Reinstall wireless device and drivers
Corrupt drivers or other issues with the wireless drivers is one of the most common causes for why you may not be able to see any Wi-Fi networks or have problems detecting your wireless card. Make sure you are not having driver issues by following the steps below.
Remove the device and let Windows re-detect the Wi-Fi card
- Open Windows Device Manager.
- In the Device Manager, expand the Network adapters section to see all network devices.
- Highlight your Wi-Fi or Wireless network adapter and press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove the device. If there is a check box to uninstall the drivers, leave it unchecked for the time being.
- Once the device has been removed, close all windows, reboot the computer, and let Windows re-detect and install the network card.
If letting Windows re-detect and install the wireless card does not resolve your issue, it may be the drivers themselves. Follow the steps below to reinstall the network card and wireless drivers.
Reinstall the latest network drivers
- Located and download the network drivers for your network adapter or computer. If possible, we recommend getting the drivers directly from the network adapter or computer manufacturer (e.g., Dell, HP, Linksys, or Netgear).
- Open Windows Device Manager
- In the Device Manager, expand the Network adapters section to see all network devices.
- Highlight your Wi-Fi or Wireless network adapter and press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove the device. If there is a check box to uninstall the drivers, check the box.
- Once the device has been removed, close all open windows and install the downloaded drivers. If there is a setup or other executable file for the drivers, run that file.
- Reboot the computer and test the Internet connection to see if it works.
Reposition wireless router or computer
If your computer has difficulties maintaining a strong signal with your wireless router, it can cause connectivity issues. Make sure this is not a problem by trying to re-position the router and its antennas. If you have a laptop, you can also move the laptop closer to the router to help determine if it is a signal strength issue.
If you are having signal strength issues, consider getting a range extender (repeater) for your home or office to make sure all areas get a strong signal. Alternatively, you can try changing the router's frequency to reduce signal interference from other wireless devices in the home or office.
Hard reset the laptop
If you have a laptop, try hard resetting the laptop by following the steps below. Doing a hard reset can fix various random issues with hardware being detected properly.
- Close all windows and shut down the laptop.
- Once the laptop is off, disconnect the AC adapter (power) and remove the battery.
- After removing the battery and disconnecting the power cord, leave the computer off for 30 seconds and while off, press and hold the power button in 5-10 second intervals.
- After 30 seconds, put the battery back in the computer and connect the power cord.
- Turn on the laptop and as the computer is booting, enter CMOS setup.
- In CMOS setup, reset the CMOS settings to the default settings, Save the settings, and then Exit the setup.
If after following the above steps, the Wi-Fi still does not work, try removing the Wi-Fi adapter from the Device Manager and rebooting your laptop to see if Windows detects the Wi-Fi adapter again.
Upgrade router firmware
If you have never had success with the computer connecting to the router, try upgrading the router's firmware. Updated firmware can help fix issues with the router, including connection issues.
Operating system corruption
If after following all of the above steps, your Wi-Fi connection is still not working and it has worked before, the issue may be related to file corruption in the operating system. As a last resort, to help verify if you have bad hardware, we suggest erasing everything and reinstalling your operating system. Doing this can help verify everything is clean on the computer and no other problems exist.
Bad hardware
If you have tried all of the above suggestions and still have not been able to get the Wi-Fi connection to work, it is likely that the Wi-Fi adapter or related hardware is defective. If you have a desktop with a wireless expansion card, we suggest replacing the expansion card. If you have a desktop with Wi-Fi built into the motherboard (on-board), we suggest checking any antenna cable and if verified to be okay, have the motherboard replaced. If you have a laptop, we suggest having the laptop serviced.
If you Wi-Fi is not working for multiple devices and you have done all of the above steps, it is more likely a problem with your router. We recommend that you consider replacing the router.
Workaround
If replacing hardware is not in the budget or you need a quicker solution, a workaround would be to connect a USB network adapter to the computer. These adapters are relatively cheap and can be installed quickly into the computer assuming nothing else is wrong with the computer. Once installed, you can use the USB network adapter for your Wi-Fi connection.
