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Fix

WiFi missing on laptop

Step 1 of 3

Open quick settings

Press these two keys together. Make sure Airplane mode is off and Wi-Fi is on.

The simulation shows Windows in English, like most laptops.

  1. Open quick settings

    Press these two keys together. Make sure Airplane mode is off and Wi-Fi is on.

    WindowsA

  2. Restart the laptop

    Click Start, then the Power icon, then Restart.

    StartPowerRestart

  3. Still missing? Reset the network

    Open this menu and press Reset now. The laptop restarts by itself.

    SettingsNetwork & internetAdvanced network settingsNetwork reset
    Have your home WiFi password ready. You will need to enter it again after the reset.
Technician fixes (advanced)

The simple steps didn’t help? A technician would try these next, in this order. Stop as soon as the problem is fixed. Commands marked “as administrator”: right-click Start › Terminal (Admin).

  1. Check whether Windows sees the WiFi adapter

    If no adapter named Wi-Fi/Wireless appears, Windows can’t see the hardware at all (driver missing, disabled in BIOS, or hardware fault). If it appears but Status is Disabled, go to the next step. “There is no wireless interface” from netsh means the driver isn’t loaded.

    Get-NetAdapter | Select-Object Name, InterfaceDescription, Status
netsh wlan show drivers | findstr /i "Driver Vendor Version Radio"

  2. Turn the adapter and the WiFi service back on (as administrator)

    Use the exact name from the previous step if it isn’t “Wi-Fi”. WlanSvc (WLAN AutoConfig) is the service that shows WiFi networks; if it is stopped, the WiFi list disappears.

    Enable-NetAdapter -Name "Wi-Fi" -Confirm:$false
Restart-Service WlanSvc

  3. Show hidden devices in Device Manager

    Device Manager › View › Show hidden devices. A faded WiFi adapter means Windows lost it; right-click › Uninstall device, then Action › Scan for hardware changes. Also check Properties › Power Management and untick “Allow the computer to turn off this device”.

  4. Check the BIOS and the hardware

    Restart and press the BIOS key (often F2, F10, Del or Esc) at the logo. Look for Wireless/WLAN and make sure it is Enabled. To test the hardware, plug in a cheap USB WiFi adapter: if that works, the built-in WiFi card has failed and a shop can replace it (usually inexpensive).

    In the BIOS, change only the WiFi setting, then choose Save & Exit.
Technical details (for the curious)

Why the WiFi icon disappears

Windows only shows WiFi when there is an active WiFi adapter with the right driver. Check Device Manager › Network adapters: if the WiFi adapter (for example “Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201” or “Realtek RTL8821CE”) is missing, has a yellow mark or a down arrow, the problem is the driver or the adapter is disabled.

What Network reset does

It removes every network adapter, installs them again and puts network settings back to default. Saved WiFi passwords and VPNs are removed. It has the same effect as netsh winsock reset and netsh int ip reset.

Gone after sleep

Windows sometimes turns the adapter off to save battery and fails to wake it. In Device Manager › the WiFi adapter › Properties › Power Management, untick “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power”.

Coming soon

Still not fixed?

In the next update you can tell us what happened, and our AI helper will suggest another way. Until then, restart the device and go through the steps once more.