How to fix laptop not connecting to WiFi, fix laptop not receiving WiFi

If you can’t open new web pages, send emails, or play web videos, chances are your laptop isn’t connected to your WiFi network. There’s nothing more frustrating than a laptop that won’t connect to your WiFi network, especially when you want to get some work done online. This is a common problem with Windows laptops, and fortunately, it’s not hard to fix.

If your laptop cannot connect to WiFi, you can try the following methods to fix this problem. 

Fix laptop not catching WiFi

• 1. Restart your laptop or restart your WiFi router
• 2. Check if WiFi is off, airplane mode is on?
• 3. Check network settings in Control Panel
• 4. Delete WiFi network and reconnect
• 5. Reinstall Wireless Network Adapter Driver
• 6. Refresh IP address
• 7. Assign a static IP address
• 8. Turn off battery saving mode
• 9. Scan the entire computer for viruses
• 10. Disable VPN and other software
• 11. Adjust WiFi location
• 12. Reinstall Windows on your computer

There are many reasons why your laptop won’t connect to WiFi, and there are many ways to fix it. First, find out if the problem is with your WiFi network or your laptop. Make sure WiFi is turned on on your laptop. Connect another device to the WiFi network. If another device connects to the WiFi network, you will have to troubleshoot the laptop. If the WiFi won’t connect to your laptop, then the problem is with the network and you will have to troubleshoot the connection.

1. Restart your laptop or restart your WiFi router

The first solution WebTech360 offers is to restart your laptop or WiFi transmitter (router). You should always think of this method first whenever you encounter an error on your computer, because it solves many small errors. The reason is because sometimes the computer operates for a long time, causing file errors, or software conflicts while in use.

The same goes for WiFi routers, which may have been experiencing minor issues over time. Unplug the power for a few minutes and then plug it back in to see if that fixes the problem. You can also try connecting to a different frequency band. Dual-band WiFi routers display two different network names for the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. If you are connected to one network and have no internet connection, you can try connecting to the other network.

If it doesn't work, follow the next solutions.

2. Check if WiFi is off, airplane mode is on?

First, check if your WiFi is turned on. To make sure, select the “No internet connection” icon at the bottom right of the screen and turn WiFi on.

On laptops, there is usually a quick WiFi on/off button, usually located with the Fn keys . You may accidentally press that button, causing the laptop to not be able to access WiFi. Press the WiFi on/off button on the keyboard and see if the laptop has caught WiFi yet?

On Windows 10, you can enable airplane mode to quickly disconnect all connections when needed or when using it on a plane. Try checking to see if airplane mode is on on your laptop, by clicking on the notification center, and checking for the airplane mode icon.

Airplane mode is a setting found on most mobile electronic devices — like phones, tablets, and laptops — that disables wireless transmitters like cellular radios and WiFi on the device.

Depending on the manufacturer, Airplane Mode may also turn off Bluetooth and GPS. The main purpose behind this feature is to eliminate the possibility of radio interference with critical systems on commercial aircraft. But there are a few other reasons why you might need to use it from time to time.

On a Windows laptop, click the WiFi signal indicator to see and turn on the airplane mode button. Airplane mode will disable WiFi signals. Depending on your device, airplane mode may also disable Bluetooth and GPS.

Manufacturers typically don't disable Bluetooth because the range is so short and you're allowed to use Bluetooth devices like headsets and keyboards on commercial flights. And there's no practical reason why some manufacturers disable GPS, because GPS isn't transmitting at all; it's simply receiving and processing signals from satellites.

While airplane mode turns off all those individual radios, you can still selectively turn specific wireless features back on even when airplane mode is on. For example, if you're on a commercial flight with WiFi, you can turn WiFi back on.

3. Check network settings in Control Panel

Go to Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center > Change adapter settings > find WiFi network.

If you see it grayed out, right-click on it and select Enable to turn the WiFi network back on.

Also, if the WiFi network is red, you can try right-clicking on it, selecting Disable , wait a bit, then right-click again and select Enable again, sometimes this can be helpful.

4. Delete WiFi network and reconnect

This method is often applied when your WiFi connection has a yellow exclamation mark or is limited.

Step 1: Click on the WiFi icon in the lower right corner of the Taskbar to open the list of WiFi networks.

Step 2: From the list above, identify the WiFi you want to delete and right-click on it. In the menu that appears, click Forget to forget/delete this network.

Step 3: That WiFi will be immediately removed from your computer. Now click on the WiFi icon and reconnect.

Step 4 : Now check if there are any errors!

Note : Try checking the list of available WiFi networks and see if any other trusted network shows up on the list. If it does, connect to it. If it shows “Connected” then disconnect and reconnect to the network you want.

5. Reinstall Wireless Network Adapter Driver

Reinstalling the network driver will clear the registry and reset all existing wireless configurations, which may help your laptop access the Internet via WiFi again. Here's how to reinstall your Wireless Network Adapter Driver

To do this, you will need to use Windows Device Manager to uninstall the wireless adapter before installing the driver.

1. Click Start , then type Device Manager in the search box.

2. Double-click Device Manager to select it.

3. Double-click Network Adapters

4. If you have multiple adapters, a drop-down menu will appear listing all of them. Right-click on your WiFi Adapter and select Uninstall.

5. The Confirm Device Uninstall screen will appear. Click OK. Wait for the uninstallation to complete. Make sure that the wireless adapter's name is no longer displayed in the Network Adapters list .

6. On the Device Manager window , click Action. You can find the Action tab at the top between the File and View tabs . Select Scan For Hardware Changes from the drop-down menu.

