router firmware. Hidden SSIDs can make a client rely on active probes instead of passive beacons, which makes the client more sensitive to lost packets and interference. The "Media Disconnected" message simply means the Wi‑Fi interface is not associated with an AP, not that the hardware is necessarily dead.

Actionable troubleshooting (fast checklist):

  • Confirm other devices can join the SSID (you already did).
  • Plug the laptop into the router by Ethernet, log into the AP, and check the wireless channel and channel width. On 2.4 GHz, try a non‑overlapping channel (1, 6, or 11) and set 20 MHz width.
  • Reboot the AP and laptop after changing channel.
  • On the laptop, remove (forget) the saved profile for that network and re-add it rather than only renewing IP or reinstalling drivers.
  • Temporarily unhide the SSID to rule out probe/scan issues.
  • Update router firmware, check MAC filtering and regional channel settings, and move the AP away from likely interferers (microwave, cordless phone, other APs).

Notes and cautions: this pattern matches 's intermittent reports and echoes 's suggestion to inspect AP settings. Changing channels is a low‑risk first fix (as discovered) and often resolves cases where only one client is affected. Hiding the SSID is not an effective security measure — use WPA2/WPA3 with a strong passphrase instead. If problems persist after trying the steps above, request deeper diagnostics from the ISP or swap in a known-good AP to isolate the fault.

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Member Avatar for Member #677756

I'm having a similar problem. I'm using a buffalo WLI2-PCI-G545 wireless LAN adapter and about 5 days ago it just suddenly stopped connecting to the network (it works for short periods of time). Meanwhile, all the other computers in my house can connect to the wireless just fine. What gives?

Member Avatar for pmorris1

You will not be able to release/renew your IP unless you have first connected to the access point.

Have a look at a program called "netstumbler". It is a wireless tool that looks for any wireless signal and show any and all AP's that are floating around you. What it does is put your wireless card in "listen only mode". It is possible that your wireless access point has died. Is it from your ISP or did you buy a wireless router (i.e. linksys or dlink). If it is your wireless that isn't working, try connecting with an ethernet cable and checking the settings of the access point (if you have not done that already). Make sure the SSID is correct, and MAC filtering etc is set correctly to your machine.


netstumbler download is found here:
http://www.netstumbler.com/downloads/

a good FAQ on netstumbler is found here:
http://www.dslreports.com/faq/11414


hope this helps

Member Avatar for quiptro

You will not be able to release/renew your IP unless you have first connected to the access point.

Have a look at a program called "netstumbler". It is a wireless tool that looks for any wireless signal and show any and all AP's that are floating around you. What it does is put your wireless card in "listen only mode". It is possible that your wireless access point has died. Is it from your ISP or did you buy a wireless router (i.e. linksys or dlink). If it is your wireless that isn't working, try connecting with an ethernet cable and checking the settings of the access point (if you have not done that already). Make sure the SSID is correct, and MAC filtering etc is set correctly to your machine.


netstumbler download is found here:
http://www.netstumbler.com/downloads/

a good FAQ on netstumbler is found here:
http://www.dslreports.com/faq/11414


hope this helps

Thank you for your response. netstumbler could not find my wireless network. However, my roommate connects and uses the network without any problems. The wireless router is from my ISP and when I connect my laptop through Ethernet cable with the router, the internet works fine. When I use ipconfig/all, it says "Media Disconnected" next to my wireless card. Also, I can connect to other wireless networks so I assume my wireless card works properly. The router settings have not been changed since the first time I started using it and until now it has worked flawlessly. I will try to see if I can get any help from the link that you provided.

Again, thanks for the response.

Member Avatar for quiptro

I called the ISP and they guided me through changing the channel in which my network was operating. After changing the channel, my network was immediately back on. Glad to have internet again...

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