I’ve had this ASUS Model X555L for about a year, but used it daily for only about a month. When I purchased it, Windows 8.1 was installed, and I had no issues. I permitted the on-line upgrade to Windows 10 the summer of 2016, and did not notice wireless connectivity issues until mid-December 2016. At this point, I've spent quite a few hours attempting to resolve the issue and I need help.
Processor: Intel® Core™ i3-5005U CPU @ 2.00GHz
Installed memory (ROM): 6.00 GB
System type: 64-bit Operating System, x64-based processor
Edition: Windows 10 Home
Version: 1607
OS Build: 14393.693 (build 14393.rs.1_release_inmarket.161208-2252)
The PC also had McAfee LiveSafe™ installed, and I have a subscription:
McAfee LiveSafe, Version: 14.0, Release Name: 14.0 R10
McAfee Security Center, Version:15.0, Build:15.0.179
McAfee Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware, Version: 19.0, Build: 19.0.161, Engine version: 2856.0
McAfee Personal Firewall, Version: 16.0, Build: 16.0.126
McAfee WebAdvisor, Version: 4.0, Build: 4.0.4.206
McAfee Anti-Spam, Version: 16.0, Build: 16.0.137, Content version: 5814
McAfee Parental Controls, Version: 17.0, Build: 17.0.116
McAfee QuickClean and Shredder, Version: 15.0, Build: 15.0.121
McAfee Vulnerability Scanner, Version: 5.0, Build: 5.0.128
The problem is the wireless connection, which intermittently disconnects. Unfortunately, the disconnections usually occur at the most inconvenient of times. Sometimes I can reconnect simply by opening the wifi settings, other times I must reboot. Sometimes my PC will more readily connect to a nearby open wifi signal rather than our own 2.4 GHz 802.11n, which is secured with WPA2.
I have rebooted the PC and the wireless router countless times attempting reset. I’ve cleared the surplus and unnecessary files from the PC, and performed several normal maintenance activities.
I’ve updated and rolled back the driver versions for the Qualcomm Atheros AR956x adapter to no avail.
I’ve followed instructions shown on the support and community pages for Microsoft:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/10741/windows-10-fix-network-connection-issues
and
In short, the issue does not re-occur in “Safe Mode,” nor does it seem to occur in “Clean Boot” mode.
Resetting the TCP/IP stack, releasing and renewing the IP addresses, and flushing and resetting the DNS client resolver cache will temporarily resolve the problem when in normal boot mode, but again, the problem returns intermittently.
Here, I must caution against some of the troubleshooting techniques shown except by those who are very experienced. I followed:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/929135/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows
and “How to determine what is causing the problem by performing a clean boot.” Disabling services in the manner that is suggested here (disabling the upper or lower half of the services installed) can make it difficult to recover and boot normally again. Instead, I suppose I would have to stop each service at a time and test to see if the intermittent problem is resolved.
I find that turning off my firewalls and waiting for an intermittent problem to occur (maybe within minutes, maybe overnight) an unsavory option that causes me a bit of anxiety. I would prefer to rely on the expertise of any of you who may actually know what is going on, and possibly have a solution at hand.
Help?