What to Do When Your Netgear A6210 Keeps Disconnecting

Netgear A6210 wireless adapter offers owners a USB solution that provides extended performance, high speed, and enhanced range for reliable connectivity that supports today’s high-bandwidth requirements:

• HD video streaming with multiple simultaneous sessions
• Fast USB 3.0 performance
• Support for all standard WiFi devices
• Online gaming

Netgear is well known for the ease of installing and using their products, including the A6210 wireless adapter:

• Easy placement with desktop dock, and flexible USB connection for laptops
• Secure connection with Push ‘N’ Connect single button installation
• Ease of setup with the Netgear “Genie”
• High-gain antenna for increased wireless range
• Full 900 Mb/s when running on 5GHz with USB 3.0
• Compatible with USB 2.0
• Beamforming+ technology for increased range and reliability
• Supports Windows OS (currently not Mac systems)
• Works with all 802.11 devices – a/b/g/n and ac

With all that going for the A6210, it would seem like an ideal solution for fast, consistent wireless WiFi performance.

Even so, as with many technical devices, there could be situations where the adapter just disconnects – perhaps intermittently and for no apparent reason.

Why Your Netgear A6210 Keeps Disconnecting

There could be multiple reasons your A6210 loses connection:

1. Bad USB Port

If you’re having intermittent issues, try moving the adapter to another USB port. If you’re trying to run at 5GHz, you need USB 3.0 to operate properly.

If your computer is limited to USB 2.0, you will need to limit your performance to 2.4 GHz. Make sure you have the right USB capability that supports the bandwidth you’re trying to obtain from the adapter.

2. Another Computer

If switching the port doesn’t solve the problem, try your A6210 on another computer. If it works properly with a different computer, that should rule out a hardware problem with the Netgear adapter.

See the steps below for performing Windows Update on the computer where your adapter is failing.

3. Positioning

The A6210’s antenna is designed to work best when positioned at a 90-degree angle with a laptop USB port. This will provide the best performance and most reliable connectivity.

4. Cable Issues

If you’ve installed the adapter with a cable extension, be certain the cable is certified as USB 3.0, or the A6210 cannot function as USB 3.0.

Also avoid longer cables, as this can result in a voltage drop and your adapter not running properly, or not even being recognized by your computer.

Change your USB power saving options:

Start Device Manager, and click the arrow to expand the Universal Serial Bus controller devices:

Select the USB Root Hub, right-click the device, and select Properties, then pick the Power Management tab.

Turn off (uncheck) the option that indicates, “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power”.

If you have multiple USB root hub entries (you probably will), make this change for each device.

When done with these changes, reboot your computer to make these changes effective.

Try Some Basic Troubleshooting Steps First

First, try eliminating any problems with your networking configuration:

Check your wireless access point or router to be sure you have the latest firmware (internal software that runs that device).

Check with the manufacturer’s website, and if you’re behind on updates, download and install the latest version.

Another step you can take is to disable the Minimum Power Consumption setting for your network adapter:

Access Device Manager by pressing the Start button, and keying ‘device manager’, then select the device manager option:

Select Network Adapters, and look for your Netgear A6210 Adapter – double-click the device, then select the “Power Management” tab:

Uncheck the box that allows the computer to turn off the device to save power.

Next, click the Advanced tab, and check for a property “Minimum Power Consumption” in the list of properties. If present and the setting is “Enabled”, change it to “Disabled” and click OK.

Another simple troubleshooting step is to check your A6210 configuration for the WiFi band setting. It will normally be set to “Auto”.

Setting the band to 2.4GHz may eliminate the problem by providing more consistent connectivity, although the speed will also be reduced.

It May Be Your Computer Driver

Any Windows device, from your keyboard to your Netgear A6210 wireless adapter, utilizes small programs known as drivers that control the device. Manufacturers are constantly updating drivers to increase functionality and fix problems.

As technology changes, compatibility with new operating systems such as Windows updates may also require driver enhancements from vendors.

To be sure you have the latest updates to your operating system, as well as for your A6210, you must verify all applicable software is at its current level.

First, make sure Windows is up-to-date. Windows Update is the tool you use to verify your system is current with all updates known to Microsoft.

Click the Start button, and select All Programs, then click Windows Update

When Windows Update starts, take the option to Check for updates:

Windows update will check for any updates that apply to your system, then give you the option to download and install the updates.

This may take some time, depending on the number of updates located and downloaded. Be sure to restart Windows after all your updates are complete to ensure the changes are in effect.

Updating Your A6210 Driver

Once your operating system is current, try using your A6210 wireless adapter again to determine if the problem is fixed.

However, you may find that even with the updates complete, your disconnect issue may not be resolved. There’s one good reason you may still have a problem. Microsoft may not have the latest Netgear updates for your A6210 device drivers, so they may still be outdated.

Not every device update from every manufacturer is registered with Microsoft for Windows Update to identify for your system.

To remedy that problem, you will need to access the Netgear support website and search for the driver that applies to your adapter and version of Windows. Be sure you know the specific version and release of Windows you have (WIN7, WIN10, 32 or 64-bit, etc.) to download and install the correct driver.

Netgear’s support website will walk you through the process of downloading and installing the driver.

Another method for updating your driver is to access the Device Manager as above, then open the Network Adapter section by clicking the arrow next to that group of devices. Find your Netgear A6210, then right-click, and take the option to “Update Driver”.

When asked if you want to search the internet for the appropriate driver, you can let Windows search for the best driver it can locate, then follow the prompts for downloading and installing the A6210 driver that Windows finds.

Hopefully, this process will locate an updated driver, but you may get the response that no newer driver is found.

To get the latest, correct driver for your wireless adapter, you can also enlist the services of a technology service provider that specializes in driver management.

Get It Done Quickly and Securely

Signing up with Driver Support will make the entire effort of solving your Netgear A6210 disconnect problem less cumbersome and frustrating.

Using this service will shortcut the entire flow of your system updates, with a seamless process that analyzes your computer for any missing or outdated drivers, then takes care of the downloading and installation – all without any decisions or manual effort on your part.

Using a driver service provides many advantages:

• Secure downloads with no potential for malware or virus content
• Finds the correct match for your particular Windows version and Netgear adapter
• Complete driver database of over 26 million drivers
• Easy – no guesswork – one single source for all your Windows and device driver updates
• Peace of mind – your devices always have the latest updates to keep your system running smoothly
• Support – as our name indicates, we’re focused on support for your Windows and OEM drivers
• Experience – Driver Support has been providing customers with reliable service since 1996

Registering with Driver Support will keep your computer running at peak performance levels with the latest updates for every driver on your system. Give DriverSupport | ONE a try today! today to solve all your driver problems – for every device on your system.