WiFi Drops Very Frequently

[PhoenixCodes]

I've got the new Pavillion 15 from Costco,  with the Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 WiFi card in it. Unfortunately, the WiFi seems spotty - even when my phone, 6 yr old lenovo, and 4yr old Alienware can connect solidly to the WiFi with no dropping, the adapter on this new HP seems to 'refresh' and not connect. It will give me the "Disconnected" symbol in my tray, and show the available connections if I click on it, and allow me to manually reconnect (even to the networks it is supposed to automatically reconnect to).

STEPS I'VE ALREADY TAKEN:

1.  Updated drivers to 21.50.1.1, directly from Intel's site
2. Disabled setting in Power Management tab allowing computer to turn device off
3. Verified airplane mode is not enabled
4. Verified there is no "WiFi" enabling/disabling switch that is pressed.
5. Install all Windows Updates

[PhoenixCodes]

So I ran the HP Hardware Diagnostics Tool, and after several times running the tests, I managed to run the 'Wireless Module Test' right as the WiFi crapped out - Lo and behold, the test hung. It did not give me a pass or a fail, it just hung... for over 10 minutes. 

Is this a hardware issue with my WiFi card, or is this more likely to be a software issue with the drivers and Windows 10 in general?

I've never had a laptop that didn't 'just work' out of the box before!!!

[Riddle_Decipher]

@PhoenixCodes I understand it could be frustrating resolving issues out of the box, this isn't something that happens, in fact its quite rare, that said, here's a few things that should help your cause, and remember, you would have a 15 to 90days replacement policy depending on the store you got the device from, so if you don't feel like you should be troubleshooting, please get the laptop exchanged:

Did you try reinstalling the wireless adapter? (please do, if you haven't)

While you respond to that, here's what you need to do:

1. Remove All Barriers: Certain building materials can get in the way of weaker signals like Bluetooth. Metal, bulletproof glass, concrete and plaster are particularly bad, and marble, plaster and brick aren’t great easy. So if you’re really struggling with interference, your first step should be to move your Bluetooth devices away from these materials. That means no brick walls between you and your devices, and definitely no metal desks!
    
2. Change Router Channel: If you have an Apple router and you’re constantly getting interference with your WiFi, try rebooting it. Upon restart, the station will search for a new channel. Specifically, a different channel than the one your Bluetooth devices are using to communicate. If you don’t have an Apple router, you may need to instead go into your router settings and try changing the channel manually. Experiment with different channels to see which one works best.
    
3. Move Closer to Your Router: If you often find that you’re getting interference when talking on a wireless headset while on a WiFi call (you’ll know because you’ll hear static), try moving closer to your router. This will give you a more robust WiFi connection, so the Bluetooth frequency can’t overpower it.
    
4. Get Away From Microwaves and Fluorescent Lighting: Both emit frequencies of 2.4GHz, and moving away from them will distance you from the source.

That said, The best way to resolve the issue is by using the HP Guided Troubleshooter: 

CLICK HERE FOR STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS.

(simply select your description of the issue from the bottom of the screen to gain access to the next set of steps that should resolve your concern).

P.S: Welcome to HP Community 😉

Keep us posted,

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Give us a virtual high-five by clicking the 'Thumbs Up' icon below, followed by clicking on the "Accept as solution" on this post, 

Have a great day!

[PhoenixCodes · Accepted solution]

Thanks, this didnt help. I did manage to track the problem down to places where two networks have the same names and you're on one of those networks - this is commonplace for expanding coverage of networks, but the computer seems to get so confused that the entire wifi must drops.

So, for now, avoiding that has resolved it for me. But I still think there are some programming issues with the drivers.