Good morning… we had the same experience at my sister's house recently. 1st question I would ask you is who is your Internet provider? If it is Xfinity then you must call them to run some test. If you know how to go into your Wi-Fi settings please make sure that you are not connected to the X finity Wi-Fi. Reason being is that the Xfinity Wi-Fi should be only used when connecting to hotspots outside your home. If you connect to Xfinity Wi-Fi while at home it is an unsecured network and then you are open to others getting into your system leaving you very vulnerable to hackers. Because of the weak signal my sister's computer was only connecting to the xfinity wifi. I helped them work it out with tech support.

We have Comcast. Our modem and router are in the utility room. When we do the speed tests, we are getting what we paid for in the utility room and a much lower signal to our computers. We have a newer modem and older router. Do you have a suggestion of what router to buy if we replace the router?

Very well said. I mentioned this reoccurring issue here in a previous post. Fixed twice for customers last month.

Or, you might be logging in to an SSID with your WiFi name with the word GUEST after it. Some wireless routers off this additional connection.

Let's see how the OP resolves this.

You should unplug the router from the power supply for several minutes. Then plug it back in. If that doesn't help just take the moden back to Comcast and exchange it.
If your laptop recpgnizes the wifi signal when you put the laptop near the modem then I don't think it is the laptop problem

actually the fix is quite simple. Comcast has been replacing routers for this reason, I have had to replace mine. also you should have a 2.4 and a 5.0 settting for wi fi. If your other computer is a 2.4 it will never see the 5.0 setting. Happened to me on my spare unit on the Lanai. Bottom line is the router is having issues and needs to be replaced. Have them come out and bring you one. Also have them put a booster on the line closest to your other unit. That is what you pay them for. It is their job to get it up and running. Schedule an appointment to have a Tech come over.

i have the exact issue and have spent many countless hours talking to comcast, i also have two wireless tv's that have the same issue it is the router comcast told me i will have to move the router into the central part of the house which would be in my dining room oh and put it six feet up in the air. idiots gonna probably dump comcast soon, it is not the laptop as mine is brand new. they also told me to go to bestbuy and get a booster thing but why should i have to buy something for their crappy equipment... also my house is only 1350 square feet so it is not a big house.

I use Sensorly (an app I downloaded) to check upload and download speed. See what it says then call your internet provider if still no signal. Sometimes I have to reboot my router also.

Here you are talking about a different issue altogether. Each frequency transmission has a set of channels that can be changed in the advanced properties of the router. Think of B&W broadcast TV of the 60's. You had channels 2-13 available, and a fine tuning dial. Same with the 2.4 band. Case in point: I was hired by a Chilis that was located next to a Verizon store. The Chilis router was set for the same channel as the Verizon's and both suffered severe dropouts as devices attempted to connect. A change of the Chilis channel resolved the conflict.

It is possible that the OP could improve his connection by selecting an alternate broadcast channel. But, I believe a clever use of aluminum foil, focusing the signal, on the router antenna would be more successful.

Awaiting an update.

Please make sure you are actually connecting to your router and not a neighbor's xfinity. All Comcast Xfinity routers come with a setting which allocates some bandwidth to allow other users connect. While this does not affect your advertised speed, it can be a problem if the laptop in question is connecting to someone else's wifi. If you are using Windows or Apple you can easily see what wifi you are connected to by clicking the wifi icon. Please reply back if you need any help with figuring it out.

Had same problem. Moved router box a foot and no more quits