Inspiron 3880 not staying connected to network

Possible Power plan settings issues?

Open Device Manager and double-click the listing for each network controller, one at a time.

Then click the Power Management tab and uncheck the box "Allow PC to turn off...". Exit Device Manger and reboot.

If that doesn't help, there are some other Power plan settings to check...

 Thanks for the suggestions. Already checked the power plans. No to be snide, but I've gone through just about every setting there is multiple times. Even have checked the router for software updates and settings. The software for the gateway is controlled by my ISP, Comcast.

 I've reached a point that I'm thinking there's a hardware problem somewhere, such as what is common between the ethernet and Wi-Fi. My thinking may be off, but they are separate means to connect, aren't they? I've gone through all the software settings multiple times.

 I've done a clean install of Windows twice, reinstalling all the drivers from Dell (making sure that they were all up to date) and checking all the settings for connecting to the internet. Only to have the exact problem re-appear. I would think that reinstalling the software would correct the problem if it were software connected.

If resetting the router solves the problem, at least for a while, I'd suspect the gateway and/or router since both Ethernet and WiFi are having this same problem. Have you contacted Comcast and told them resetting the router solves the problem? Will they replace their gateway? 

If you own the router, you might want to do a factory reset, but don't forget to reconfigure its security settings and change the password back to the one you use, etc after the reset.

How far is PC from router? Check the Link Speed reported in Windows between the router and PC when using Ethernet and again when using WiFi. Ethernet should get 1000 Mbps Link Speed. If not, you should try a cable with a better rating, eg CAT6 or higher. Lower rated cables don't reliably work at 1000 Mbps.

What frequency are you using with WiFi, 2.4 or 5 GHz? Compare the Link Speed that Windows reports vs the "transfer rate" shown here, for whichever WiFi card you have.

Did you adjust the settings for PCI Express Link State Management, USB Select Suspend, Hybrid Sleep, Wireless performance, etc?

Reboot and tap F12 when you see the Dell splash screen. When that menu opens, select option to run diagnostics and run all of them, including RAM and full drive tests. Copy error message(s) if any...

 Here's the kicker. When this problem occurs, my wife is the one using the computer. I'm in another room using my laptop, a Dell Inspiron 3793, on the same network. The router is about 4 feet away from the PC. The 3793 still has access to the internet. Typically, I'll grab my HP notebook (smaller and easier to use at her desk) and use it while troubleshooting the 3880. So, I'll have 3 computers on the same network, 2 of which will be connected to the internet. The only way to get the third one to connect when it starts acting up is to power down the gateway, router and desktop computer and restart them sequentially.

 Because I can connect to the internet using a different computer, I have no reason to suspect the gateway or router of being the problem, although I check them to make sure. The desktop is set to never sleep, and all power saving options are turned off. I've run all diagnostics, and everything passes.

 I usually have everything on the 5GHz frequency and have tried using the 2.4GHz to connect the PC, with the same results.

  When I follow the troubleshooting guides from Dell and Microsoft, everything points to a problem with the 3880. I haven't been able to figure out why it is behaving the way that it is.

Wow, I feel your pain. Just a few very random thoughts:

The fact that the problem occurs whether the connection is Wi-Fi or wired seems to rule out a hardware issue, doesn't it? I'd want to stick with one or the other at this point until you solve the problem.

I'd be inclined to suspect network settings rather than a hardware problem. In particular, DNS problems can be very insidious. When the problem occurs, try running ping in a command window to see if you can access by IP address different hosts within and outside your LAN (e.g. ping 192.168.1.1). Try pinging your router (typically 192.168.1.1 unless you've changed it), your gateway (for Comcast, typically 192.168.100.1), and some known hosts on the internet (an easy one: Google's DNS server at 8.8.8.8). You could try other systems on your LAN as well, referencing your router's list of address assignments. See what you can and cannot get a response from. This should at least tell you whether you have a connectivity or an address resolution problem.

You might have already tried this, but you might check the logs in Event Viewer to see if some system event coincides with the problem occurrence. The custom view Administrative Events distills all the really anomalous events. Actually, check all the way back to boot time to see if anything stands out.

NJDave,

 Thanks for the response. Currently, the computer has been maintaining the connection via Wi-Fi for the past 2 days since resetting the gateway and router. I'm expecting it to act up again and you've given me some ideas of what to look at next. Because it was just the one computer acting up, I've been concentrating on it and ignoring the DNS issue.

 I'll post again when the next event occurs. In the meantime, I'll start researching those areas. Again, thanks for the suggestion. 

@Mark in GA  - Did this internet problem start after you updated to Win 11? Was that a clean install or an "on-top" update from Win 10? What "junk" is running in background on this Inspiron?

Does this only happen when some, all, of your other devices are accessing the net at same time?

Does your gateway and/or router have QoS service settings that manage bandwidth priority for devices and are giving the 3880 low priority or just disabling, while giving high priority to the TV so it gets best picture quality?

Next time you lose Ethernet, check the LEDs on back of PC next to the Ethernet port. That might give you a hint...

