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The combination of laptop computers and internet access is almost invaluable. Thanks to these two things, people can have access to the web from anywhere, and they can use it on a machine that usually has the hardware and capabilities to run many complex programs besides web-based applications or searches that they might be doing at the same time.
Whether on a home network or public one while out and about, most users appreciate a stable connection to the net from their laptops. However, that connection isn’t always stable, and some people might find that it goes away even after something as simple as closing the lids on their laptops.
We’ll discuss why this might be the case, what you might be able to do about it, how you might keep the internet going when the laptop enters different modes, and things you should still be able to do even without access to Wi-Fi.
Table of Contents
Why Do I Lose an Internet Connection When I Close My Laptop?
If you find that you seem to lose internet connection when you close the lid on your laptop, there are a couple of things you should investigate first. The reasons the connection is lost after lid closure can be different, so the solutions we can offer here will also vary.
Let’s look at two major causes for losing the connection like this.
The first thing to check is how the laptop’s settings for internet or power are configured currently. There could be some options active that cause the laptop to think it should shut off the connection to the Wi-Fi when you close the lid.
Sometimes, the laptop may think it needs to enter sleep mode when you close the lid.
If so, the device will turn off the power to pretty much everything but its RAM and CPU. It will leave a little bit of power flowing to these so that it can remember what programs you had loaded when you closed the lid. Everything else, Wi-Fi connection included, gets switched off.
Although the laptop will turn off the features it needs in order to access the Wi-Fi in this case, it should establish this connection once again after you open up the laptop or otherwise turn it back on, although this may take a few moments.
If you want to avoid this happening at all, you can go into the laptop’s power settings and make adjustments. Just tell the computer that it should not do anything when you close the lid. The internet connection and everything else will stay active after that, even when the lid is closed.
However, you might run into a more serious problem in which you’re losing that connection even when the lid is closed and the device isn’t in a low-power state.
If this is the case, we have to investigate different things. It is possible that the signal strength on your Wi-Fi is quite weak, and closing the lid could cause the computer to lose its connection to this source.
You might be able to test this by moving the laptop closer to or further from the router to test the differences in signal strength each time.
Second, you might have outdated drivers that are causing some conflicts with or having trouble managing the connection. Here, you should be able to check for updates to your drivers.
You might be able to download them automatically, but you can also check the manufacturer’s site for the latest versions and test them against the ones listed in your system.
On a related note, your operating system might have other problems that are interfering with your signal. If this is the case, you can try rolling back the system to an earlier state. This might be particularly effective if you just noticed the connectivity issue recently.
How Do I Stop My Laptop From Disconnecting From Wi-Fi When Locked or Asleep?
You may want to keep your Wi-Fi active even when you put the computer to sleep, and there is a way you can do so. You’ll need to perform a few modifications to your settings in order to do so. Your setup might vary slightly, but you can follow these general steps in order to get it done:
1. Go to your ‘Start’ menu and look for ‘Settings’ in the search bar. Once you find it, click on it.
2. Once the window opens, navigate to the ‘Power & sleep’ submenu. When it opens, scroll to get down to ‘Additional power settings’.
3. Go to ‘Change plan settings’ and then select ‘Change advanced settings’. From here, you can look for options in ‘Standby’ that relate to network connectivity. In this menu, you can tell the computer to keep the connectivity active when in standby, and you can do so both when the laptop is on battery and plugged in.
Do Laptops Need Internet?
Laptops need internet for many things, but you don’t need internet service in order to use some of the programs on your device.
For anything relating to communication with other parties outside of your home or office, a connection is necessary. This sort of communication would include sending files to another person or entity.
However, there are quite a few programs that don’t rely on active internet connections in order to function, and we’ll cover some of these in a later section.
It is important to remember that your laptop may be limited in what it can do or run without internet. We’ve touched on communication, but this can also apply to what programs or activities might be available to you. If you’ve never connected your laptop to any internet source and don’t plan to, you could be limited to just the programs your operating system installs natively. This is a setup that can work fine for many people. However, if you want to add programs later without internet, you’ll need to find a way to download them to a portable device for transfer later, or you can get a disc that includes them.
Can You Use a Laptop Without Wi-Fi?
Yes, you can use a laptop without Wi-Fi. If you mean using a laptop with an internet source that is not Wi-Fi, you can do that as well.
One of the most common ways is to activate a hotspot that provides you with access even when you don’t have a traditional Wi-Fi connection in your area.
To do this, you would set one of your mobile devices into a tethering mode that allows it to use its cellular data as a secondary Wi-Fi unit to which your laptop connects.
Once it has this connection, it will be able to draw off that cellular data to do most of the internet-related things you might want to do while the computer is on Wi-Fi.
Kepp in mind that if you have a limited data plan, this can use it up quickly and may make your phone bill expensive.
7 Things You Can Do on a Laptop Without Wi-Fi
We’ve touched on what things you might be able to do without Wi-Fi, but now it is time to dig a bit deeper. Here are just a few of the things you can do on a laptop even without this connection:
1. Even though you can’t stream things live, you can still watch films or TV from other sources on your laptop without a connection. Things you might have downloaded and stored on portable media or standard DVDs will play just fine.
2. You can write something, either for yourself or as a part of your business, using word processing programs that are standard on most laptops as part of the OS. You’d need a connection to send them anywhere, but you can also store them on portable drives to take with you for later.
3. If you don’t have anything particular you need to get done, you can spend some time organizing files and folders into ways that are easier for you to find or store.
4. On a related note, there are ways to personalize your system as well. You could use some of your own photos to create different backgrounds, or you could change the layout of many of the windows that you use regularly. There are also ways to change the overall color scheme.
5. Similar to movies, you can listen to music stored on CDs or portable drives without streaming it.
6. Many e-readers come with PC companions that can store your books offline for easy viewing. You can also put your own books on the main drive and access them through this program.
7. Lots of older games require no internet connection at all to play and enjoy. Even with many newer games, you can play them in offline mode. All you might miss are some achievement notifications or social features.
Conclusion
There’s no doubt that Wi-Fi connectivity enables many wider functions to access the world straight from our laptops. Video calls, streaming, sharing files in real-time, and other things are possible thanks to this connectivity.
However, it is equally true that there are many fun or useful things you can do without access to the internet. Further, if you do need this access at a crucial point, there are hotspots that allow you to get it.