WiFi signal keeps jumping around while my laptop is sitting still 

Wi-Fi Troubleshooting
1

I’m having a weird issue with my laptop and I’m running out of things to check.

Laptop is an Aorus 15P KD with an Intel AX200.

The WiFi signal seems to fluctuate massively even when the laptop is completely stationary. It’ll show full signal, then suddenly drop almost to nothing, and when that happens my speed tanks too.

If I toggle WiFi off/on it usually goes back to normal, but after 10–15 minutes it can start doing it again.

So far I’ve:

  • updated the AX200 drivers

  • removed my VPN

  • reseated the WiFi antenna wires

  • tried different adapter settings

  • restarted both Windows and the router

My phone and other devices don’t seem to have the same issue.

2

What are you using to measure “signal strength”?

3

@GardenGuardian44 WiFi bars. It goes from full bars to the little dot and the speed drops with it.

4

Don’t trust the bars too much. You need the actual RSSI in dBm before anyone can tell you whether the signal is really changing that much.

5

Exactly this. “Full bars to one bar” sounds dramatic but it doesn’t tell us much. What’s the actual swing? Like -45 to -70 dBm? -60 to -65?

And does the speed drop happen every time the RSSI drops?

6

@Skeptical.pragmatist I haven’t checked the actual dBm yet. The speed definitely drops hard when the bars drop though.

7

NetSpot has a free analyzer that’ll show you the actual signal numbers. Just leave the laptop sitting where the problem happens and watch the RSSI for a while instead of the Windows bars. It might also show if there’s another WiFi network sitting on the same channel and making things worse.

8

@AdLittle2259 That sounds useful. So if the signal really is dropping a lot while the laptop isn’t moving, I should be able to see it there?

9

Since your phone is fine in the same spot, I’d keep the laptop itself high on the suspect list too. AX200 isn’t exactly unknown territory. Could still be driver, power management, antenna connection, bad card, whatever.

10

@Signal_Phantom Yeah, that’s what made me think hardware at first. I already reseated the antennas but I haven’t tried another card.