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If the laptop does not see Wi-Fi. Block Wi-Fi signal. Checking Wi-Fi on a laptop

We all sooner or later encounter a problem when our device (computer, tablet, laptop, smartphone) for some reason does not see the wifi network. It seems like we connected correctly and configured everything, but there are no available connections. Let's look at possible options for correcting this situation.

Why doesn't my laptop/computer see the WiFi network?

Let me note that there may be several reasons, and we will start with the primary one: the operation of the router itself. It is he who performs the main functions of the access point and provides us with a good connection signal. If there is a problem with your router, try rebooting it. If it is turned on and functioning normally, check its distance to the computer/laptop. Maybe it's the range that's keeping your device from working.

Check if Wi-Fi is turned on on your laptop. On the work panel at the bottom near the language switching there is a corresponding icon (if the networks are not displayed when you click on it, then Wi-Fi is still turned off).
If this is not the reason, we will have to check the operation of some systems of our laptop ⁄ computer (suitable for Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10).

Let's look at the possible reasons for the lack of network:

  1. your device simply does not see any of the Wi-Fi networks (they are not displayed as available) - let's call it error 1;
  2. your device sees neighboring Wi-Fi networks, but it doesn’t find yours - error 2.
  • A hardware error (i.e. network card error) pops up. In this case, your device does not see the wireless WiFi adapter because it is either broken or there is a problem with its drivers.
  • The network hardware driver is not installed (check the driver in the Device Manager tab, in the “Properties” folder). If necessary, install the driver or reinstall the software (from the disk or from the manufacturer’s website).
  • The wireless connection is turned off (check in the Network Control Center in the Wireless network tab or the Wireless network connection tab).
  • The Wi-Fi module does not work (in case of a malfunction, the module must be replaced).
  • Software failure or other problems (this may require the help of a specialist).

If you find out that your error 2, to fix it, use changing the Wi-Fi network channel.
This can be done quite simply through the Settings item on the Wireless tab. You can select the channel number 1-9, or you can select the Auto checkbox. After saving the settings, you will need to reboot the router.

System diagnostics

If you have tried all possible and impossible options, and nothing helps you, you can use such a feature as system diagnostics. Go to the Network and Control Center, select “Change adapter settings”. Find the wireless connection shortcut, right-click on it, select the “Diagnostics” line. After this, your laptop (computer) itself will try to find malfunctions and tell you how to fix them.

Why doesn't my Android smartphone see the WiFi network?

Both in the case of a laptop and in the case of an Android-based smartphone, there may be several reasons for the lack of visible Wi-Fi networks:
  • You are out of range of the router (sometimes you just need to move around the room to find the network).
  • An incorrect access password has been entered, network authentication (the problem can be solved by entering the correct password, taking into account the case, or by rebooting the smartphone).
  • The router freezes (the problem can be solved by rebooting the router).
  • Lack of support for router standards by the smartphone (see the instructions for the router).
  • A large number of connected devices (in the router settings you need to find the number of devices with which it can work and remove unnecessary ones).
  • Installing new applications (this situation is typical for some Android devices, try deleting the last saved programs).
  • Incorrect router settings (exact settings are entered in the router menu).
  • Broken router or smartphone.

Regular connection failures may indicate that the problem lies in the phone settings themselves. The solution may be a complete reset to factory settings. Typically, this will require you to go to Settings and open the Security tab. After rebooting the phone, try to find a new Wi-Fi network.

As you can see, there can be quite a few reasons for the lack of a Wi-Fi network, but the ones mentioned above are the most common and, in principle, should help.

Many users sooner or later encounter this problem. There may be various reasons why Wi-Fi on a laptop does not work. Perhaps you recently installed a new operating system, bought a new router or flashed an old one, etc.

In general, if you also find yourself in this situation, and you are unable to connect your laptop to a Wi-Fi network, then in this article we will look at several methods that should help you connect your laptop to Wi-Fi.

Let's start with the simplest - reboot the router. To do this, you need to unplug the power supply, wait 10 seconds and plug it back in. Then restart your operating system.

Network diagnostics

Do network diagnostics. Although many will be quite skeptical about this advice, sometimes it can also help. Right-click on the wireless network icon in the tray and select "Diagnosing problems". Windows will scan and if it finds a problem, it will suggest ways to solve it.

If after this, the laptop still does not see Wi-Fi, check Is the Wi-Fi adapter turned on on the laptop?.

Find the wireless network icon on one of the F1-F12 buttons, for me it’s F2. Also, on the button itself, near the power button or touchpad, there should be a light indicator that indicates that Wi-Fi is on. Specifically in my case, if Wi-Fi is turned off, the indicator light is on. To turn it on, press the combination Fn+F2.

You also need to check that the network card is enabled. To do this, right-click on the wireless network icon in the tray and select "Network and Sharing Center".

In the next window click "Change adapter settings".

If you have "Wireless Network Connection" highlighted in grey, right-click on it and select “Enable”.

