about once a week and that’s been for years. Runs slow, unplug. Phone drops a call, unplug it. Pages slow loading, unplug again.
I might need a new modem.

Leave it off for about a minute before turning it back on.

I tried everything to fix it, but no go, until I noticed there was a hardware "airplane mode" switch on the side of the computer. Talk about facepalm moments. Anyway, if turning WiFi off & on again in software doesn't work, there may be some sort of hardware switch that activates airplane mode.

Anyway, OP says it's a tower.

Pretty sure there's no physical Airplane Mode switch on a tower

There is as you hint a software switch in W10 though ... unlikely it accidentally got engaged but it's worth checking.

And says the address is missing but that address shows up on the tablet

Has it ever been connected to a WiFi network, or only ever hard-wired to a router? How old is the PC? Is it prebuilt like a Dell or whatnot?

It's an Asus and never run off wifi it was always using ethernet before

If you don't know either way, how old is it?

Built-in WiFi support was ubiquitous in mobile devices and lappies pretty far back (circa 2011) but it was less common in towers for quite some time after that.

If you click the microscope (i.e. search) on the taskbar, right next to the Start icon, and type in WiFi, do you see 'WiFi Settings' as the first option?

If so, click that. And choose "show available networks". Do you see your Wifi network in the list there?

Under network and internet is status the wifi ethernet etc.
Wifi settings is the first option and my wireless network name is there

Also when you try to connect are you at least provided with an opportunity to log in/give the password? And you're 100% sure you're typing the right one? Caps Lock not accidentally on, that kind of thing?

My first thought given the info provided is that the wifi adapter in the tower is too old to support the security protocol selected in the (apparently brand new?) router's configuration. Without things like screenshots or step-by-step accounting of what you're doing/seeing (and where you're seeing it) it's hard to diagnose. This would be fixable by choosing a less stringent (older) protocol on the router in its administrative settings.

Or maybe its adapter doesn't support 5GHz band networking, but only the 5GHz band is enabled on the router? I'd think it wouldn't be 'seen' by the computer at all in that case but not positive on that.

Could also be that DHCP isn't enabled on the router though that'd be really odd because all routers I've ever seen come with that enabled.

even at password stage. I did note this if it helps with the age question- 802.11n Wireless Lan Card- Ralink Technology Corp- driver version-5.0.57.1-physical address (MAC)_2c-do-5a-25-22-45

done in a logical order.

https://helpdeskgeek.com/networking/fix-windows-is-unable-to-connect-to-the-selected-network/

As someone else mentioned below (and I touched on above) the router may have both a 2.4GHz and 5GHz band, looking like two separate networks ... often they're named like XYZ 2.4 and XYZ 5 ... if you do see two like that, try the 2.4 one (or the other one with same name, that you're not failing with now). It would be a serious oversight of the Spectrum installer to have disabled the 2.4 band as normally both will be on by default, but it's possible. If that's the case, you'll have to look up how to get into your Router's config software and get it turned on.

The funny thing is I am using my tablet to access the wifi network as I sit one foot from my tower which only gives the cryptic message `can't connect to this network `

and google for that make/model, and 'Can't Connect to this Network'.

Hadn't thought of that

and offering advice on how to fix it on the internet, I'd be inclined to think it's quite specific to your computer.

If it were me, I'd just buy a new USB Wifi Adapter, you can get decent ones for $25 these days. And try that. Protip: don't install the full software suite that comes on the disc, just the driver for the adapter. Return it if it doesn't work. Wifi Adapters are one of the flakiest things in computers, and break easily. May need to go into the bios and shut off the built-in one, not sure.

...it seems your tower is Wi-Fi enabled but not connecting. Your recent move and setup probably includes both a 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi channels. Older equipment will can connect to Wi-Fi on the 2.4 GHz channel only. The puzzling piece is that the older equipment like my 9 year old laptop can see the 5 GHz signal when configured to operate on ac but can't connect unless I set the wireless router to allow the 5 GHz radio to also operate on n. (Popular routers include 802.11 b, g, n and ac protocols. The ac protocol is newest.) Your Wi-Fi equipment probably is capable of operating via n but may have it disabled since ac is capable of higher data rates.

Cutting to the chase, you said, "...had wifi installed at the house..." I infer that you had another party do the install. Your best bet here is to contact them and have them change the setup to allow your tower to connect. My assumptions are that your tower is older, your tablet is newer and you probably had an ISP do the install. Your other option to spend time reading the manual on your router/gateway and learning about Wi-Fi and a bunch of details you may not care about.

And the tech assured me the wifi was strong enough to reach my tower (other side of the house). Your assumption is pretty good. Not sure of the towers age but the tablet is fairly new. My nephew is a te hie. I might see if he will help me. Should I futz with the router settings or call them back? I just retired so I have some free time to futz.......

Investigate router or access point issues- it's also telling me to turn it off and back on!

Chances are good that some settings in the router/gateway would need to change and I wouldn't want you to have your tablet unable to connect as well. I'm unfamiliar with Spectrum so I don't the equipment and couldn't make any guesses.

I appreciate your assistance

You need to enable or have someone enable n on your router.
The 2.4 GHz band may already allow n but perhaps, as I have my router setup, yours has a different SSID for each frequency. Try one more thing. On the tower click the Wi-Fi icon on the right of the task bar (bottom right of the screen.) If you have 2 different SSIDs they should both show up there in the list. They will be the 2 with the strongest signals/most bars. Try connecting to the other one. Hopefully it has the same password you're using on the tablet.

Good luck and you're welcome.
Isn't science wonderful.

"unless I set the wireless router to allow the 5 GHz radio to also operate on n"

802.11-n is a protocol for multiple antennas, it is not a frequency spec. I've seen some consumer routers that turn on both radios (5 & 2.4) when "also on n" is selected *even when they have settings for the separate radios in the advanced menus or tabs*. My guess is it cuts down on the length of support calls if they can point someone to a single setting to enable connections on both radios.

I was trying to be clear by writing in parentheses that b, g, n and ac were all protocols and not frequency specs but I infer that I missed. My router from the factory has the 5 GHz set to ac only but there's an option for a + n + ac as well. My router has individual settings for each frequency that allow me pick the protocol(s) for that frequency.

It also offers wpa2 & 3 in both personal and enterprise for security. As a hobbyist I'm interested in the wpa3 advantages but setting up a RADIUS server for the enterprise type seems like a lot of work with no big advantages. My NAS offers a package for that but I have enough to keep me busy. Since my PCs don't offer wpa3 personal, I'm not bothering with that either for the moment.

The 802.11 article on wikipedia is long and includes protocols that I've not seen marketed in consumer routers.

RADIUS is a security server & the NAS would be a client. I'd fail an audit if I set it up at work with both on the same hardware. Far better to put it on something like a Raspberry Pi for home use. Not only can you then mess with it to your heart's content before actually implementing it to the network, but you can also get a feel for whether the complexity is worth it. If I lived back in a city again, I might. Maybe. But where I am now perhaps four homes can see my SSID. One is retired & left their Comcast Wifi on the defaults, another left security off altogether on their 802.11b wifi, and the other two work in sales of some sort, maybe insurance or financial products. Drive-bys are rare so I don't expect war drivers. Soooo not worth the effort & hassle, given the risk.

...at work 6 years ago. Medical product that needed enterprise Wi-Fi for clinic and hospital environments.


My NAS has a lightweight OS and a number of packages that can be installed, for example:


https://www.synology.com/en-us/support/nas_selector

I have maybe 7 neighbors close enough to connect. I'm definitely not setting up a domain now so maybe after I retire.