OT: New Wireless Network

[bdgan]

A new wireless service was installed by our condo association on Friday. Until now we've been using Comcast but we're switching to CenturyLink which is fiber.

Techs did the installation and I was able to connect my phones and smart devices without problem. Yesterday I tried to switch my old HP laptop running windows 8.1. I tried to find the new network but it's not visible. I can see my Comcast network and a lot of my neighbors networks but not my new CenturyLink network.

The problem is not that I'm too far from the router. I tried to connect manually but it says that network already exists. That's fine but I can't see it to connect to it. I went to "manage know networks" and it's there but the only option is to "forget this network". I tried that but it didn't help. I've rebooted my machine and I've rebooted the router. No luck.

Any ideas?


P.S. I called Century Link but they don't have tech support on weekends which is horrible.

 

[interrobang]

If you know the name of the network but it's not broadcasting the name, just manually add it.

How to add new Wi-Fi network profile on Windows 10 - Pureinfotech

Windows 10 lets you add wireless profiles manually to connect automatically when the network in range — here's how to do it.

pureinfotech.com

However if it's that old of a laptop the wireless radio may not be compatible with the default settings of the new router.

 

[91Joe95]

Check your laptop's network card. If you search your laptop model number you might be able to find which card was used without opening the laptop. You can then search the network card's model number and see if there are any issues, sometimes there are.

Possible fixes:
1. Go into hardware settings and delete the network card. When windows reboots it will build a new profile for it, which may fix your problem.

2. Get a new network card. They're cheap, but you have to open your laptop. It's not hard, youtube your laptop model, but some people are hesitant.

3. Buy a USB wireless network card. Cheap, easy, small, but it sticks out of your laptop. Basically you disable the laptop's internal card and use it.

4. Use your laptop's wired ethernet port and plug it into your router. You might have to change a few settings in your computer because some don't like the wireless and wired active at the same time, but it's easy to do.

 

[MontereyLion]

Why would anyone work on the weekends? Nothing bad ever happens then. Its never a good sign when a customer service company doesn't offer customer service. Good luck.

 

[Nittany Security2]

Sounds like your old laptop's network interface card does not support the new wireless protocols.

 

[bdgan]

If you know the name of the network but it's not broadcasting the name, just manually add it.

How to add new Wi-Fi network profile on Windows 10 - Pureinfotech

Windows 10 lets you add wireless profiles manually to connect automatically when the network in range — here's how to do it.

pureinfotech.com

However if it's that old of a laptop the wireless radio may not be compatible with the default settings of the new router.

I tried to add the new network manually. It said that network already exists so it must see it in some fashion. It just won't pop up as one of the available networks to select so I can connect to it.

 

[interrobang]

So probably just an old network card not compatible with your router.

If you really want to use that laptop, for under $20 you can get a USB wifi adapter

 

[mlvnsmly]

See if there's a newer driver for the wireless network card. I had the same issue. If that doesn't work buy a new card that plugs into a usb port or get a new laptop.

 

[mlvnsmly]

Here's an example:

Systems Using Intel® Wireless Adapters Supporting...

Some Wi-Fi drivers can cause Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) networks to not show in the list of available networks.

www.intel.com

 

[tboyer]

Is it possible they used the same SSID name as the previous network? Windows gets confused sometimes and won't connect. So make sure the old wifi network is deleted from windows.

 

[interrobang]

Is it possible they used the same SSID name as the previous network? Windows gets confused sometimes and won't connect. So make sure the old wifi network is deleted from windows.

In that case I would think it would connect, but give a connection error due to the old password.

 

[SLUPSU]

A new wireless service was installed by our condo association on Friday. Until now we've been using Comcast but we're switching to CenturyLink which is fiber.

Techs did the installation and I was able to connect my phones and smart devices without problem. Yesterday I tried to switch my old HP laptop running windows 8.1. I tried to find the new network but it's not visible. I can see my Comcast network and a lot of my neighbors networks but not my new CenturyLink network.

The problem is not that I'm too far from the router. I tried to connect manually but it says that network already exists. That's fine but I can't see it to connect to it. I went to "manage know networks" and it's there but the only option is to "forget this network". I tried that but it didn't help. I've rebooted my machine and I've rebooted the router. No luck.

Any ideas?


P.S. I called Century Link but they don't have tech support on weekends which is horrible.

I had a similar problem a few weeks back with an older laptop. I tried everything, I finally decided that the wireless adapter just crapped out. To fix the problem I bought a wireless USB adapter from Amazon for less than $20 like this one from TP-Link, easy fix.

AC1300 Mini Wireless MU-MIMO USB Adapter

Archer T3U USB Adapter delivers efficient AC1300 wireless connections with its SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Port. Dual-band for flexible connectivity. Mini-sized for convenient portability.

www.tp-link.com

 

[BlueLion]

You can also update the bios on your laptop. Goto HPs website and look for drivers and downloads under support. Will need laptop model and serial number.

 

[bdgan]

See if there's a newer driver for the wireless network card. I had the same issue. If that doesn't work buy a new card that plugs into a usb port or get a new laptop.

I found a strange solution. I have a wifi extender so I set that up and my laptop sees that network (originalnetwork_EXT). That would indicate the my laptop was too far from the router but I took my laptop to within 5 ft of the router and it doesn't see it. But for some strange reason it sees the _EXT network.

 

[strongarm00]

Had the same issue with my HP laptop when we installed a new gateway. Older computers can’t connect. To the new hardware because the gateway will connect you to the best signal automatically. That confuses the computer. If you are able to edit the WiFi profile and give each frequency it’s own channel, you should be able to separate the signals and your computer will see the network.

I also had to go the WiFi extender route as well I was able to get a Netgear extender from Amazon for about $50. Good luck

 

[mmp121]

A new wireless service was installed by our condo association on Friday. Until now we've been using Comcast but we're switching to CenturyLink which is fiber.

Techs did the installation and I was able to connect my phones and smart devices without problem. Yesterday I tried to switch my old HP laptop running windows 8.1. I tried to find the new network but it's not visible. I can see my Comcast network and a lot of my neighbors networks but not my new CenturyLink network.

The problem is not that I'm too far from the router. I tried to connect manually but it says that network already exists. That's fine but I can't see it to connect to it. I went to "manage know networks" and it's there but the only option is to "forget this network". I tried that but it didn't help. I've rebooted my machine and I've rebooted the router. No luck.

Any ideas?


P.S. I called Century Link but they don't have tech support on weekends which is horrible.

Most likely your old laptop's wireless device is 802.11a/b only. And your new router is defaulting to 802.11n/ac mode only. If you feel you are comfortable enough to poke around in your new router settings, you can see if it has a setting for "maximum compatibility" which should allow your laptop to see the new routers SSID, and connect.

If not, it may be time to upgrade your old laptop, windows 8.1 is out of support and no longer gets security updates, and your playing with fire anyways.

Good luck!

 

[SLUPSU]

Most likely your old laptop's wireless device is 802.11a/b only. And your new router is defaulting to 802.11n/ac mode only. If you feel you are comfortable enough to poke around in your new router settings, you can see if it has a setting for "maximum compatibility" which should allow your laptop to see the new routers SSID, and connect.

If not, it may be time to upgrade your old laptop, windows 8.1 is out of support and no longer gets security updates, and your playing with fire anyways.

Good luck!

I recently upgraded my laptop and router to ones compatible with the latest protocol, 802.11ax (WIFI 6), my WIFI speeds increased significantly from ~250 to ~450 mbps.