After this, the icon should become colored. This indicates that the network adapter is enabled and the laptop can connect to the Wi-Fi network.

Checking drivers

Check your network adapter drivers. Click “Start” and write in the search bar "Device Manager" and follow the found link.

Expanding the list "Network adapters". The required adapter will be called something like: model name and “Wireless Network Adapter” (may be written Wi-Fi).

First you need to make sure it is turned on. Therefore, right-click on it, and if there is an item in the menu "Engage", click on it.

Now make sure that there is no yellow exclamation point or red cross near the adapter. If you have it as in the figure below, then everything is fine with the installed drivers. If you have one of the mentioned signs (in the picture I indicated with an arrow what it might look like), you need to install or update the drivers.

If your laptop came with a disk with drivers for installed devices, use it and reinstall the driver. If this does not help and the laptop still cannot connect to Wi-Fi, go to the official website of your laptop manufacturer, download the drivers for the network adapter from there and install them.

You can read about installing drivers in the article:.

Also, to update or install missing drivers, you can use the free Driver Pack Solution program.

Checking the WLAN AutoConfig Service

This service is responsible for wireless network adapters, and if it is not running, the adapters will be unavailable, and accordingly, the laptop will not be able to connect to Wi-Fi.

Go to the Start menu and write “Services” in the search bar. Let's move on to the relevant point.

Then we look in the list "WLAN AutoConfig Service", right-click on it and, if it is disabled, click “Run”.

Checking router settings

Router settings can go wrong, and not always through the user’s fault. Perhaps the network access password was simply changed.

If your wireless network icon is muted and has a yellow star next to it, click on it with the mouse, select the network and try to connect to it, after finding out if the access password has changed. This may be the reason.

Now let's go to the router settings. There is already a detailed article on this topic on the website; by clicking on the link, you can read it.

If, for some reason, they are lost for you, you need to adjust them. In my case, you need to follow the link "Wireless Network Settings Wizard". You may have slightly different menu items, it all depends on the router model, but you need to do the same.

Make sure you have a check mark in the box "Enable wireless connection".

Also pay attention to the network information section (LAN). You may need to change the settings here according to your provider.

I hope that at least one of the tips helped you solve the question: why the laptop does not connect to Wi-Fi, and now your device is successfully connected to the network.

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Webmaster. Higher education with a degree in Information Security. Author of most articles and computer literacy lessons

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    Discussion: 13 comments

    I tried everything to connect to the network after the children stumbled on something on the computer... And this article...... It wasn’t even an article, but a picture that helped solve the problem for a teapot like me.. All I had to do was press two buttons to connect to the F5/Fn router and everything worked….

    Answer

    Hello, a user’s comment helped me, attach it to the article because I’m probably not the only one, this is what he writes
    SALEX 12/03/2017 at 00:00 I tried everything: there is firewood, and Wi-Fi is on, and everything is fine in the device manager, but the network is gone. In the end I found a way out: “You go into the control panel, find equipment and sound , it has the title “Configuring default mobility settings”, you go there, the “Windows Mobility Center” window appears, in the Wireless network column you need to activate the “Connect a wireless network” button and the connection with the router will immediately appear. After connecting, enter the password and enjoy. Good luck."

Sometimes laptop users are faced with the fact that the equipment stops seeing the Wi-Fi network. There could be several reasons for this problem. They are hidden either in the device itself or in the router.

Let's find out if there are problems with the router

First of all, you need to check if there is a problem with the router. To do this, you will need an additional device, such as a smartphone. Try to find a network with it. If the equipment connects to Wi-Fi and accesses the Internet without problems, then the problem is solely in the computer. If other devices also do not see the network, you need to repair the router. There are several ways.

Reboot

Turn off and on the router using the button, usually located on the back of the case. This will restart all processes running by it. Once it boots up again, try searching for a network.

By pressing the button on the back of the case, you can reboot the router

Reset settings

Perhaps the router settings have gone wrong for some reason. The easiest way to restore them is to reset the settings to default values. To do this, press the Reset button on the back panel of the router for 10–15 seconds. When the icons start blinking, the router will reboot. You can release the button - the settings are reset. Check again if the network is working.

Clicking the Reset button will reset the router settings

Resetting

After resetting the settings, all parameters must be reset:


Also try connecting the LAN cable or modem directly to the computer, thereby checking whether it works or not. Maybe the Internet is not paid for or there are problems on the operator’s side. If this is the case, then the problem should not be solved with the computer or router.

Change channel

If there are several devices connected to a Wi-Fi network at home, it is quite possible that their frequencies overlap. Therefore, it is worth trying to change the settings. Go to the Wireless Setting section and set a new value for the Channel parameter.

Set the Channel parameter to a different value to avoid network conflicts

Solving laptop problems

If the problem with the network occurs exclusively on the laptop, then you need to check whether the Wi-Fi adapter is activated and whether the necessary drivers are installed.

