Why Does Wireless Take So Long at Startup Suddenly?

When you're troubleshooting a wireless connection problem because something suddenly stops working or behaves differently than it used to, it's typically because something has changed, either in your setup or the wireless network setup. Identify any changes you've made recently to your wireless setup or to your wireless network setup. Slow wireless connection issues often occur when you connect a laptop to different wireless networks and Windows stores them in an order of priority that's different from the order you want to use.

Network is Lower Priority

When you successfully connect to any wireless network, Windows puts the network on its list of preferred networks. The next time you start up your computer, Windows tries to connect to each network on the preferred list, one by one, in the order in which they appear on the list. If you've changed network priorities or cleared all networks from your list, your home network might be lower on the priority list. You'll wait while Windows tries to connect to each network that's higher on the list before it successfully connects to your home network.

Windows Retries Higher Priority Networks

Let's say you have a friend who opened, connected and plugged in his Linksys router. His network is "Linksys," and there's no security. Now let's say that you have a neighbor whose wireless signal extends within your range at home. Your neighbor set a password but also uses "Linksys." When you're home, if Linksys has priority, Windows will try to connect to it without using a password. However, it will be attempting to connect to your neighbor's network that requires a password. You'll wait while Windows tries unsuccessfully to connect several times before finally giving up and moving on to the next network.

Establishing Network Priorities

You can change your default wireless network so that Windows connects more quickly to the network you use the most. Go to the Network and Sharing Center in Windows and choose "Manage Wireless Networks." View the list of networks on your preferred list, select a network and choose either "Move Up" or "Move Down" to reorder the networks. Choose "Remove Network" to take it off the list. If you right-click and choose "Properties," you can click "Connect Automatically when this Network is in Range" to remove the checkmark and prevent Windows from trying to connect automatically to a particular network.

Other Reasons

If your preferred network list is correct, there are a number of reasons why your wireless could be slow to start up. For example, your default router or access point might be turned off, too far away or too busy with current connections to initiate new connections. If you've recently purchased a cordless phone or microwave oven, the device could be interfering with your wireless signal. Or, if you recently set a static IP address on your computer and forgot to change it back, your computer might be requesting an IP address that is already in use or not supported.