Internet Connection dependent on charging cable

[AmyC31]

I bought my laptop at the beginning of September last year, in preparation for studying abroad. 

Since moving abroad, I have had many problems with my internet connection. At first I put it down to the fact I live in a small rural town and maybe the connection wouldn't be as stable. In my place of work, it wouldn't stay connected for more than 5 minutes at a time, before the small internet symbol with the yellow lock (?) appeared saying "connected, no internet". It would then take between 5-10 minutes to reconnect, often disconnecting itself and saying 'no network available' with the red X symbol appearing (apologies, not sure how to describe it!) 

I noticed that when this happened, my phone would remain connected without any problems.

When I got internet installed in my apartment, the problem continued. Often I could only browse the internet for 2 minutes before it would crash for 10 minutes with the same process of saying "connected, no internet". When it did work, the connection was fast and stable.

Again, my phone had no problems with my network (Movistar) or the router. I checked the router when this happened on my laptop and the green wifi light would not disappear/flash, implying a problem with the laptop. 

I ignored this problem for a few months, again thinking it was just part of rural life. However, when I went back to the UK at Christmas to visit my parents, it happened with their internet connection. They have been with the company for 10+ years and I used that internet with my old laptop last year when I lived with them, so I know it doesn't usually have problems.

Since travelling back after Christmas, I have checked all Windows updates - all installed. I have noticed that when my laptop is charging, this issue NEVER happens, at all. The connection never drops or is unstable. I can use the internet for hours at a good speed, without the problem.

Less than a minute after I unplug it, the connection becomes unstable again, disappearing for no reason while my phone remains connected and the router doesn't change. It is very frustrating - it can be less than a minute of using the internet before it says "no internet" for 10 minutes. 

It doesn't matter if my laptop is fully charged, or nearly empty. If it isn't charging, it can't maintain a stable connection.

Even if it's on 15% battery, even if it's fully charged, charging the laptop keeps that connection for hours on end with no problems.

Very frustrating, and any help would be welcomed! Unfortunately I can't take the laptop to a store or where I bought it originally due to the fact I live in a small rural town. Language barrier isn't too much of a problem but it would be a hassle to travel for upwards of an hour on public transport to get to an HP store and then attempt to convey the problem.

EDIT: the connection always has strong signal, there are no metal devices near the router, only two devices use it it (my mobile phone and laptop), I've run a troubleshooter and it just says the network has no internet (not true, as i'll be using my phone simultaneously). I connect to different networks every day (I work in two different places with two different connections) and have the same problem with them. Unless it's charging, it's not happy! 

Although I have travelled with it, it has always been in a protected padded case and isn't treated roughly. No other problems aside from this 

[Lil_Boy_Blue]

Hi

Copy, Paste and Save in Notepad, as LBB2Z.bat and double click to run.
Post anything non-personal, but relevant please.

@ECHO OFF
getmac

PAUSE

netsh wlan show interfaces
netsh wlan show drivers

PAUSE

PowerShell -Command "Get-NetAdapter"
PowerShell -Command "Get-NetAdapter -Name * | Format-Table -View Driver"

PAUSE

Daft idea is an antenna problem.    Caan you give the SKU: for your model please.

[AmyC31]

This is the screen that showed after running the .bat file: 

Physical Address Transport Name
=================== ==========================================================
B4-B6-86-EC-B5-51 Media disconnected
74-40-BB-89-FF-B3 \Device\Tcpip_{5885720E-928C-4B48-9F58-F88147A5A8BD}
74-40-BB-89-FF-B4 Media disconnected
Press any key to continue . . .

Apologies if I ran it wrong. Everything was as you said (unless I need to change the encoding from ANSI when saving the file). SKU number is 3ZU98EA#ABU 

Thank you for your help! 

[Lil_Boy_Blue]

Hi

A good result...

The matching MAC numbers will likely be your Wifi and BlueTooth.

74-40-BB-89-FF-B3 \Device\Tcpip_{5885720E-928C-4B48-9F58-F88147A5A8BD}
74-40-BB-89-FF-B4 Media disconnected

So next look for interfaces and drivers...

netsh wlan show interfaces
netsh wlan show drivers

PAUSE

Something like this...

