Adapter Advice

Question

I’ve been experiencing a recurring problem with my internet for months now. It started as a trivial but inconvenient issue where the internet would chork out every 5 minutes and the only way to get it back online was to run network diagnostics through my browser or take out the network adapter and plug it back in.

Now, the internet has stopped working all together despite me running countless diagnostics and troubleshooting programmes. It definitely isn’t a problem with my provider because all other devices in the house are working fine. I have even changed provider to see if it fixed the issue, but it didn’t. No networks at all are showing up anymore, despite there being at least 5 in the vicinity that used to appear.

Common error messages include:

1. ‘Plug an Ethernet cable into this computer’
   I don’t even use an ethernet cable; I use a TP-Link USB network adapter.
2. A network cable is not properly plugged in or may be broken.
3. In reference to my network adapter:
   Unknown USB device (device descriptor request failed)

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated as this is really starting to stress me out now.

Thank you
Rowan

Answer 1

Hello @Rowan Spencer

From the description of your issue, it is probably due to a hardware failure (damaged antenna or component) or drivers.

The general recommendation would be to reinstall the adapter's drivers like this:

1. Search and download the latest drivers from the adapter's manufacturer website (you can check brand and model through Device Manager from the start menu)
2. Unpack/Extract the drivers to a folder in your harddrive
3. From the Device Manager, uninstall the device, then Scan for New Hardware button
4. When the hardware is detected, selected the option to choose the drivers and install the ones that you have extrated to your folder.

If that doesn't resolve or change the issue, then it most likely is a damaged component for which you will need to replace it or contact the retailer/manufacturer for assistance.

Hope this helps with your query,

--
--If the reply is helpful, please Upvote and Accept as answer--