Sony Vaio Laptop

[techno]

My wife has a fairly new Sony Vaio laptop with windows 8 is now experiencing problems with Wi-Fi. When she connects to Wi-Fi it it stops working after about 5 minutes and then she has to reboot the laptop to get connected again to Wi-Fi but the same happens after 5 minutes. All other Wi-Fi appliances such as phones and my internet radio are fine. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Many thanks

[CharlieH]

Possible fault in wi-fi tranmitter/receiver

[Digitalbanana]

Any tech support available? Maybe a driver or bios update issue?

[crabdog]

I would suggest running a live Linux OS from USB or dvd to determine whether the problem is hardware or software based. If the wifi works properly in Linux then you know something has gone wrong with the windows installation. If it turns out to be a windows/settings problem you could then try updating the drivers or if all else fails format and reinstall windows.

You can find many versions of linux here: distrowatch.com

[slipperylobster]

Simply update the driver...

Might be an incompatibility issue.

Updating the driver is free. And always done first...before going to a tech.

Simply go the the manufacturers website and plug in the model and the version of windows.

Thats it.

If it is an old model...perhaps no driver fix for windows 8. In that case..you have two other options.

Buy an external wifi adapter that has a driver for windows 8 (not expensive 1 thousand baht)

or

install windows 7

Edited June 1, 2014 by slipperylobster

[slipperylobster]

a post above mentioned linux...which i use primarily...and have windows 7 for games and junk. If you install a linux OS, try Cinnamon...as you will probably not have to install a driver for your wifi. It should work straight away. Some people shy away from linux....and if you don't know exactly what you are doing, you could make your system unbootable altogether. I can fix those problems easily...but it was a learning curve. Try a "Live distro" first..such as Precise Puppy...which boots off an external usb

[SoFarAndNear]

Hi,

if you can bring this laptop back. Sony VAIO is having a general WIFI problem on many VAIO models for more then a year. They don't admit it but there is a major design error of the internal wifi antennas on many newer VAIO laptop products.

Check this thread: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/702309-sony-vaio-pro-13-bad-wifi/

I also bought a 40k THB laptop last year. A Sony Vaio Pro 13. The wifi is totally crap and believe me it is nothing you can fix with software or driver updates. There is an over 2000 posts forum thread at the official Sony International Support forum where hundreds of Sony Vaio laptop buyers complaining about wifi strength. The wifi strength of this laptops is like the first wifi adapters on the market 10 years ago. Sony started to giveaway free wifi usb sticks to customers who have sent in there laptops already more then once.

Edited June 1, 2014 by SoFarAndNear

[DogNo1]

There is a very lengthy list on Sony Support of people complaining about the poor Wi Fi on their 13-inch laptops. Best known workaround is to buy a USB WiFi Adapter that will extend all the way from b/g/n to ac. They look like flash drives and are not too expensive. It seems to be a better solution than struggling with Sony, unless you can get their tech support to give you an adapter for free. The problem seems to come from poor placement of the antenna inside the case and perhaps an inferior built-in Wi Fi chip. Personally, I bought a Buffalo Ac adapter. Good luck!

[davejones23]

I had a Sony Vaio and had lots of problems with it. Take it to a service center, as it is still under warranty. They might want to keep if for a few weeks though.

[davejones23]

But first check a different wifi router e.g. at a local cafe.