Please note that if you do not have a Wi-Fi settings section, this may indicate that this module is not included in your laptop and is not capable of receiving a wireless signal. In this case, you will have to purchase an external receiving device separately.

Module activation

It is possible that the adapter responsible for working with Wi-Fi is deactivated. There are several ways to enable it. See if there is a special button on the laptop case with a signal icon. Just click on it to activate the module. Also inspect the F1-F12 keys, one of them should turn the adapter on and off. Often the default combination is Fn+F5.

Photo gallery: module activation using buttons

To turn on the Wi-Fi adapter, try pressing the Fn+F5 combination. The button to turn on the Wi-Fi adapter can be located on the laptop keyboard. You can turn on the Wi-Fi module on some laptops using the button on the case

Activating the module using Windows

The module can also be enabled through the system parameters:


After that, try connecting to the network again.

Checking drivers

Drivers are required for computer components to function correctly. Initially, they are installed automatically, but over time they may no longer be relevant, so it is worth installing them again manually:

  1. Expand Device Manager. You can find it using the system search bar.

    You can find the device manager using the search bar

  2. A list of all devices connected to the computer will be displayed. Find your wireless adapter (if there is more than one, follow the steps below for each), select it, and proceed to update the drivers.

    Select the adapter and click the “Update drivers” button

  3. By the name of the adapter, find the latest version of drivers for it on the Internet. It is recommended to download drivers only from the manufacturer's official website.

    It’s safest to download drivers from the router manufacturer’s website.

  4. After downloading the drivers to your computer's memory, return to the installation procedure and select manual search.

    Select the option “Search for drivers on this computer”

  5. Specify the path to the previously downloaded file and wait until the installation completes. Then restart your computer for the changes to take effect and check if Wi-Fi is working.

    Specify the path to the driver file

Video: what to do if the laptop does not see Wi-Fi

What to do if nothing helps

If you have completed all the steps described above, but Internet access still does not appear, there is only one option left - the Wi-Fi module is broken. You won’t be able to fix it yourself; you’ll have to contact a service center to have specialists take care of it. If the warranty period has not yet expired, assistance will be provided free of charge.

Thus, the laptop may not connect to the network for two reasons: the router is not functioning correctly or the Wi-Fi module is not working. To fix the router, you need to reboot or reset its settings. For the module to work, you need to enable it and install the drivers.

All laptop owners, sooner or later, may encounter the fact that the laptop does not see wifi. The difficulty is, in principle, common, and some of the solutions will help any wireless network users. The article will give a complete answer to the question of what to do if the laptop does not see the wifi network. Let's consider what reasons can lead to such consequences, how to deal with the difficulty that has arisen, and the nuances of eliminating it on various platforms.

The case when the laptop does not see Wi-Fi networks at all

In such cases, when you turn it on, you do not detect wireless networks as such. In the “tray” (the space that, according to default settings, is located in the lower right corner and is presented as a line with notes), instead of the connection icon you will see a red cross. It is also possible that the icon will be standard, but the computer does not see Wi-Fi, and you are sure that there are wireless networks within the radius of the receiver (easy to check using a phone or other device with a Wi-Fi adapter). The difficulty is obvious, and in another case, you would have to call a specialist, but after reading this article you will be able to solve such a problem yourself.

Causes

  • The most common reason why a laptop does not see WiFi is that the laptop’s wireless adapter is turned off. Often it is accidentally turned off manually, although there are cases when this happens due to the fault of the installed software. It can be turned off systemically, by a combination of buttons on the keyboard or in the wireless networks menu. It is also possible to physically turn it off using a button on the laptop body.
  • A possible reason for the difficulty is the absence or incorrect installation of network card drivers, installation of the wrong version of software (Software) for the network card, or installation failure.
  • The reason that the laptop has stopped seeing the network is the lack of active wireless networks within the range of the device.

Remedies

The case when the laptop does not see a specific network

The difficulty when your laptop does not see WiFi is also solved. Let’s say the device does not find the router’s network, but sees signals from a neighboring office or building without difficulty. This difficulty is puzzling, especially if you look for a solution in a laptop (the fault is not always located in the computer; sometimes Wi-Fi does not connect due to third-party reasons).

Possible reasons

The reason that the laptop does not find a specific network is very often (in about 85% of cases) one. Due to the fact that wireless networks have become a very dense part of our lives, often in large cities there are about 10 Internet distributing routers per reception signal. Each new access point that appears is looking for a free range. In the settings of wireless networks, for the most part, automatic range search is set. When you turn on the laptop, it does not find WiFi because it accidentally tuned into the range of a neighboring WiFi connection.

Solution

Nuances on Windows 10

  • If your laptop with Windows 10 installed does not see Wi-Fi, try changing the network name along with the channel width (as written in the instructions above), or as this option was described in the “SSID” interface. Change the “Region” in the same settings window.
  • One of the frequent difficulties on the “tens” is the drivers. Be sure to check them and reinstall them just in case. In this operating system Wireless adapters often fail due to incorrect operation of drivers.