Network Problems2018-11-12T12:04:34+02:00

Network Problems

I can’t see my wireless network in the list

There are a number of reasons why you might not be able to see your wireless network on the list of available networks from the system menu.

  • If no networks are shown in the list, your wireless hardware could be turned off, or it may not be working properly. Make sure it is turned on.

  • You could be out of range of the network. Try moving closer to the wireless base station/router and see if the network appears in the list after a while.

  • The list of wireless networks takes time to update. If you have just turned on your computer or moved to a different location, wait for a minute or so and then check if the network has appeared in the list.

  • The network could be hidden. You need to connect in a different way if it is a hidden network.

The internet seems slow

If you are using the internet and it seems slow, there are a number of things that could be causing the slow down.

Try closing your web browser and then re-opening it, and disconnecting from the internet and then reconnecting again. (Doing this resets a lot of things that might be causing the internet to run slowly.)

  • Busy time of day

    Internet service providers commonly setup internet connections so that they are shared between several households. Even though you connect separately, through your own phone line or cable connection, the connection to the rest of the internet at the telephone exchange might actually be shared. If this is the case and lots of your neighbors are using the internet at the same time as you, you might notice a slow-down. You’re most likely to experience this at times when your neighbors are probably on the internet (in the evenings, for example).

  • Downloading lots of things at once

    If you or someone else using your internet connection are downloading several files at once, or watching videos, the internet connection might not be fast enough to keep up with the demand. In this case, it will feel slower.

  • Unreliable connection

    Some internet connections are just unreliable, especially temporary ones or those in high demand areas. If you are in a busy coffee shop or a conference center, the internet connection might be too busy or simply unreliable.

  • Low wireless connection signal

    If you’re connected to the internet by wireless (wifi), check the network icon on the top bar to see if you have good wireless signal. If not, the internet may be slow because you don’t have a very strong signal.

  • Using a slower mobile internet connection

    If you have a mobile internet connection and notice that it is slow, you may have moved into an area where signal reception is poor. When this happens, the internet connection will automatically switch from a fast “mobile broadband” connection like 3G to a more reliable, but slower, connection like GPRS.

  • Web browser has a problem

    Sometimes web browsers encounter a problem that makes them run slow. This could be for any number of reasons — you could have visited a website that the browser struggled to load, or you might have had the browser open for a long time, for example. Try closing all of the browser’s windows and then opening the browser again to see if this makes a difference.

Other users can’t connect to the internet

When you set up a network connection, all other users on your computer will normally be able to use it. If the connection information is not shared, you should check the connection settings.

  1. Open the Application menu and click on Settings.

  2. Select Wi-Fi from the list on the left.

  3. Click the gear button to open the connection details.

  4. Select Identity from the pane on the left.

  5. At the bottom of the Identity panel, check the Make available to other users option to allow other users to use the network connection.

  6. Press Apply to save the changes.

Other users of the computer will now be able to use this connection without entering any further details.

Why does my wireless network keep disconnecting?

You may find that you have been disconnected from a wireless network even though you wanted to stay connected. Your computer will normally try to reconnect to the network as soon as this happens (the network icon on the top bar will display three dots if it is trying to reconnect), but it can be annoying, especially if you were using the internet at the time.

Weak wireless signal

A common reason for being disconnected from a wireless network is that you have low signal. Wireless networks have a limited range, so if you are too far away from the wireless base station you may not be able to get a strong enough signal to maintain a connection. Walls and other objects between you and the base station can also weaken the signal.

The network icon on the top bar displays how strong your wireless signal is. If the signal looks low, try moving closer to the wireless base station.

Network connection not being established properly

Sometimes, when you connect to a wireless network, it may appear that you have successfully connected at first, but then you will be disconnected soon after. This normally happens because your computer was only partially successful in connecting to the network — it managed to establish a connection, but was unable to finalize the connection for some reason and so was disconnected.

A possible reason for this is that you entered the wrong wireless passphrase, or that your computer was not allowed on the network (because the network requires a username to log in, for example).

Unreliable wireless hardware/drivers

Some wireless network hardware can be a little unreliable. Wireless networks are complicated, so wireless cards and base stations occasionally run into minor problems and may drop connections. This is annoying, but it happens quite regularly with many devices. If you are disconnected from wireless connections from time to time, this may be the only reason. If it happens very regularly, you may want to consider getting some different hardware.

Busy wireless networks

Wireless networks in busy places (in universities and coffee shops, for example) often have many computers trying to connect to them at once. Sometimes these networks get too busy and may not be able to handle all of the computers that are trying to connect, so some of them get disconnected.