Cannot connect to mobile Hotspot, wifi options limited

FuturDreamz

Spacemonaut
Member
Messages
740
Honestly this has bee annoying me for a very long time. I have unreliable home internet but with Windows 8 connecting to my phone is always a chore.

1. there is no option to refresh wifi networks. I'm sure it does this automatically, but there really needs to be a way to do this manually. I'm aware that this can't really be changed so lets move on.

2. "Connect to hidden network" option sometimes disappears. I don't know where it goes or why, but it goes away when I need it most.

3. Windows 8 cannot see my phone's Wifi hotspot. Once in a blue moon it will see and it will connect fine if I use "Connect to hidden network" but in order to connect again I have to go through "connect to hidden network" EVERY TIME, causing me to have multiple listings for my hotspot.

The first two are major pains, but most importantly how the hell do i fix #3? Asus book flip TP500LN and Blackberry Z30.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus Tansformer Book Flip TP500LN
    CPU
    Intel i5-4210U
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce GT 840M
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" Touchscreen
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    1TB Hybrid
    Mouse
    Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000
My first thought is something with the phone. My Android phone connects fine and computer sees it as soon as I turn hotspot on. Have you tried phone with a different computer and/or OS?
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer V3 771G-6443
    CPU
    i5-3230m
    Motherboard
    Acer VA70_HC (U3E1)
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 PC3-12800 (800 MHz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD4000 + GeForce GT 730M
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" Generic PnP Display on Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250 GB
    ADATA SSD SP900 128GB
    PSU
    90 watt brick
    Mouse
    Bluetooth
    Antivirus
    Comodo
    Other Info
    Asus RT-AC56R dual-band WRT router (Merlin firmware). Intel 7260.HMWWB.R dual-band ac wireless adapter.
If the SSID is hidden, yes you will have issues. Especially if you are somewhere that there is a lot of Access Point Congestion on certain channels.

You can go into Cmd as an Administrator and enter the following command: netsh wlan show all
That will allow you to see any and all Access Points that are sending Beacons out, looking for a device to connect to them. Hidden SSID's will only show up with the Channel, mfg & MAC ID.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Mint 17.2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satellite C850D-st3nx1
    CPU
    AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon (tm) HD Graphics 1.40 GHZ
    Memory
    12GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon™ HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    Crucial M500 240GB SSD
    Mouse
    Logitech M525
    Internet Speed
    45/6 - ATT U-Verse
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    None needed. It is Linux.
    Other Info
    Arris NVG589 Gateway; Router - Cisco RV320; Switch - Netgear GS108 8-Port Switch & Trendnet TEG-S50g 5-Port Switch; Access Points - Engenius ECB350, Trendnet TEW-638APB; NAS - Lenovo ix2-4; Printer - Brother HL-2280DW; Air Print Server - Lantronix XPrintServer

    A/V UPS - Tripp-Lite Smart 1500LCD 1500 Va/900 W.
Code:
=======================================================================
======================= SHOW NETWORKS MODE=BSSID ======================
=======================================================================


Interface name : Wi-Fi
There are 4 networks currently visible.

SSID 1 : Norbert
    Network type            : Infrastructure
    Authentication          : Open
    Encryption              : None
    BSSID 1                 : 10:fe:ed:38:98:d4
         Signal             : 42%
         Radio type         : 802.11n
         Channel            : 6
         Basic rates (Mbps) : 1 2 5.5 11
         Other rates (Mbps) : 6 9 12 18 24 36 48 54

SSID 2 : Selbstaedt
    Network type            : Infrastructure
    Authentication          : Open
    Encryption              : None
    BSSID 1                 : 48:f8:b3:7b:a6:71
         Signal             : 38%
         Radio type         : 802.11n
         Channel            : 6
         Basic rates (Mbps) : 1 2 5.5 11
         Other rates (Mbps) : 6 9 12 18 24 36 48 54

SSID 3 :
    Network type            : Infrastructure
    Authentication          : WPA2-Personal
    Encryption              : CCMP
    BSSID 1                 : 4a:f8:b3:7b:a6:73
         Signal             : 38%
         Radio type         : 802.11n
         Channel            : 6
         Basic rates (Mbps) : 1 2 5.5 11
         Other rates (Mbps) : 6 9 12 18 24 36 48 54

SSID 4 : zetta
    Network type            : Infrastructure
    Authentication          : WPA2-Personal
    Encryption              : CCMP
    BSSID 1                 : 48:9d:24:a0:f9:c5
         Signal             : 100%
         Radio type         : 802.11n
         Channel            : 6
         Basic rates (Mbps) : 6 12 24
         Other rates (Mbps) : 9 18 36 48 54

Interface name : Wi-Fi 2
There are 4 networks currently visible.

