Solved Fix Wi-Fi bug on Windows 8.1 Preview

mattman

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Messages
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I installed the Windows 8.1 Preview about a week ago and noticed very quickly that there is a bug where the Wi-Fi connection will just stop working once in a while. In my research, I found that this is a very common bug on laptops and that it is being worked on.

I found that the only real solution to the bug is to disable Wi-Fi and the re-enable it. This is easy on laptops that have a switch that does just that. However, my laptop doesn't have such a switch. It soon became very annoying to have to go into the 'Network Connections' control panel to disable and re-enable the adapter.

So, I developed a small application that will test to see if your Wi-Fi connection is usable and then do the above steps if needed. I figured I'd put it here for anybody who might find it useful. I've also posted the source code just in case anybody is curious.

Code:
using System;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Net;
using System.Net.NetworkInformation;
using System.Threading;

namespace WiFiFixer
{
    internal class Program
    {
        private static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            bool wiFiFixed = false;

            ProcessStartInfo disable = new ProcessStartInfo("netsh", "interface set interface name=\"Wi-Fi\" admin=disabled");
            disable.WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Hidden;

            ProcessStartInfo enable = new ProcessStartInfo("netsh", "interface set interface name=\"Wi-Fi\" admin=enabled");
            enable.WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Hidden;

            Console.WriteLine("Checking connection status...");
            if (PingTest())
            {
                Console.WriteLine("Connection is good. Exiting.");
                wiFiFixed = true;
                return;
            }
            else
            {
                while (!wiFiFixed)
                {
                    Console.WriteLine("Disabling Wi-Fi network interface...");
                    var disableProcess = Process.Start(disable);
                    disableProcess.WaitForExit();

                    Console.WriteLine("Enabling Wi-Fi network interface...");
                    var enableProcess = Process.Start(enable);
                    enableProcess.WaitForExit();

                    Console.WriteLine("Checking connection status...");
                    Thread.Sleep(5000);
                    if (PingTest())
                    {
                        wiFiFixed = true;
                    }
                }
            }
        }

        private static bool PingTest()
        {
            Ping ping = new Ping();

            PingReply pingStatus = ping.Send(IPAddress.Parse("74.125.225.196")); //This is Google.com

            if (pingStatus.Status == IPStatus.Success)
            {
                return true;
            }
            else
            {
                return false;
            }
        }
    }
}

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Attachments

  • WiFiFixer.zip
    5.7 KB · Views: 515
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    Tablet
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo
    CPU
    Atom Z2760
    Motherboard
    Lenovo K3011W
    Memory
    2GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    N/A
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 64GB eMMC
    Mouse
    HP Bluetooth
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
I had that problem when I updated to the preview though the store. I reinstalled my drivers etc but didn't find a fix and went back to 8.0. I hope they sort that out before the final comes out.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
    Thermaltake TR 620
    Case
    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Stock heatsink fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
I fixed most of my Wi-Fi issues today by updating bios. I hadn't before because it said that the current version and the one I was trying to update to were the same. Today, I thought, "What the heck? It won't hurt anything." After the subsequent reboot, Wi-Fi works awesomely.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    Tablet
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo
    CPU
    Atom Z2760
    Motherboard
    Lenovo K3011W
    Memory
    2GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    N/A
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 64GB eMMC
    Mouse
    HP Bluetooth
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
I did a clean install of 8.1 this morning, no WIFI problems this time around. I did a BIOS update to the latest before that. Not because of the WIFI issue though. I don't know if it was the BIOS update or the clean install that did the trick, or both. Its working OK so I'm happy. My track pad is working correctly too which was also an issue on the previous run of 8.1.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
    Thermaltake TR 620
    Case
    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Stock heatsink fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
I fixed most of my Wi-Fi issues today by updating bios. I hadn't before because it said that the current version and the one I was trying to update to were the same. Today, I thought, "What the heck? It won't hurt anything." After the subsequent reboot, Wi-Fi works awesomely.

Hello mattman,

Since this is a frequently reported problem, your fix may work for others with that same issue. So now I can assume that a BIOS reflash might (possibly) work for others. Why? Who knows? Thanks for reporting your fix.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel G2020
    Motherboard
    ASRock B75M-DGS R2.0
    Memory
    8GBs @ 1333 MHz
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 840 EVO
    PSU
    400w
    Internet Speed
    57/11
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