HDMI Connected to External Monitor to My Laptop Causes Internet to Disconnect.

[Timmybob]

Hello. I need help with radio wifi signals, please.

Thank you.

What is the problem?

I have discovered the cause of my internet dropping.

Whenever I’m connected via my HDMI that links my laptop to my external monitor, my internet drops. When I disconnect the HDMI cable, the internet is restored.

Numerous people have had this issue on the internet and their solution is to do with changing the channels/bands for the Wi-Fi signals as there is a conflicting interference between the external monitor HDMI and the HDMI connection to the laptop.

What have I tried so far?

1. Factory reset Virgin Media Hub 3.
2. Reset Network adaptors.
3. Check Network adaptors drivers are up to date.
4. Installed latest graphics card.
5. Installed latest Windows update.
6. Turned off my Virgin Media Hub 3 and turned it back on.
7. Checked the wires and cables are all in correctly.
8. Wifi works laptop without the HDMI plugged in
9. Wifi works on my phone and other computers without the HDMI plugged in
10. Tried another type of HDMI cable

What do I need help with?

I’m confused about where and what I need to do with the Wi-Fi signals to allow my Wi-Fi to work again with my HDMI external monitor connected.

Here are my current factory restored specifications/properties for my Network Adaptor

Here are my current advanced settings for my wireless signals on Virgin Media wireless hub 3

Thank you.

[goslow]

Have you identified which wireless signal (2.4 or 5GHz) is being affected by the HDMI connection? Or is it both?

Have you identified which of the two bands (2.4 or 5GHz) your laptop is preferring to connect to? You should be able to see that in the connected devices section of the hub interface.

You can experiment by turning off each band in turn (either on the wireless adapter or on the hub) and seeing if there is any change.

Have you also tried adjusting the refresh rate of the monitor to see if that has any effect on the interference (if that is what it is causing your problems)?

[asim18]

When you say internet is dropping do you mean just the laptop’s connection, or is it affecting the whole Wi-Fi including other devices?

Does the laptop actually report that the Wi-Fi has disconnected, or does it still show as connected? Can you see the signal strength indicator does it change when you plug in the monitor?

What resolution is the monitor? If it’s a 4K try setting a lower resolution, 1080p to see if that affects anything. And also goslow's suggestion if it's a 144hz monitor try setting to 60hz for troubleshooting.

Are you using the original power adapters which came with both your laptop and monitor? I ask because I have had a couple cases where aftermarket power adapters have caused such issues.

[Timmybob]

Another interesting discovery: Having the HDMI connected and the laptop lid up so there's two displays [my external monitor HDMI connected to the laptop] and my laptop screen itself, the internet icon shows for much longer and is connected BUT even when it is connected, it's unable to load anything often

[Netgear Extender]Having the HDMI connected and the laptop lid up so there's two displays [my external monitor HDMI connected to the laptop] and my laptop screen itself, the internet is much more stable for much longer as if there's no issue it seems...

Hey, thank you for the reply.

Have you identified which wireless signal (2.4 or 5GHz) is being affected by the HDMI connection? Or is it both?

I'm not sure what the 2.4GHz and 5GHz mean and their differences. 

I have a Netgear extender also and this seems to connect for longer with the HDMI but it does eventually disconnect and then reconnect, but it's not stable with the HDMI connected.

No, I'm not sure what GHz is causing the issue.


Have you identified which of the two bands (2.4 or 5GHz) your laptop is preferring to connect to? You should be able to see that in the connected devices section of the hub interface.

2.4GHz - for my non-EXT whenever I'm connected to the non-Netgear Extender 

5GHz - for my EXT whenever I'm connected to the EXT Netgear Extender 

You can experiment by turning off each band in turn (either on the wireless adapter or on the hub) and seeing if there is any change.

I've been doing this, but I don't really understand enough about it for the combos to work. I've tried many different combos but unfortunately, there is no change.

Have you also tried adjusting the refresh rate of the monitor to see if that has any effect on the interference (if that is what it is causing your problems)?

This seemed to work for a few seconds quite well - but then suddenly the connection dropped again, unfortunately.
I've set it 60, the maximum one.

[Timmybob]

Another interesting discovery: [NON Netgear Extender]Having the HDMI connected and the laptop lid up so there's two displays [my external monitor HDMI connected to the laptop] and my laptop screen itself, the internet icon shows for much longer and is connected BUT even when it is connected, it's unable to load anything often.

[Netgear Extender]Having the HDMI connected and the laptop lid up so there's two displays [my external monitor HDMI connected to the laptop] and my laptop screen itself, the internet is much more stable for much longer as if there's no issue it seems...

Hey, thank you for the reply.

When you say internet is dropping do you mean just the laptop’s connection, or is it affecting the whole Wi-Fi including other devices?

Laptop's connection. Other devices are fine.

Does the laptop actually report that the Wi-Fi has disconnected, or does it still show as connected? Can you see the signal strength indicator does it change when you plug in the monitor?

