Question:  "In our home, our computer connects to the Internet wirelessly.  Most of the time, the Internet connection works great.  Sometimes, however, we'll lose Internet off and on during the day.  Why?" 
 
Answer:  More and more of our computing is now done wirelessly.  Notebooks, netbooks, tablets and smart phones lead the wireless revolution but even many new desktop computers have wireless capabilities built-in.  With this expansion of wireless Internet in mind, this week's question comes at a perfect time.

When wireless Internet is working, it's great - fewer cables, more maneuverability and pretty good speed.  Still, wireless isn't always as reliable as wired Internet for the following reasons:

 
Interference - Because wireless Internet works through the air, the signal is susceptible to disruption.  Everything from the neighbor's car to the vacuum cleaner is a candidate for interfering with the wireless signal in your home.  If your wireless signal cuts out and drops your computer off the Internet, you should create a log of when it happens.  This may lead to clues as to what is causing the problem.  For instance, if dropping off wireless always happens at the same time of the day, you might look for common factors at that time - for example, is the neighbor's car always pulling in the drive at that time?  By making good notes, you may be able to resolve the issue all by yourself.

Router Issues - Routers are electronic devices and they do "wear out."  If you're experiencing wireless outages during the day, you might focus on the router itself.  Is the router more than two years old?  What are the router lights doing when you lose wireless Internet - going out completely?  flashing rapidly?  or, working normally?  Is the router on the floor or higher up in the room?  (It should be higher up.)  Is the router being blocked by other objects?

Wireless Network Card - It's possible that the wireless network card in your computing device may be on its way out.  In most cases, you can't change the card yourself and your device would need to go into the shop.  However, you can do some things to narrow the problem down to the wireless network card before you take it to the shop.  First, if you don't have more than one wireless device in your home, you can invite a friend to bring his or her wireless device to your home and have him or her run off your router.  If he or she isn't able to stay online, either, then you're back to looking at the router (and not your computer's wireless network card) as the culprit.  (If you do have multiple devices, you can perform this comparison test yourself.)  Another option would to be take your computer to a place where other wireless Internet is available so that you can see if it's your machine or something else.

Conclusion - Wireless problems can sometimes be difficult to diagnose.  So, if you do experience this problem, you can help by: keeping a written record of how often it happens, how long your wireless is offline, and the actual times.  The more information you can provide, the more likely a tech (or yourself) will be able to solve your problem in a timely manner.