RoHe,

 This problem first started in December when my wife's PC (3880) was still running Windows 10 Pro. After trying all other troubleshooting steps, except rebooting gateway/router, I upgraded the PC to Windows 11 using an "on-top" update. That seemed to have solved the issue, but about a week or so later, I had the same problem. I then took the "nuclear option" to install Windows 11 using the Media Creation Tool on a thumb drive and booting from it to install Windows and then installing the programs she uses. I restored the data files from a backup. There is very little running in the background, using Task Manager CPU usage at idle is 1-3%, Network usage is 0.

 As for the router I'm using, the only thing I've done was to do a MAC clone and set the DNS servers to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4. That was done 2 years ago when I was experiencing "405" errors on all computers when going to different websites. I've not changed any other settings on it since then. QoS is disabled.

 As for when the 3880 starts acting up, it has happened when switching from one web page to another, dropped out with no browsers open, and when it starts up in the morning. Depending on when I get on my computer, I may or may not be connected when it happens.

 Right now, the PC is connected wirelessly and working. I removed the ethernet cable for now to simplify things. I'm in the process of recording the network settings of my computers and reading up on network troubleshooting procedures to prepare for the next time the issue appears. 

 I find it odd that the only thing my wife does on the computer is web surf, stream YouTube video clips and play games from the Microsoft store, while I am the one digging under the hood and always experimenting with my computer, changing different settings and the registry. The only thing I do on the 3880 is make sure everything is up to date.   

What's on the Startup tab in Task Manager that loads at boot that may not be necessary? What firewall are you using on this PC? Windows firewall or something else?

Next time it freezes, open Windows Event Viewer and see if it logged the problem. Also look in Windows Reliability Monitor right after loss of connection too. They can report different things.

There's always the possibility the OEM WiFi card is wonky. After you check Event Viewer and Reliability Monitor, open Device Manager. See if the WiFi card is still listed and it's status. Click on View>Show hidden and look for any "Unknown" device(s). If you see any, right-click and Uninstall. Then click Action>Scan for hardware changes and see if the WiFi card reappears and your connection is restored.

You also might try Chrome instead of FF or Edge. I use FF with an Ethernet connection (no modem or router) and from time/time it stops connecting to the internet and can't load any pages. And then Thunderbird which I use for email is also unable to access the network and can't send/receive emails. So my whole Ethernet connection is locked up and I have to reboot...

BTW: You must trust Google (DNS 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4) not to spy on you...!

RoHe,

 The only things that are allowed to load at boot are OneDrive, Speccy, a VPN, a UPS monitor, and MaxxAudio. BIOS start time is 8 sec. I'm using Windows firewall as well as the router's firewall.

 I'm forming a checklist for when this happens again. You and NJDave have provided some very good ideas.

 As for trusting Google, I figure on being just part of the herd. The reason I'm using a gateway and router is because I trust Comcast even less. I used to use an Arris SVG2482AC cable modem/router. I found out that logging into my Comcast account, that the passwords for that device, including Wi-Fi, were available on the website, even though it was a third-party unit. Using a separate cable modem and router removed Comcast's access to that information. The only thing Comcast can do now is reset the gateway remotely.

 Occasionally, I visit grc.com and run ShieldsUp!  Even using the VPN, I get a perfect score on it. (And, yes, I've disabled the VPN when connection problems occur just in case it was the problem.)

 If/when the connection problem arises again, I'll use your suggestions to troubleshoot and post the results.

 Thanks for your input.

RoHe,

 It happened again, only this time it wasn't the Inspiron 3880. I was browsing the web on my Inspiron 3793 when I noticed Outlook was losing connection to the Exchange Server, then the VPN lost connection.

 Because of this conversation, I tried logging into the router and found I was still connected to it. I opened a command prompt and was able to ping my wife's computer and the router. However, I couldn't get a response when pinging 8.8.8.8. I now know the problem is with the router itself. Ended up rebooting the router. Also, by not rebooting the gateway I'm pretty sure it isn't part of the problem.

  At least now I know it isn't the computers. I'll take your suggestion to lay off the VPN awhile and contact TP-Link to see what the problem may be. And I'll switch to Cloudflare as well.

 Sometimes it takes another set of eyes looking at a problem. Thanks.

Glad I could help...

I figured it had to be outside the PC(s) since both Ethernet and WiFi are affected. Does the router need a firmware update, or is it just failing?

You might also want to contact Comcast to see if there's a problem between your router and their servers that's causing the connection to drop, especially since you can ping your router and other PCs on your home network, even when you can't ping 8.8.8.8. 

I've been using Cloudflare DNS 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1, which is their secondary DNS server.

Post back and let us know what the fix is because that could help other users with similar problems.

 I'm using an Arris T25 gateway which the Archer C7 router is connected to. When I had the problem earlier, I only had to reboot the router. It appears that the VPN, Tunnel Bear, needs certain ports to be open to work properly. I'm reading the manual for the router to see if there's something I can change.

 And I changed the DNS settings, both IPv4 and IPv6 to Cloudflare. I'm taking a break from the VPN for now until I can find more information and to see if that is the problem area. The other computer was still online when I figured all this out so I don't think I can blame Comcast for this. I did a firmware update on the router a day or so ago, but I don't believe that was the issue because the problem existed before and after the upgrade.

 I'll come back and update again when I figure out what the problem is.

Glad if I was able to help as well. I would just add, one tinkerer to another: don't lose sight of customizations you may have made to the router config as possible contributing factors. The simpler and more 'vanilla' your setup is, the easier it should be to troubleshoot and to explain to others.