7. The computer will reinstall the WiFi adapter and you will be able to see its name again.

8. Close all windows and restart your computer.

9. Try reconnecting to WiFi. If the problem persists, read on.

6. Refresh IP address

Some cases that cause the error of not being able to connect to WiFi on your laptop are due to your device's IP address conflict. In this case, you should refresh the IP, change to another IP range to fix the error. Here's how:

Step 1: Open Command Prompt, first enter it cmdin the Search Start Menu box or on the Taskbar, then right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.

If you use Windows 10 with the latest versions, the Run as administrator button will appear as soon as you search for Command Prompt.

Click Yes if the User Account Control message appears on the screen.

Step 2: On the Command Prompt window , enter the command below and press Enter to delete the old IP that is causing the error:

ipconfig /release

Step 3: Type the following command to let the computer receive the new IP range:

ipconfig /renew

Step 4: Restart your computer to let the system record the changes.

7. Assign a static IP address

It is still a problem due to IP conflict, the same address with another device in the LAN, this will cause one of the two computers to lose the network or both. So you should try assigning a static IP address to your network.

Quantrimang.com has an article on how to change static IP for your computer, you can refer to it here: How to assign a static IP address in Windows 7, 8, 10, XP or Vista

8. Turn off battery saving mode

Battery saving mode on computers has also been found to be one of the reasons why computers cannot connect to WiFi on laptops. Therefore, try turning off this mode to see if it fixes the problem.

Step 1: Open the Run command window by pressing the Windows+ key combination R.

Step 2: Here you enter the following command and click OK.

ncpa.cpl

Step 3: The Network Connection window appears on the screen . Here, right-click on the WiFi you are using and select the Properties option.

Step 4: At the Client for Microsoft Networks line , click Configure...

Switch to the Power Management tab and make sure Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power is unchecked.

Step 5: Click OK and close Wi-Fi Properties.

If WiFi is still disconnected, please continue with the solution below.

9. Scan the entire computer for viruses

This is considered the most common reason for not being able to connect to WiFi on a laptop. The main reason is that you access websites containing malicious code and use unsafe cracked software but do not have an anti-virus program to protect your computer.

You can fix this by using a reliable antivirus program to scan your entire system.

Refer to the list of the best antivirus software at: Best antivirus software for Windows today .

10. Disable VPN and other software

If you have checked everything else and still haven’t found a solution, there is one more thing to consider. It is possible that one of the software you are running on your device is preventing your laptop from successfully connecting to WiFi.

As mentioned before, VPN or Virtual Private Network is a pretty typical culprit in this case, as it changes your IP address.

Using a VPN on your PC has many advantages, but it also comes with its own set of problems. While these problems are not very common, they can be annoying and difficult to fix at times. One of the most common problems users face is Wi-Fi disconnection when turning on a VPN. According to many users, as soon as the VPN is turned on on their PC, the Internet connection automatically stops working.

Enabling a VPN can affect various settings on your PC, so you can never be sure exactly what's causing it. Here are some possible scenarios:

• You are disconnected from the WiFi network you are connected to. Just go ahead and reconnect to the WiFi network and the problem will be fixed.
• Once the VPN is enabled, your PC’s WiFi card will automatically be disabled. Here again, you can try to reconnect to your WiFi network by simply re-enabling your wireless card manually. There is usually a keyboard shortcut that will help you do this.
• You cannot access the Internet after turning on VPN, even though your PC is connected to a WiFi network.

Now, you can easily reconnect to Wi Fi in some cases, but sometimes, you will need to try multiple solutions to get your Internet connection back. Try the solutions detailed in the following article: How to fix the error of not being able to connect to the Internet after connecting to a VPN .

But VPNs aren't the only software that can cause problems.

Another potential culprit in this case is your antivirus software or firewall . If you set strict rules, this can even prevent your device from accessing the wireless network.

Temporarily disable your VPN, antivirus, or firewall to see if this fixes your problem. If it turns out that one of these is the cause, you may want to consider using alternative options or using the operating system’s built-in tools. Quantrimang.com has a few suggestions for you to consider:

• Top free antivirus software for Windows
• 13 best VPN software today
• 11 best free firewall software

11. Adjust WiFi location

It is quite common to have a strong WiFi signal in the living room but lose it when moving to another room. There are many reasons, cordless phones and devices using the 2.4GHz band can cause interference.

Also, mirrors in the room can be a cause. So, check the objects next to the computer, check the external antenna of the router, and also check for firmware updates for the router.

12. Reinstall Windows on your computer

If none of the above fixes work, you may need to reinstall Windows to fix the problem. Rest assured that this solution will not cause any data loss on your computer. However, to be on the safe side, you should still copy the contents of the folders and transfer them to an external hard drive.

This process will reset all PC settings, it's like a factory reset except it will keep your files.

You can refer to how to do it here: Reset Windows 10 to its original state

Besides, it may also be due to some browser errors, so try with all browsers on your computer. A faulty WiFi card is also a reason why the computer loses network. At that time, you should take your laptop to the store for repair and replacement.

One of the most frustrating things you can deal with is your laptop not being able to connect to WiFi. This is true whether you are at home or in public.

There is a good chance that an easy solution can fix your problem, and in most cases, resetting both your laptop and router is a quick fix. However, in some cases, you may need to do more than that to fix the problem.

Above are some ways to fix the error of laptop not connecting to WiFi. If there is any more effective way, please share with WebTech360 by commenting below the article.

Good luck!