SSID 1 : Norbert
    Network type            : Infrastructure
    Authentication          : Open
    Encryption              : None
    BSSID 1                 : 10:fe:ed:38:98:d4
         Signal             : 64%
         Radio type         : 802.11n
         Channel            : 6
         Basic rates (Mbps) : 1 2 5.5 11
         Other rates (Mbps) : 6 9 12 18 24 36 48 54

SSID 2 : home to home
    Network type            : Infrastructure
    Authentication          : WPA2-Personal
    Encryption              : CCMP
    BSSID 1                 : b8:c7:5d:03:a7:a9
         Signal             : 24%
         Radio type         : 802.11n
         Channel            : 11
         Basic rates (Mbps) : 1 2 5.5 11
         Other rates (Mbps) : 6 9 12 18 24 36 48 54

SSID 3 : Selbstaedt
    Network type            : Infrastructure
    Authentication          : Open
    Encryption              : None
    BSSID 1                 : 48:f8:b3:7b:a6:71
         Signal             : 66%
         Radio type         : 802.11n
         Channel            : 6
         Basic rates (Mbps) : 1 2 5.5 11
         Other rates (Mbps) : 6 9 12 18 24 36 48 54

SSID 4 :
    Network type            : Infrastructure
    Authentication          : WPA2-Personal
    Encryption              : CCMP
    BSSID 1                 : 4a:f8:b3:7b:a6:73
         Signal             : 66%
         Radio type         : 802.11n
         Channel            : 6
         Basic rates (Mbps) : 1 2 5.5 11
         Other rates (Mbps) : 6 9 12 18 24 36 48 54
This is what I get at the moment. Wifi 1 is internal and Wifi 2 is a Cisco dongle I'm using with internal disabled (I have no idea if it helps). my phone is zetta and my main internet is Selbstaedt. Using the wifi GUI thing zetta only NOW showed up as I was typing this, I have no idea why it did not show up earlier. Hotspot shows up on all other computers, and here are the settings:
IMG_20150610_174211.png
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus Tansformer Book Flip TP500LN
    CPU
    Intel i5-4210U
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce GT 840M
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" Touchscreen
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    1TB Hybrid
    Mouse
    Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000
Those signals aren't the greatest either.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer V3 771G-6443
    CPU
    i5-3230m
    Motherboard
    Acer VA70_HC (U3E1)
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 PC3-12800 (800 MHz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD4000 + GeForce GT 730M
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" Generic PnP Display on Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250 GB
    ADATA SSD SP900 128GB
    PSU
    90 watt brick
    Mouse
    Bluetooth
    Antivirus
    Comodo
    Other Info
    Asus RT-AC56R dual-band WRT router (Merlin firmware). Intel 7260.HMWWB.R dual-band ac wireless adapter.
Honestly this has bee annoying me for a very long time. I have unreliable home internet but with Windows 8 connecting to my phone is always a chore.

1. there is no option to refresh wifi networks. I'm sure it does this automatically, but there really needs to be a way to do this manually. I'm aware that this can't really be changed so lets move on. ...
On my Win 8.1 machines, when I want to refresh the wifi networks, I turn the wifi off then back on, works for me every time.
wfr.jpg
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W10 Pro (desktop), W10 (laptop), W10 Pro (tablet)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home built i7-8700K, Hp Envy x360 EVO Laptop, MS Surface Pro 7
    CPU
    3.7Ghz Core i7-8700K, 11th Gen Core i7-1165G7 4.7Ghz, 10th Gen Core™ i5-1035G4 1.1Ghz
    Motherboard
    ASUS TUF Z370-Pro Gaming, HP, MS
    Memory
    16G, 8G, 8G
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon RX580, Intel Iris X Graphics, Intel Iris Plus Graphics G4
    Sound Card
    ATI High Definition Audio (Built-in to mobo)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual Samsung U32J59 32 inch monitors, 13.3" display, 12.3" display
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160 (Desktop), 1920x1080 (laptop), 2736x1824 Pro 7
    Hard Drives
    500GB ssd boot drive with 2 & 10TB Data (Desktop), 512GB ssd (laptop), 128GB SSD (tablet)
    PSU
    Corsair CX 750M
    Case
    Antec 100
    Cooling
    Coolermaster CM 212+
    Keyboard
    IBM Model M - used continuously since 1986
    Mouse
    Microsoft IntelliMouse
    Internet Speed
    665Mbps/15Mbps down/up
    Browser
    FireFox, MS Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender on all
    Other Info
    Retired in 2015 after working in the tech industry for 41 years. First 10 years as a Technician, the rest as a programmer/software engineer. After 1 year of retirement, I was bored so went back to work as a Robotic Process Automation Consultant. Retired for 3rd (and final) time in 2019.
Those signals aren't the greatest either.

The best that can be done. My room is on the far other end of the house.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus Tansformer Book Flip TP500LN
    CPU
    Intel i5-4210U
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce GT 840M
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" Touchscreen
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    1TB Hybrid
    Mouse
    Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000
Honestly this has bee annoying me for a very long time. I have unreliable home internet but with Windows 8 connecting to my phone is always a chore.

1. there is no option to refresh wifi networks. I'm sure it does this automatically, but there really needs to be a way to do this manually. I'm aware that this can't really be changed so lets move on. ...
On my Win 8.1 machines, when I want to refresh the wifi networks, I turn the wifi off then back on, works for me every time.
View attachment 62590
Doesn't work. Not even a full reboot helps sometimes. My computer just refuses to see my phone anymore.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus Tansformer Book Flip TP500LN
    CPU
    Intel i5-4210U
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce GT 840M
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" Touchscreen
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    1TB Hybrid
    Mouse
    Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000
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