Desktop and Laptop lose sharing

I have two Windows 10 machines: a desktop running 1909 18363.657 and a laptop running 1909 18363.592. If both machines are re-started at the same time, the machines can share files and the laptop can print to the printer connected to the desktop. But, when I close the lid on the laptop and it goes to sleep, the network connection between the two is lost. That makes sense to me. But, when I open the laptop and it returns from sleep, the network connection is not re-established. Is there a way to re-connect the two machines other than re-starting each one of them?

I would just click on the Flight Mode icon to disable Wi-Fi and then click again to re-enable it. Not script required. You can also configure the laptop not to sleep when power-connected and you close the lid, and to sleep only on battery from Power Options, so you don't have this issue in the first place.

A scenario is that 1) both the laptop and the desktop are connected, can share files back and forth and the laptop can print to the printer that is usb connected to the desktop. Close the lid to the laptop, and 2) the connection is broken. The two computers no longer see each other. 3) BUT I can print from the laptop to the desktop printer without issue. But the network connection is apparently broken. So how can the laptop send a print job to the desktop printer (the printer does NOT have wifi) when the network connection is broken? The printer is a Brother DCP-L2520DW.

spapakons said:

I would just click on the Flight Mode icon to disable Wi-Fi and then click again to re-enable it. Not script required. You can also configure the laptop not to sleep when power-connected and you close the lid, and to sleep only on battery from Power Options, so you don't have this issue in the first place.

I tried that suggestion, but cycling the wifi from on to off to on does not make the laptop re-connect to the desktop. To conserve battery power, I'd rather continue to allow the laptop to sleep when I'm not using it.

That's why I said to let it sleep in battery mode but do nothing when powered from the mains. For the trick to work you have to enable flight mode, wait a few seconds, then disable flight mode (and make sure you are connected to your own network, not any other), wait a few seconds for DCHP to properly configure the IP and other network parameters. Then you should be able to browse the network again. Not very convenient, but it works. The other solution is to prevent you laptop going to sleep when connected to the mains, so you never lose connection.

snapakons, I appreciate your attention to my problem. I tried your suggestion again, but it did not re-connect. I enabled airplane mode (there's a confirming message on the screen that wifi is off), waited a couple of minutes, disabled airplane mode (and there's a message that it is re-connected) but it did not help; several minutes later there was no connection to the desktop. The logic of your suggestion makes sense to me, but I just could not get it to work.

Are you sure you have latest OEM (official) drivers for the Wi-Fi card? I mean either latest drivers provided from laptop's support site, or even better, latest drivers from the Wi-Fi card manufacturer's site. Please use a utility such as Aida64 or Speccy to identify the exact model of the Wi-Fi adapter and we can help you find drivers. Do not forget to tell if you are using 32-bit or 64-bit Windows.

PS: If Windows Update found new drivers and replaced your old ones, it explains your issues. You need latest official, not Windows Update generic drivers.

1) Device Manager reports that the WIFI adapter is a Dell Wireless 1820A 802.11ac. The manufacturer is Broadcom, the driver provider is Broadcom, the driver version is 1.566.0.2, the driver date is 10/18/2017. This is also the specific current driver shown on the Dell site for my computer.

2) The computer is a Dell XPS13 9350. Running Windows Pro 1909 (64bit) 18363.592.

3) Looking forward to any ideas re: solution.

4) Thanks!!