Here's an odd one...  

I've bought a used laptop, identical to the broken one, only trouble is it was still on Win8.  Initially connected to my wifi no problem, checked a few online sites, then downloaded Windows 10 upgrade...the wifi was working absolutely fine.

However, when it started the upgrade, I got stuck at 'connecting to a network' as it won't find my wifi.  Completed the setup offline but it still won't find my wifi.  It finds many wifi's for my neighbours so I don't think it's a driver issue.  I can also tether my phone to it and that pops up immediately so the 'connections' list is being refreshed.

Is it possible my router is 'blocking' it somehow?  Or any other ideas?

I did see a post about router channels here, but I can't find any way to enable extra channels on my laptop.  The 'old' laptop is also working fine and I don't remember having to enable extra channels for that, I think it's using the same wifi card.  Solved: Square router network is suddenly invisible to som... - Community home (vodafone.co.uk)

Try asking Windows to forget the network, it might still have it if you follow the section called "How to Forget a Saved Wi-Fi Network from Settings"

https://www.howtogeek.com/246104/how-to-delete-a-saved-wi-fi-network-on-windows-10/

Don't know if its a similar issue, but I've had occasional problems with my home Wi-Fi (I only use a phone or tablet for internet, not a pc or laptop). Turning off Wi-Fi on the device, then switching back on and/or forgetting the network as Alex suggests, seems to do the trick. 

 

I've tried turning the wifi off and on on the laptop many times, and turned the router off and on a couple of times as well.  Haven't tried 'forgetting' the network though so will give that a go later.

 

  It finds many wifi's for my neighbours

Mine does that, even picks up the free on board Wi-Fi from the bus when it pulls up at the stop outside our house.

Odd thing is I get a stronger signal from my neighbour's than mine - if only I could discover their password!😀

 

Hmm, well that was a good idea but the only 'saved' network is my phone from earlier.

Any more suggestions?

Try a manual connection

 

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-connect-wi-fi-network-windows-10

 

Im wondering if the Wi-Fi driver installed with Windows 10 is having trouble connecting to Wi-Fi which combines both the 2.4 and 5Ghz signals 

 

Try a manual connection

 

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-connect-wi-fi-network-windows-10

 

Im wondering if the Wi-Fi driver installed with Windows 10 is having trouble connecting to Wi-Fi which combines both the 2.4 and 5Ghz signals 

Thanks for the suggestion.  That hasn't worked either though.  I've also gone into router settings to fix it to 2.4 & 5 separately, but again no difference.

Tried turning off the router firewall briefly but that didn't help either.

I've got fed up with it so trying a full Win10 reset now, but I'm not holding out much hope for that either.  Just doesn't make sense, I can currently find 15 Wifi's on the new laptop, including another Vodafone.  And I can connect to the router with my old laptop, phone, Xbox and printer...  The new laptop & router is the only problem, everything seems to be working normally.

On the router settings I take it that the SSID isn't hidden?

 

On the router settings I take it that the SSID isn't hidden?

Nope.  There is a hidden one in the list.  I tried connecting to that just in case but it's not mine.  

Weird. You could try installing WiFi Analyzer (by Matt Hafner) from the Microsoft Store and seeing what that picks up. It'll scan for all available networks and split them into 2.4 & 5 GHz bands so you can see if it's not picking up a specific band. On the Analyze page at the bottom there's a toggle to switch between 2.4 & 5 GHz modes, and you can click on the View button next to that to show SSID names.

The Win10 reset has just completed and got to the 'connect to a network' part.  Still the same, loads of available Wifi's, just not mine. 

Is there anything else I can try on the router side before going through the full 'offline' setup again?

 

Is there anything else I can try on the router side before going through the full 'offline' setup again?

I suspect that the problem lies with the router. For nearly a year I was unable to get my wifi printer to connect (or even see) my Netgear router. The printer was able to see just about everyone in the streets router but not mine only 12 feet away !!

Then about 2 months ago I did a firmware update on the router and made a mistake when I selected the country and clicked USA instead of UK. Almost immediately I noticed the printers wifi light came on, and whats more it worked. I then realized my mistake with the country and changed it to UK. Guess what? the printer could no longer see the router never mind connect to it. So I've left my router set to USA and everything works including the HP printer.

What make of router do you have, and is the software and firmware up to date ?

 

10 minutes ago, unofix said:

What make of router do you have, and is the software and firmware up to date ?

It's the standard router from Vodafone. I've never updated it...just assumed it would automatically update.