C:\>netsh wlan show interfaces

There is 1 interface on the system:

Name : WiFi
Description : Realtek RTL8723BE 802.11 bgn Wi-Fi Adapter
GUID :
Physical address : 48:e2:44:54:66:27
State : connected
SSID : WhiffyOne
BSSID :
Network type : Infrastructure
Radio type : 802.11n
Authentication : WPA2-Personal
Cipher : CCMP
Connection mode : Auto Connect
Channel : 1
Receive rate (Mbps) : 72.2
Transmit rate (Mbps) : 72.2
Signal : 86%
Profile :WhiffyOne

Hosted network status : Not available

C:\>netsh wlan show drivers

Interface name: WiFi

Driver : Realtek RTL8723BE 802.11 bgn Wi-Fi Adapter
Vendor : Realtek Semiconductor Corp.
Provider : Realtek Semiconductor Corp.
Date : 24/02/2018
Version : 2023.66.1104.2017
INF file : oem6.inf
Type : Native Wi-Fi Driver
Radio types supported : 802.11n 802.11g 802.11b
FIPS 140-2 mode supported : Yes
802.11w Management Frame Protection supported : Yes
Hosted network supported : No
Authentication and cipher supported in infrastructure mode:

[AmyC31]

There is 1 interface on the system:

Name : WiFi
Description : Realtek RTL8821CE 802.11ac PCIe Adapter
GUID : 5885720e-928c-4b48-9f58-f88147a5a8bd
Physical address : 74:40:bb:89:ff:b3
State : connected
SSID : MOVISTAR_C2CA
BSSID : f8:63:94:bd:c2:d3
Network type : Infrastructure
Radio type : 802.11n
Authentication : WPA-Personal
Cipher : CCMP
Connection mode : Auto Connect
Channel : 2
Receive rate (Mbps) : 72.2
Transmit rate (Mbps) : 72.2
Signal : 99%
Profile : MOVISTAR_C2CA

Hosted network status : Not available

C:\Users\Amy\Documents>netsh wlan show drivers

Interface name: WiFi

Driver : Realtek RTL8821CE 802.11ac PCIe Adapter
Vendor : Realtek Semiconductor Corp.
Provider : Realtek Semiconductor Corp.
Date : 24/02/2018
Version : 2023.66.1104.2017
INF file : oem2.inf
Type : Native Wi-Fi Driver
Radio types supported : 802.11n 802.11g 802.11b 802.11ac 802.11n 802.11a
FIPS 140-2 mode supported : Yes
802.11w Management Frame Protection supported : Yes
Hosted network supported : No
Authentication and cipher supported in infrastructure mode:
Open None
WPA2-Personal CCMP
Open WEP-40bit
Open WEP-104bit
Open WEP
WPA-Enterprise TKIP
WPA-Personal TKIP
WPA2-Enterprise TKIP
WPA2-Personal TKIP
WPA-Enterprise CCMP
WPA-Personal CCMP
WPA2-Enterprise CCMP
Vendor defined TKIP
Vendor defined CCMP
Vendor defined Vendor defined
Vendor defined Vendor defined
WPA2-Enterprise Vendor defined
WPA2-Enterprise Vendor defined
Vendor defined Vendor defined
Vendor defined Vendor defined
IHV service present : Yes
IHV adapter OUI : [00 e0 4c], type: [00]
IHV extensibility DLL path: C:\WINDOWS\system32\Rtlihvs.dll
IHV UI extensibility ClSID: {6c2a8cca-b2a2-4d81-a3b2-4e15f445c312}
IHV diagnostics CLSID : {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}
Wireless Display Supported: Yes (Graphics Driver: Yes, Wi-Fi Driver: Yes)

Hope this okay! Thanks again. 

[Lil_Boy_Blue]

Absolutely excellent.

So nothing obviously wrong there. So next is for me to think about what else it could be.

Like a loose or broken antenna or ......

[AmyC31]

Okay! A little harder to get sorted than I hoped but I'm sure it'll get figured out. 

Thanks again for your help. Reassuring to know it isn't an internal issue 🙂 

[Lil_Boy_Blue]

Hi

I am somewhat stumped, and can only offer generalities.....

Transmit Power is my best idea.  Next would be a Battery Test.