One laptop wont connect to wifi

[GaryB17]

Hi all, odd problem happened today. We have many devices successfully connected and getting great speeds, this morning when I booted up my laptop it just doesn't connect to the EE router via wifi all of a sudden.

Windows 11 built in NIC, no ethernet port. Its getting IP via DHCP and al looks fine. The router is connected to the internet as I have other devices which are fine. I can also connect to a hotspot on my phone using the wifi, and can also connect to other networks including the free EE WIFI which I'm on now.

I have tried updating NIC drivers, ipconfig /flushdns | ipconfig /releasedns | ipconfig /renewdns, reset the network card and pretty much everything else including disabling defender AV/Firewall.

At this stage I'm pretty sure its not the laptop NIC as it can connect to other networks fine and even my local networ via the phones hotspot..

Anyone have any ideas?

[JimM11 · Accepted solution]

@GaryB17 So your one version back from the latest if not having any joy you could look at this link below. Hopefully it did not try to update and it failed to do so and your EE is just off the pace, if all else fails and depending on how/what you have set on it reset may be the way but for me just not the thing to do! Glad i am no longer an EE Customer!

Solved: Wifi driver AX201 not working - Page 3 - Intel Community

[JimM11]

@GaryB17 There is currently the Win11 Security update waiting, so would check that out first if it is your own laptop!

[GaryB17]

Hi again. I took the Surface into the office today and it connected fine to 2 separate networks (Non EE) so I'd say its not the NIC on this occasion. I also connected it successfully to my mums BT Wifi (smartHub).

I brought another Dell laptop home to test and that connects to the EE local WIFI so it must be something that happened Monday evening between the Surface NIC and the EE router.

Very annoying, I've literally tried everything and wasted a couple of days with no success so can now only use the public EE wifi or my Pixel hotspot, not great at all.

I would reset the router but I've got so many other devices connected and cant face going through the setup again 🙂 Not convinced that would fix it either to be honest.

[JimM11]

@GaryB17 Full Factory reset's are always a gamble and i have never ever found once that it was a requirement prior to EE that is, the Router is just so messed up, and that's the reason i departed EE, they stuffed the FW up mid Feb2025 on the EE Smarthub+ so bad it killed a perfectly working network overnight stone dead... That broke the camel's back and two weeks later i was gone!

[GaryB17]

Fixed it, albeit by complete chance. Last night I noticed that my Kindle & 2 LG TVs were also not able to connect despite having IPs set via DHCP. I fired up the EE app to see if anything could be done, here's what happened if it helps anyone going forward.

From day 1 with EE I had been trying to get the wifi paused / parental controls stuff configured so I added some groups and devices, then paused them. As the app has never worked and wasn't working during the testing, I just left them in the paused groups as it made no difference to the end devices.

Then, Monday night, something must have happened on the router as the pause / parental controls suddenly started working, which then paused all the devices in that group on the app. So it seems, probably an update to the router triggered the app to start working how it should. I simply removed the devices from the paused group and all is back to normal.

What a waste of 3 days, but you live and learn 🙂

[JimM11]

@GaryB17 Well done and good you got it going, now for the bad bit, your 2nd line i fired up the app that is very very relevant and when the app does not work limbo is the correct word for sure!