Non-Netgear extender - the signal strength varies from 2-4 bars. Despite even when it is connected, it's unable to load anything often. When the internet drops, the signal icon turn into the offline icon and says no internet, secured.

What resolution is the monitor? If it’s a 4K try setting a lower resolution, 1080p to see if that affects anything. And also goslow's suggestion if it's a 144hz monitor try setting to 60hz for troubleshooting.

Are you using the original power adapters which came with both your laptop and monitor? I ask because I have had a couple cases where aftermarket power adapters have caused such issues.

No problem, yes.

[goslow]

Your hub broadcasts on two frequencies (2.4GHz and 5GHz). The 2.4GHz signal can be used by most devices. The 2.4GHz is likely to propagate best/furthest through your home but give you slower speeds. The 5GHz signal can give you the fastest connection but may not propagate so far in your home. I would suggest this is probably why you are are connecting via 5GHz when using the extender. Not all devices can use the 5GHz frequency.

It is the client device which decides which frequency band it is going to connect to. It will typically choose the strongest signal (which is often likely to be the 2.4GHz signal). In the images for your adapter card there is an option for 'Preferred Band'. You could try setting that to 5GHz. If you do that, the laptop will prefer the 5GHz signal over 2.4GHz

As a test, you could try turning off the 2.4GHz signal on the hub and see if the connection is stable. You do that via the hub as per your last screenshot above and check the radio button for 'Disable 2.4 GHz' then use the 'Apply Changes' button. Depending on who/what else is using your hub though you will need to warn them while you do this as any 2.4GHz devices will lose connection to the hub while the signal is off (such as printers, heating controls, cameras etc. etc.)

Try running the laptop on 5GHz only and see what happens. Once you have finished testing turn 2.4GHz back on again on the hub.

[carl_pearce]

What make and model is the laptop?

You say you've updated the drivers, however, does that include the latest BIOS?

[Timmybob]

Hey thank you for the reply.

What make and model is the laptop?

Huawei Matebook d15

You say you've updated the drivers, however, does that include the latest BIOS?

All updated

[Timmybob]

Your hub broadcasts on two frequencies (2.4GHz and 5GHz). The 2.4GHz signal can be used by most devices. The 2.4GHz is likely to propagate best/furthest through your home but give you slower speeds. The 5GHz signal can give you the fastest connection but may not propagate so far in your home. I would suggest this is probably why you are are connecting via 5GHz when using the extender. Not all devices can use the 5GHz frequency.

Thank you for the explaination. 

It is the client device which decides which frequency band it is going to connect to. It will typically choose the strongest signal (which is often likely to be the 2.4GHz signal). In the images for your adapter card there is an option for 'Preferred Band'. You could try setting that to 5GHz. If you do that, the laptop will prefer the 5GHz signal over 2.4GHz

As a test, you could try turning off the 2.4GHz signal on the hub and see if the connection is stable. You do that via the hub as per your last screenshot above and check the radio button for 'Disable 2.4 GHz' then use the 'Apply Changes' button. Depending on who/what else is using your hub though you will need to warn them while you do this as any 2.4GHz devices will lose connection to the hub while the signal is off (such as printers, heating controls, cameras etc. etc.)

Try running the laptop on 5GHz only and see what happens. Once you have finished testing turn 2.4GHz back on again on the hub.

Unfortunately disabling the 2.4GHz caused the Wi-Fi to go down  and the extender to try and to go through the installation process again. It looks like the extender is using 2.4GHz as when I did a pin reset on the hub itself.

Whenever I try to change on my device manager to the suggested 'Preferred Band' for 5GHz, I'm not sure if it's saving the changes when I press OK as when I go back into the device manager it's like this again:

[goslow]

The 'preferred band' setting does not turn off the 2.4GHz wi-fi on the laptop. It tells the device to prefer (and to use) the 5GHz signal when both 2.4GHz and 5GHz are available so the 2.4GHz setting will still be available on the adapter settings.

When you disable the 2.4GHz signal on the hub the wi-fi will go off (for some 2.4GHz-only devices), that's the idea. You are aiming to test your laptop using 5GHz only and see if the HDMI issue persists when only 5GHz is in use. Forget about the extender for the moment. Turn it off for testing purposes.

Turn off the 2.4HGz wifi and the extender. Check you have a good 5GHz signal at your laptop before testing the screen. If not, test with your laptop/screen near to the hub (so you don't have signal strength problems) using the 5GHz connection. See if the HDMI screen issue still happens once 2.4GHz is taken out of the equation.

Your laptop model seems to be dual band capable and wireless AX capable so it should connect to the 5GHz signal without a problem.

If the problem persists with 5GHz, flip the test process around and turn off 5GHz and test using 2.4GHz only. See if you have a problem using 2.4GHz only.

If one of the frequency bands works, and is unaffected by the screen issue, use that frequency for your connection. If both are affected then you will have to start looking at other things to try.