Wifi adapter disconnects while gaming

quicky008

Technomancer
I have a gaming pc with the foll config.

I5 9400F
Asus B365g mobo
Corsair 8+8GB ddr4 memory
Corsair TXM psu.
Zotac 1060 6gb

Of late i have observed that whenever i play some game,my tp link usb wifi adapter gets disconnected & disappears from the list of networking devices and is no longer detected by the system unless i physically remove and plug it back in-but sometimes its not detected even after i plug it back in and the only way i can get it to work is by keeping my pc off for atleast 30mins-1 hr and turning it back on again.


I tested with a different wifi adapter,even tried plugging it into another usb port at the rear i/o panel of the mobo but to no avail.I even tried using a usb hub to connect the adapter instead of plugging it directly to the usb port but the issue still persists.

However when the adapter is plugged into the front i/o panel of the cabinet,such issues dont occur and it works fine.

I am really baffled by this issue-it persists even after i reinstalled a fresh copy of windows.

I read somewhere that sometimes a bad psu can cause usb devices to malfunction-can this be true in my situation?Even though i have not observed any other symptoms of psu malfunction on my system yet.

Or is the mobo itself acting up?

Please advice what needs to be done to fix the problem.

(PS i have noticed that the adapter becomes pretty hot when it gets disconnected-could this somehow be responsible for the problem?)
 

TheSloth

The Slowest One
Heat could be an issue. In my old laptop, whenever I played game, the temps went above 90, apart from throttling of CPU, which brought down the game's frame, I also faced serious network lags. e.g. the game will freeze a bit and go fast forward to catch up with the current state of the game. Earlier I thought it was my network issue because of which I changed my modem but things improved a bit when I re-pasted thermal paste in laptop.
 
OP
quicky008

quicky008

Technomancer
Just to experiment, i connected the dongle to a free usb 3 port on the mobo's back panel via an extension cord and left it running overnight and put some large file on download.

Surprisingly the adapter worked fine and got only slightly warm and was not disconnected.

Is it possible that the board's usb 2 ports(to which the adapter was plugged earlier) may have developed some fault and thus is heating up the adapter whereas this does not happen with the usb 3 ports.

I will test again today by connecting the adapter to the usb 2 port via an extension cable.
 
OP
quicky008

quicky008

Technomancer
It could be that the dongle is using more power than the USB 2.0 port can supply. Especially during heavy download tasks.
its possible.But can a faulty usb port cause such heating issues in the adapter? The ports work fine otherwise and detect whatever is plugged into them.

In my case my mobo has 2 usb 2.0 ports and i have tried plugging the adapter into both of them but got the same result.Can both usb 2 ports go bad at the same time?

Does a usb 3 port provide more power than a usb 2 port?

I have also tried 2 tp link dongles but the outcome was the same in both.
 

Nerevarine

Incarnate
can you link the dongle you are using ? Perhaps check documentation it has. Maybe it can reveal some clue.
And yes, USB 2.0 has lesser max power capability compared to USB 3.0, I don't remember exact number. Check wikipedia/USB specification.
 
OP
quicky008

quicky008

Technomancer
This is the adapter:

Link

there are some people claiming it heats up on the amazon review page as well.

1648569751195.png
 

topgear

Super Moderator
Staff member
its possible.But can a faulty usb port cause such heating issues in the adapter? The ports work fine otherwise and detect whatever is plugged into them.

In my case my mobo has 2 usb 2.0 ports and i have tried plugging the adapter into both of them but got the same result.Can both usb 2 ports go bad at the same time?

Does a usb 3 port provide more power than a usb 2 port?

I have also tried 2 tp link dongles but the outcome was the same in both.

USB 3.0 port can provide more power ( 900ma ) than USB 2.0 ( 500ma ) but it also depends on the device you are using. I don't think a simple dongle like that needs much power. USb 2.0 can still power up most external 2.5" Hdds so power is not an issue here. Did you try connecting the dongle to the the extension cable and the cable to the usb 2.0 port ? What's the result.

I'm kind of on the same boat here but the dongle works fine on the front panel cabinet ports so right now not thinking much about this.
 
OP
quicky008

quicky008

Technomancer
I will check using the extension cable and report back. Have you faced similar issues with the wifi adapter on your pc?
 

topgear

Super Moderator
Staff member
I will check using the extension cable and report back. Have you faced similar issues with the wifi adapter on your pc?

yes. On the port of the motherboard sometimes it does get detected but running fine on cabinet's usb port.
 
OP
quicky008

quicky008

Technomancer
i tested it using a usb extension cable and put some stuff on download and ran a game at the same time for around 20-30 mins but there was no disconnection issues.

However on unplugging the adapter i found that it has become rather hot.

You meant sometimes it does NOT get detected by the rear motherboard port?
 
Top Bottom