Sometimes it may happen that there is no wireless Internet connection and router Wifi Network Not Showing Up On Laptop, despite the fact that it and the computer are turned on. In most cases, this is not a cause for concern. You can usually solve the problem yourself if you know what to do if the laptop does not see the router and cannot connect to it.
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Wifi Network Not Showing Up On Laptop
It so happens that after turning on a laptop or computer, it does not see any wireless networks. This situation can arise suddenly: in the previous day’s everything was fine, but now there is no Wi-Fi network. Possible causes of the problem will be listed here and recommendations for solving them will be given.
Causes of Wifi Network Not Showing Up On Laptop
If the laptop does not see the router and cannot connect to it, the reasons may be as follows:
- The Wi-Fi adapter is disabled.
- The driver is not working correctly or is missing.
- Conflicts in the operation of the operating system or individual applications.
- Technical malfunction of the wireless adapter or malfunction of the contacts.
Attention! In the latter case, it is necessary to repair or replace the unit. In the rest, you can take action yourself.
Check out What Is The Best Modem For Laptop Internet.
Fix for Wifi Network Not Showing Up On Laptop
The following will tell you what to do in each case considered.
In a laptop, you can enable or disable wireless access by pressing a key combination. You need to use both Fn and one of the function keys. Which one is needed is determined by the brand of the laptop. F2, F3, or F5 are often used. Usually, the key has a wireless icon.
Sometimes a switch on the case is used for this purpose. If Wi-Fi access is disabled, then the computer will not be able to see any wireless networks. In order for Internet access to work, you need to turn on the adapter.
Important! You need to make sure that the driver used by the system is working correctly. To do this, go to the control panel.
To do this, you need to follow these steps:
- On the desktop, click on the “Start” button.
- In the menu that appears, select the control panel.
- Then, in the section related to equipment, go to the device manager.
After that, select the section related to network adapters. The required line can be found by the presence of the words “Wi-Fi” or “Wireless”. We need to check if the icon at the beginning of the line has a small yellow triangle with an exclamation mark.
If it is missing, it means that the driver is working properly. If this symbol is present, the driver must be reinstalled.
To do this, you need to follow these steps:
- First, you need to uninstall the old driver on the laptop. To do this, right-click on the line. In the menu that appears, select the line “Delete”. The request for removal must be answered in the affirmative.
- Then you need to reinstall the driver. To do this, click on the “Update equipment configuration” button.
After that, you need to restart the laptop. The procedure described here will reinstall the existing driver. It will be better if you go to the website of the laptop manufacturer or Wi-Fi adapter card and download the latest version. In this case, you will need to use another electronic device to access the Internet. After downloading, you need to install the driver.
Some operating systems (Windows 8.1 or Windows 10) have Airplane or Energy Saving modes in which the laptop cannot see the network. If at least one of them is on, then the wireless connection will be blocked. Before using the wireless connection, you need to get out of them.
Internet access on a laptop is sometimes blocked by an antivirus program. In order to check for this reason, you need to turn off the antivirus program and check if the Wi-Fi network is available.
If the operating system is infected with a virus, the consequences can be dire. In particular, this can lead to the inability to access the World Wide Web. It is necessary to carry out treatment as soon as possible. The reason that the laptop does not see the network may be an unsuccessful system update. To fix this, you can use a restore point if it was previously created.
If cleaning from dust was carried out, then after that sometimes the laptop does not see Wai Fai. This is usually due to the fact that during the procedure, the Wi-Fi block was slightly shifted and electrical contacts were broken. To fix this, you need to reconnect the adapter. This can be done by contacting specialists or by disassembling the laptop yourself.
Check it out How To Connect Laptop To Internet Wireless.
The case when the laptop does not see specific network
Using a router allows you to share Wi-Fi with multiple devices at the same time. However, in order to take advantage of this, they must see and connect to the wireless network they created. Sometimes the laptop sees the networks existing in this place, but cannot find the one created by the router in them. Why the laptop does not see the Wi-Fi router and how to do this will be discussed further.
Possible reasons
The source of the problem could be a computer or router. There are possible reasons why the laptop does not see Wi-Fi:
- The laptop is far from the router and cannot receive a signal.
- The wrong channel is being used by the router.
- Your router settings do not allow you to communicate with your computer using Wi-Fi.
- Incorrect router operation. This could be due to its hardware malfunction or outdated firmware.
In each of these situations, it is possible to fix the problem yourself.
Solution to problem
A router has a limited range based on the strength of its signal. If there is a wall between it and the laptop, then this can become an obstacle to Wi-Fi reception. In this case, other wireless networks will be visible on the laptop, if they are in this place, but the one created by the router will be absent.
To access the Internet, you need to choose the right place for your laptop. To do this, it must be moved closer or positioned so that there are fewer obstacles for the signal to pass through.
Important! When buying a router, you need to choose such that the signal strength is sufficient to receive it throughout the apartment.
Wi-Fi can use two frequency bands: 2.4 and 5.0 GHz. In the first case, 13 channels are used (in some countries 11). This range is the most popular. One of its features is that if two networks operate in the same channel, then the quality of communication deteriorates sharply. In this case, access to the router may stop.
In order to remedy the situation, the channel used is switched. Most router models provide the ability to automatically select the most appropriate option upon reboot. This way you can restore wireless Internet access.
Another way to solve the problem is to change the settings of the router. To do this, do the following:
- Connect the router to a computer or laptop using a network cable.
- Launch a browser and enter the device’s IP address in the address bar. It is usually written on the router. For this purpose, most models use standard addresses.
- After the transition, a page for entering a password and login will open. These values are also indicated on the body of the device. Usually, “admin” is used as a login and password.
- When the settings open, you need to go to the section on wireless communication.
- Here in the drop-down list you can select a suitable channel number or indicate that the selection is made automatically.
When choosing a channel, you must either change its number, or indicate that the device should select in automatic mode. For this purpose, you can use special applications to assess their workload and switch to the most free one. Channel 10 or 11 are often the least used. On 12 and 13, some Wi-Fi modules work with difficulty, so their use is not always desirable.
In the 5.0 GHz frequency range, such problems do not arise due to the large number of channels available. However, it may not be used by all devices.
Sometimes the Internet is not available due to the fact that the Wai Fay parameters are incorrectly set. One of the possible options is an incorrectly installed encryption method. If different methods are used on the router and laptop, the connection will not be established. To fix this, you need to set this parameter in the router settings. This can be done on the same page where the channel is selected. Sometimes you need to change its width in the corresponding field.
Sometimes the name of the network is made too complicated and this does not allow you to enter it. In this case, it is recommended to change it in the settings, making it simpler.
For the router to work properly, you must install the latest firmware. Sometimes you can fix the problem by resetting the settings to factory defaults and reinstalling the necessary parameters.
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Windows 10 Wifi Network Problem
With this operating system, you need to control how the wireless driver works. To do this, go to the device manager and check if there is a yellow triangle with an exclamation mark on the adapter driver icon.
Reinstallation is carried out if necessary. It is important that the laptop is using the latest driver.
If during the configuration process you need to change the channel width, then you additionally need to change the region of use.
Conclusion
If in the process of work there comes a moment when access to Wi-Fi stops, it is necessary to determine the cause of what happened. In most cases, you can deal with this problem yourself. What to do if the laptop does not see WiFi – this is described in detail in the article.
