Firefox/safari keeps freezing every 3 minutes

Hi,

My Internet browsers keep freezing (disconnecting) every three or so minutes. It happens to both Firefox and Safari. The Wi-Fi symbol on the MacBook indicates that it is still connected. That is, I still have a very strong signal to the home Wi-Fi network. During that time, all other laptops and tablets in the house work just fine. When I restart the computer and logon, it works but happens again every three minutes. I am baffled. I do not know if my MacBook caught a malware. Or is it possible that if there are too many devices in the house connected to the Internet, one of the devices consistently drops out? Perhaps my brother is using an additional laptop in the house. Please help!!

Edited: I just discovered that if I turned off Wi-Fi and turned it back on again (instead of restarting the entire operating system), I can surf the web again but disconnects again three minutes after.

Another discovery- I just connected my Macbook via hotspot to my iPhone and the problem stopped! I will now unplug-replug the router and see what happens.

simonvee said:

My Internet browsers keep freezing (disconnecting) every three or so minutes.

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Freezing or disconnecting? There's a significant difference.

What error messages are you getting?

If I was going into 'Facebook, Google or YouTube' for example, the page attempts to load and freezes like that for a minute or two until a blank page appears saying something like 'sorry we could not load your page'. Then I open up a different browser and it would not load the slightest bit at all.

Not even 'Messages' or 'App store' work. Yet, on the WiFi signal, it is at the best possible strength still connected to the home network.

Yeh!! The good news is I restarted the router and problem stops!