tp link wifi adapter not detecting mobile hotspot

quicky008

Technomancer
i have a tp link wn 821n wifi adapter which is roughly 4 years old and has worked well thus far.But recently when i switched my cell phone from an asus zenfone to a samsung m21,it can no longer detect the phone's wireless hotspot,even though it detects my older zenfone's wireless signal just fine.I have another pc with a wn 823n adapter from tplink,which is also around 3-5 years old but it couldn't detect my phone's hotspot either.

Surprisingly however,my zenfone can detect m21's hotspot,and so can a tp link wn 725n adapter(a newer model,bought recently).

So why are my older wifi dongles failing to detect the new phone's hotspot?is it due to some strange compatibility issue?

I tried to change the connection type to "open" instead of wpa2 psk from the connection properties in the phone,but to no avail.

Is there any way to get these adapters working with M21's hotspot?please advise.
 

RumbaMon19

Feel Pain.
i have a tp link wn 821n wifi adapter which is roughly 4 years old and has worked well thus far.But recently when i switched my cell phone from an asus zenfone to a samsung m21,it can no longer detect the phone's wireless hotspot,even though it detects my older zenfone's wireless signal just fine.I have another pc with a wn 823n adapter from tplink,which is also around 3-5 years old but it couldn't detect my phone's hotspot either.

Surprisingly however,my zenfone can detect m21's hotspot,and so can a tp link wn 725n adapter(a newer model,bought recently).

So why are my older wifi dongles failing to detect the new phone's hotspot?is it due to some strange compatibility issue?

I tried to change the connection type to "open" instead of wpa2 psk from the connection properties in the phone,but to no avail.

Is there any way to get these adapters working with M21's hotspot?please advise.

I thnk it is because the hotspot made by M21 is of 5GHz band vs. the 2.4GHz on Asus zenphone, and the TP-link adapter only works of 2.4GHz. just checkout the settings of hotspot.
 
OP
quicky008

quicky008

Technomancer
i dont think so,when i am using the newer wn 725n adapter(which is a 150 mbps device that works only at 2.4 ghz as per official specs),it works just fine and can detect m21's hotspot.

And from network settings in windows,the hotspot is shown to be operating at 2.4 ghz freq. band only.

And as far as i know,my older tp link adapters were also compatible with the 2.4 ghz band-why then,i wonder they still fail to detect the phone's hotspot.

In the phone itself,there is no setting to alter the hotspot's freq. band-i think it works at 2.4 ghz by default.
 

patkim

Cyborg Agent
Do you have a Windows laptop that can see it? If so try to run inSSIDer (look for earlier free versions on net, if current one is paid) and see what it reports about this network. Since your Asus phone sees it, try to run WiFi Analyzer app (free) on it and check all parameters of that hotspot.

What if you manually create a network with the SSID and password on your Windows PC where the Wifi adapter in question is connected?

What is the Wireless mode configured on Windows PC where the WiFi adapter in question is hooked? Is it 802.11 a/b/g/n or something else? Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network Connections – WiFi

Just out of curiosity I searched the net and found that you are not alone, several users have reported similar concerns on Samsung forum with M21 & M31's and they have been recommended to take the phone to service center!
 
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RumbaMon19

Feel Pain.
i dont think so,when i am using the newer wn 725n adapter(which is a 150 mbps device that works only at 2.4 ghz as per official specs),it works just fine and can detect m21's hotspot.

And from network settings in windows,the hotspot is shown to be operating at 2.4 ghz freq. band only.

And as far as i know,my older tp link adapters were also compatible with the 2.4 ghz band-why then,i wonder they still fail to detect the phone's hotspot.

In the phone itself,there is no setting to alter the hotspot's freq. band-i think it works at 2.4 ghz by default.

One thing for sure, either the adapter has some probs or its configuration is not done properly. Because you can detect hotspot in other phones, it means there is not problem with Phone.
 
OP
quicky008

quicky008

Technomancer
Do you have a Windows laptop that can see it? If so try to run inSSIDer (look for earlier free versions on net, if current one is paid) and see what it reports about this network. Since your Asus phone sees it, try to run WiFi Analyzer app (free) on it and check all parameters of that hotspot.

What if you manually create a network with the SSID and password on your Windows PC where the Wifi adapter in question is connected?

What is the Wireless mode configured on Windows PC where the WiFi adapter in question is hooked? Is it 802.11 a/b/g/n or something else? Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network Connections – WiFi

Just out of curiosity I searched the net and found that you are not alone, several users have reported similar concerns on Samsung forum with M21 & M31's and they have been recommended to take the phone to service center!
But the phone is being detected by other (newer) wifi adapters. I even tested with a generic 802.11n type adapter and that too could detect it just fine.

Since yesterday, another issue has emerged. I have been browsing the Internet on my pc using a new wn 725n tp link adapter and its been working really well. However only yesterday i noticed that after being connected to my m21's hotspot for a few mins, my tp link adapter got disconnected from the hotspot automatically even though it was actually active on my phone. It was only after i deactivated and reactivated the hotspot manually that my tp link adapter could detect it, only to get disconnected again after 8-10 mins.


I checked with another generic adapter on another pc but there also the same problem occurred. Ie the pc was disconnected and failed to detect any wifi signal until i manually restarted the hotspot from my phone.

This problem continuued to occur and seemed to have stopped after i started charging it.After charging it back to 100%,the issue didn't occur again (so far that is).

Is the phone ok or defective? Should I get it serviced?
 
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OP
quicky008

quicky008

Technomancer
update:the wifi disconnection issue from m21's hotspot has started again,and doesn't stop no matter what i try,other than turning it off and keeping it aside for a few hours.

it seems the os on these phones is buggy as hell and has a lot of hidden glitches and problems.And its weird that despite being of a 2.4ghz band,only newer wifi adapters can detect its signal,but the older ones cannot.Even older laptops with built in wifi are unable to "see" its SSID even though they can detect signals from other phones just fine.

to think i opted for samsung for the sake of reliability!!

Will the folks at the service center be able to rectify the issue?They will most likely just reset the phone and return it,claiming its working fine.
 
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