Comment 83 for bug 572777

Important news from my situation:
Although the symptoms were as described, I have found the main reason for my problem. Wireless interference from nearby (neighbours) systems! I did a series of experiments including taking all of the (wireless hardware and laptop to my house where I was surprised shocked to find it all worked perfectly straight away. It took me several other time consuming experiments to fail to find a reason for things not working. I am not experienced with basic wifi and the significance of the target location being in the middle of a block of apartments did not emerge for me until much later. A smartphone (Android) app for wireless scan immediately showed a dozen competing signals with useful channels occupied, and several signals were very strong indeed. So strong that even with our wireless access point (WAP) in the same room as the laptop and smartphone, the two competing signals were showing the -same- strength (!) the solution was to set the WAP to partly avoid the competition by using a fixed channel (3) just in between the competition (1) and (6). Not ideal but it works (so far).

The WAP is D-Link DAP 1353 which I think is good kit (?)
The history of wifi working then stopping working I put down to a neighbour or two deciding to increase their own power maybe.