2.4ghz Network completely useless.

What is the make and model of your wireless adapter? (Open Device Manager and expand Networking Adapters). Should begin with a known name brand, like Intel, Realtek, Qualcomm, etc.

When I was posting the above, it automatically detected my laptop and I thought it posted this info. 

Dell Inspiron 15 3530

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/inspiron-15-laptop/spd/inspiron-15-3530-laptop


Realtek RLT8852BE WiFi 6 802.11ax PCIe Adapter

Also I cannot edit the above post. Even though I just signed in, and have my credentials saved, when I go to edit it takes me back to the sign in screen and claims my credentials are incorrect. 

@thegroosalugg​ OK, so you either have a Realtek RTL8821CE or a Realtek RTL8852BE. I have a Realtek RTL8821CE in one of my systems, and it has no problems with 2.4 GHz connections.

Sometimes a particular router brand/model won't play nice with certain adapters, causing connection issues. I don't think that your router is the problem, unless the other WiFi access point that you connected to just so happens to be the same router as yours, then I would rule out your WiFi adapter and replace the router.

@Kflash08​ no I have the Realtek RTL8852BE, as you have the CE we have different cards and that would explain why we don't share this issue. 

I just found a reddit post of other people complaining of this and they have done as I have done which is just disable 2.4ghz. I just gotta hope my laptop does not randomly disconnect from 5ghz as it has done 2 days in a row (and many times before that)

However the people over at Reddit are saying things like they are supposed to get 800mbps and only get 400mbps, and one person said after fixing they can get 50mbps. But my card does not even get 1mbps on 2.4ghz so I don't know why my network card is exceedingly bad.

Its not my router either, I thought it was at first. But my neighbour has a different router and a different ISP to me and I get the exact same results when I connected with their WiFi. 

Thank you for posting.

@thegroosalugg​ I forgot to mention in my last post, but have you tried checking for an updated driver? Sometimes updated drivers tend to address issues like these, as I remember having a WiFi adapter that would randomly slow down to a crawl until I either rebooted or manually disabled and re-enable the WiFi. After updating the driver, that issue disappeared, until I replaced my router, which caused the issue to return. I ended up switching out that WiFi adapter for something better, and never had any issues afterwards.

As for the speed for the 5 GHz band, what you reported from Reddit is typical with 802.11ac (WiFi 5) connections. Even if Windows reports 866 Mpbs, real world speeds are going to be less, just over 500 Mbps, even if the computer is feet away from the router. This will drastically decrease the further away you are from the router, and with more obstructions in the path, 400 Mbps being around average at ~30 feet away. Factor in access points that co-exist on the same channel, and real world speeds will be considerably less. If you getting any of those numbers on average, then I wouldn't worry, just as long as the WiFi is stable.

You can disable the adapter from using the 2.4 GHz band and force only 5 GHz, but this may decrease coverage and/or create unstable connections, as the 5 GHz band typically has a smaller coverage due to it being weaken easier by solid objects. Dual band adapters automatically steer from 5 to 2.4 GHz when weak in order to maintain and maximize coverage, at the expensive of slower speeds. However, you may find that the 5 GHz band might be just as good as the 2.4 GHz band, with factors such as a clear line of sight and the amount of interfering co-channel access points in your area. For me, I was using my laptop over at a neighbors house, and the WiFi worked fine for about an hour until I lost my connection. This was with a 2.4 GHz connection that was steered from 5 GHz. Once I forced a 5 GHz connection to my router, the WiFi was stable, given that there are at least 30 access points in my area on the 2.4 GHz band and only a handful of 5 GHz access points, creating far less co-channel interference.

@Kflash08​ Hiya, yes unfortunately I took these steps already. 
I reached out to Dell Support prior to posting, they remote controlled my Laptop and updated all drivers and Windows as well. 

I also took these steps, I disabled 2.4ghz completely on my card, and also disabled Roaming Aggressiveness as the Reddit post suggested. 

But the issue prior was the my laptop would switch from 5ghz to 2.4 ghz whenever it felt like, and at this time my speed would drop from 100mbps to 0.03mbps. But after disabling 2.4ghz, instead of switching, it simply loses the 5ghz connection completely, and I am left without internet. When I view the available networks, it only shows the networks of my neighbours, but not mine. So I will check my phone, but my phone is still connected, still gets 100mbps and still discovers both, the 2.4 and the 5ghz network. Where as my Dell refuses to discover the network. So I then am forced down the route of restarts, disabling 5ghz, re-enabling it, and so forth. It is really a step I do not wish to take, as it keeps occurring right when I need to study and its not ideal. My router is only a few meters away from my laptop so there is nothing in the way blocking the signal.

I do not think returning this laptop will do any favours, it seems from my research that this model of network adapter is no good. One Reddit a user advised that they did the return and it did not help. And far too much of my work and installation is now embedded here.

I was once forced to remove the back of the laptop and unplug the battery, during a Dell BIOS update the flash progress was stuck at 0% and would not move even after one hour. I had no choice but to make it lose power to stop it overheating. I assume the network card is also plugged in there somewhere (I didn't really examine it, I just unplugged the battery and reconnected). If the network adapter is indeed there, I think that the best solution may be just to buy a different network adapter.

Thank you for taking the time to discuss this in detail. 

@thegroosalugg​

I do not think returning this laptop will do any favours, it seems from my research that this model of network adapter is no good. One Reddit a user advised that they did the return and it did not help. And far too much of my work and installation is now embedded here.

I was once forced to remove the back of the laptop and unplug the battery, during a Dell BIOS update the flash progress was stuck at 0% and would not move even after one hour. I had no choice but to make it lose power to stop it overheating. I assume the network card is also plugged in there somewhere (I didn't really examine it, I just unplugged the battery and reconnected). If the network adapter is indeed there, I think that the best solution may be just to buy a different network adapter.

Yes, returning the laptop or switching out the WiFi adapter with the same model will likely not fix the problem. Most likely it is driver related, and the problem will probably go away whenever an updated driver is released that addresses the issue.

At this point, the best option would probably be replacing the WiFi adapter with another brand, that is, if you are comfortable working inside your laptop. Used adapters can be found pretty cheap on eBay, even recent ones supporting WiFi 6 802.11ax. Make sure the new adapter is M.2 2230, and has the same antenna configuration as the current one that's installed, so if there are two antenna wires connected to the card, you'll need 2x2 adapter. If there is only one, then you'll need a 1x1 adapter. Most likely you have a 2x2 antenna setup, seeing that you have the RTL8852BE, so something like an Intel AX200 would be a good choice.

@Kflash08​ 

Ok thank you for the advice regarding replacements. I have replaced it on a desktop before which was simple, but never on the laptop. I assume everything is under the hood, where the battery is.
Looking at it, it also looks simple, just a small card to eject and re-inset. Also pretty cheap, only about 20eur, which is much better than returning the laptop or getting a new one. 

I won't do it just yet, as most of the time my internet does work. But if it gets worse, this will be my only option. 
A driver update would be nice while I persist, however I have found forums dating back to 2021 about this, so if they haven't even acknowledged this issue now, it will never get addressed.