Been having a really weird WiFi issue for the last week or so. Everything will be connected and working normally, then at random times basically every device in the house gets kicked off the network. The WiFi name is still there, but when I try reconnecting it asks for the password again. I enter the correct password and it just sits on the password screen like nothing happened. Usually it eventually starts working again on its own.
The only thing I can think of is that this started not long after I installed a TP-Link WiFi extender because the signal in the back bedroom was pretty bad.
Router itself hasn’t changed and internet is fine when this isn’t happening.
Could the extender really cause something this weird?
Well, you added one thing and immediately started having a problem. Unplug the extender completely and leave it off for a day. See if it still happens before troubleshooting literally anything else.
@Training-Today9031 Did this today. Extender has been unplugged since this morning and I haven’t had a single disconnect yet. Normally it would’ve happened at least a couple times by now. So yeah… looking pretty guilty. Problem is I kinda need it because the WiFi in the bedroom sucks without it.
Before plugging it back in where it was, I’d see what the overlap actually looks like. Use NetSpot or another WiFi scanner and look at the BSSIDs/signals for your network. The router and extender can both be broadcasting the same SSID, so your phone’s normal WiFi screen makes them look like one network even though there are two radios involved. Check the hallway/rooms between them. If both are sitting at almost the same signal level over a big area, your clients may be bouncing between them or hanging onto the wrong one.
@LengthinessThen4359 Okay this is interesting. NetSpot shows two entries with my WiFi name, different BSSIDs. In the hallway they’re basically neck and neck — around -58/-61 dBm depending where I stand. Even in the bedroom the main router is still visible, just weaker, while the extender is obviously stronger. So I basically created a giant overlap zone?
@LengthinessThen4359 Moved the extender farther toward the bedroom and gave it a separate SSID for now. Been using it all evening and nothing has dropped once. Also makes way more sense now because I can actually see when I’m on the extender instead of guessing. Apparently I didn’t extend my WiFi coverage so much as extend the chaos.