Hi Oshan,

You can check the wireless card installed on your computer from the 'Device Manager'. Another way is to check the wireless card shipped with your computer from system configuration webpage, under 'Original system configuration' Tab. You can click on the link: http://dell.to/137Ex95  

Please share the system model. 

You can try using your computer in 'Safe mode with networking' and check if the system exhibits same behavior:

• Power off the laptop
• Power it back on and repeatedly tap < F8 > when Dell logo appears (If Windows logo appears, please repeat the steps)
• Advance Boot Options Menu appears (Mouse is inoperable on this screen; use arrow keys on the keyboard to navigate)
• Highlight < Safe Mode with Networking' and tap < Enter >
• Windows desktop screen will appear (Icons appear large sized in this diagnostic mode)
• Try using the internet to see if that makes any difference

Note: Steps applicable for XP, Vista and Windows 7

Another step, you can try is to uninstall and re install the wireless drivers:  

• Click on “Start” and right click on “Computer”.
• Click on “Manage”.
• Click on “Device Manager”.
• Under “Network adapters”, you will find the wireless driver listed.
• Right click on it and click on “uninstall”. (Check and make a note of the driver installed on your system and re-install the driver from the below steps accordingly).
• Check the box to delete the software.
• Restart your system and click on the link: http://dell.to/QjjZDA
• Enter the Service Tag of your system and select the operating system.
• You will find the wireless  driver under “Network”.
• Click on the wireless driver depending on the wireless card your system has. (Install the same wireless driver which you uninstalled from “Device Manager”.
• Click on “Download File”.
• Select “For Single File Download via Browser”.
• Click on “Download Now”.
• Save the driver on your desktop.
• Once the driver is saved on desktop, right click on it and select “Run as administrator”.
• Install the wireless driver by following the on screen instructions. 
• Restart your computer. 

Please share the findings.

i want to know it too...

hi, thanks for the reply.

my OS is windows 8 pro 64bit and my problem happened after installing windows 8.

i checked my wireless adapter from devise manager and it is Dell Wireless 1702 802.11b/g/n. but see here www.dell.com/.../pd it says wireless adapter is Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 1030 (1x2 bgn + Bluetooth) for this model.

i booted the computer in 'Safe mode with networking' and the system exhibits same behavior.

i downloaded and installed the latest driver for windows 8 from dell website and still the problem remains.

please help me to solve this. :(

Hi Oshan / virgenmila,

Systems might have different configurations depending on the different regions. If the 'Device Manager' shows 1702 wireless card, it means your computer was purchased and shipped with that. From 'Device manager', you would be able to get the details of the system hardware installed on your computer. 

You can open the 'Device manager' -- > under network adapters -- > right click on the wireless card installed on your computer -- > Properties -- > Navigate to power management tab and uncheck the box to power off wireless card -- > Click Ok -- > Navigate to Advanced tab.

From there change the following settings:

• Roaming tendency (to maximum)
• Disable power save mode
• Enable bluetooth collaboration.
• Try changing the Channel Number from 11 to 6 or vice versa. 

To know more about this, you can refer to link: http://dell.to/13yWbCF Options may vary depending on the wireless card. If you see different options, please share the exact options, so that I would be able to assist you in a better way. Also ensure that the system is within 30 feet of the distance from router without any hindrance. 

Please share the findings. 

thanks for the reply

i did this thing 2 days ago. i uninstalled the wireless and bluetooth driver(both are coming together). then restarted the computer. windows has installed the Dell Wireless 1702 802.11b/g/n driver automatically. but i did not install the network and bluetooth driver manually to enable bluetooth. now the wireless network problem is ok though i can not use bluetooth. i think there is a confusion between wireless networking and bluetooth drivers. hope you can get an idea. need a reply. thanks.

p.s.

in the wireless card properties, under advanced tab there are no such options that you have mentioned above.

the remaining options are to change the values of "802.11b Preamble, Network address, Recive buffers, Scan valid interval and Transmit buffers".

Hi Oshan,

You can re-install the driver from wireless card from the link: http://dell.to/WcUUwE

Once the driver is installed, observe the computer for a day and please reply if the issue still persists. Also please paste the screenshot of the 'Device manager', so that I can assist you in a better way. 

the driver you mentioned above is not compatible with this laptop model. its for N5050 and mine is N5110 and my system is running on windows 8. this is the driver which i installed earlier and which caused the problem.

www.dell.com/.../inspiron-15r-n5110

Hi Oshan,

The link I gave was for the same wireless card but different system model. Sometimes installing the previous versions of drivers might work.

Was it working without any issues in Windows 7? ( Prior installing Windows 8 ) If the card was working without any issues in Windows 7 then it should be an issue with Operating system/driver. 

You can also try installing the previous version of the same wireless card from link: http://dell.to/WhBoyW and see if it exhibits the same behavior. Also make sure to install all the windows updates for the same if available and see if it works. 

Another step you can try is to change the settings of wireless card to maximum performance from power options by following the steps below:

1. Click 'Start' , type 'Power Options' in the Start Search box, and then click 'Power Options' in the 'Programs' list. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type your password or click Continue.
2. Click 'Change plan settings' under the power plan that is selected. For example, if the 'Balanced' option is selected, click 'Change plan settings' under 'Balanced'.
3. Click 'Change advanced power settings'.
4. In the 'Power Options' dialog box, expand 'Wireless Adapter Settings', and then expand 'Power Saving Mode'.
5. In the list that appears next to 'On battery', click 'Maximum Performance', and then click 'OK' to save changes.
6. Restart your computer. 

Please share the findings. 

In windows 7 there was an issue with bluetooth connection. the wifi was working fine and the bluetooth was sometimes working and sometimes didn't. in windows 8 the opposite happens. but this is a new driver which specially came for windows 8 recently.

i would like to reiterate that there is a problem between the network and bluetooth drivers. so i have uninstalled the bluetooth driver and now my wifi is working smoothly. but i want to use my bluetooth too.

i have changed the power options but the problem remains.