2 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

It's the standard router from Vodafone

Ah, that explains it 🙂 With a few exceptions, most provider-supplied routers aren't great.

I'm inclined to suspect the router too. If the laptop's seeing everything else then the network card on the laptop sounds like it's working fine. A friend of mine once had a Sky router that worked ok with existing network devices, but after a while would point-blank refuse to add any new devices ("solved" by replacing the router).

One other thing you could try is changing the channel settings on the router. I'd guess it's set at "auto" for the 2.4 & 5 GHz bands, but you could try setting a specific channel and see if that works. If it does then you might be getting some interference on that channel.

Sorted!  You were both right, it was a router issue.

Found a pinhole reset button on the back of the router which must do more than just switching off at the wall for 10 minutes.  Managed to break everything for about half an hour  but once it eventually came back and the line was 'reconnected' the new laptop found the Wifi straight away.

 

I am looking to change provider as soon as this contract runs out as Vodafone has been pretty unreliable and utterly useless when there was a major fault.  Need something reliable and ideally around 50MB, cost not so much of an issue this year.  Was just going to go for BT unless there are any others worth considering?

Zen Internet if you're looking for a new provider, I literally can't recommend them enough.

Heard very good things about Zen. I've been with Plusnet for quite a few years and they're not too bad.

4 hours ago, erictcleric said:

I've been with Plusnet for quite a few years and they're not too bad.

I also use Plusnet (who are owned and operated by BT) the service seems to be reliable and the cost is less than BT for the same speed. I've Plusnet at two different houses in the last 10 years and not had any problems. For those who need it Plusnet will provide a Static IP address for a one off payment of £5

I recall having to go into the channel numbers on my router and alter it once to get something to connect , can’t remember what. But if it worked before on windows8 and not now I’m not sure if it is that which will fix it.

If laptop is identical why don’t you just take hard drive out of old one and put in your replacement laptop?  If same make and model I would think it will work correctly (unless there’s something about win10 which cleverly stops that being done)

11 hours ago, isetta said:

I recall having to go into the channel numbers on my router and alter it once to get something to connect , can’t remember what. But if it worked before on windows8 and not now I’m not sure if it is that which will fix it.

It's sorted now.  Full router reset fixed it as a few posts above.

 

11 hours ago, isetta said:

If laptop is identical why don’t you just take hard drive out of old one and put in your replacement laptop?  If same make and model I would think it will work correctly (unless there’s something about win10 which cleverly stops that being done)

This was the initial idea.  However, when I received the 'new' laptop, the top case panel is still in worse condition than mine (looks like it's been washed with a sponge & one bucket method!  ), so I've decided to just use the replacement clean for now and see if I can get mine repaired.

**UPDATE 24/02/2022**

This is weird...it had been fine for the last 3 months.  Then yesterday morning, no internet...tried switching the router off & on again - no change.  Had to do a full router reset as in November to get it back.  Then again this morning, no internet, had to do a full router reset to get it back.  Any idea why that might be?  I'm hoping this isn't going to be a daily occurrence.

Will be glad to see the back of Vodafone when the contract ends, only a few more months to go now.

Hmm...and the same thing again this morning.  Full router reset needed.  Any ideas why?  If I contact VF via webchat I know they'll just say 'your line is working fine, bye' or words to that effect...  But I'm wondering if it's a router fault where I should be able to get another one from them FOC?

Possibly unrelated but I also attempted to use online multiplayer on the Xbox this morning...managed to join 3 games but after around 30-60 seconds was kicked out each time due to 'lost connection'.  Connections and speeds all look fine on the Xbox settings & tests.

That sounds faulty router-ish or maybe a limitation on how the router's Wi-Fi works, but the best way to test that is usually to swap it out for a different router. So your options are:

1. Log all the issues and complain at Vodafone until they give you a new one
2. Bite the bullet, buy a replacement and hope that solves it. On the plus side you can usually use the new router with a new provider - you don't have to use what they give you

Having never dealt with Vodafone's broadband I'm not sure how difficult option 1 would be; some providers are more willing to accept the customer's word that it's a router fault as long as you've tried basic trouble-shooting, but I'd think it would be worth a shot. Personally, I've usually gone for option 2 as the routers you get from most providers are pretty basic. Plus it also means that in the event your shiny purchased router breaks then you still have an emergency back-up.

There is a third option: get a mesh device for the Wi-Fi so you're not using the Vodafone router's built-in Wi-Fi. That will give you much better wireless signal, but a considerably lighter wallet.