Why Wi-Fi slows down and drops: seven things to check

When the internet is slow or keeps dropping, most people assume the connection is bad. In practice about half of these cases come down to the laptop’s own settings, or to where the router sits. It is worth checking the following before calling the provider.

Common causes

• Using the 2.4GHz band. Neighbouring networks and devices crowd the same frequencies and overlap.
• Power saving. The Wi-Fi adapter switches itself off to save power — the most common cause of sudden drops.
• An outdated driver. Causes both speed loss and disconnections.
• A router that is far away or enclosed. Walls, metal doors and furniture weaken the signal noticeably.
• Background programs. Updates, cloud sync and torrents can quietly take the whole connection.

Seven checks

1. Connect to the 5GHz network if there is one. Shorter range, but faster and far less crowded.
2. Turn off power saving: Device Manager → Network adapters → your Wi-Fi adapter → Power Management → clear "Allow the computer to turn off this device".
3. Update the Wi-Fi driver from the manufacturer’s site. What Windows Update offers is not always the latest.
4. Check where the router is. Not on the floor, not inside a cabinet, not behind metal.
5. Disconnect devices you are not using. Every connected device takes a share of airtime.
6. Open Task Manager → Performance → Wi-Fi to see the load, and Resource Monitor to find which program is using it.
7. Restart the router, and update its firmware if an update is available.

Telling a device problem from a network problem

If only one laptop is slow, it is that device’s settings or its adapter. If everything is equally slow, it is the router or the service. If it only degrades at certain times of day, it is usually congestion or channel overlap. Separating those three makes the next step obvious.