If your video stream is buffering, or Google Docs stopped syncing, or if you just find yourself staring at the no internet screen on chrome, then chances are your laptop is not connected to WiFi.
We get it, it’s frustrating.
Your entire workflow might get abruptly interrupted, or you would have to pause your Netflix binge. It’s a complete downer.
But don’t worry, I got you.
There are a couple of ways you can troubleshoot your laptop to see why exactly your laptop is not connecting to WiFi. By this end, I am sure you will get this issue resolved!
Before we begin, I will split this troubleshooting process into steps. First, we will troubleshoot your home network and make sure there aren’t any issues on the router/ISP end.
There is a possibility that your laptop may not be at fault here, and your router might be the issue. But if everything looks fine on your home network, then we will move on to the second step. That is, troubleshooting your laptop.
Troubleshooting your Home Network
Okay so here we are going to check your WiFi router in a couple of ways and see if it works for you. If you are sure that your internet is working fine and that there are absolutely no issues here, you may skip this step. However, we still advise reading through this entire section just so you are educated if a similar problem arises in the future.
Check if other devices can access the Internet
This one is a pretty basic step. If your laptop cannot connect to your WiFi, there might be a slight chance that your WiFi devices in your home are not working too.
Check other computers, phones, Smart TVs, etc to see if they can connect to the internet, if these devices can connect to the internet and work properly, then we have identified that the issue is specifically happening with your laptop.
However, if you find out that other devices in your house can also not connect to the internet, your internet connection is at fault here. Before contacting your ISP, we advise you to try our next step.
Restart your WiFi Router
Most things can be fixed with a simple restart, and that certainly includes WiFi routers too.
Follow these simple steps to reboot your router:
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Go to your WiFi router and unplug the power adapter
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Wait for about 30 seconds
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Plug the power adapter back in and wait for your router to boot up
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Check your devices
Your laptop should automatically connect to your WiFi router at this point, along with other devices in your home.
But despite this, if none of your devices can get internet access, then we advise you to contact your Internet Service Provider(ISP).
However, if your laptop is still the sole device in your home that cannot connect to your WiFi network, then we can move on to the next step.
Bring your Laptop closer to your WiFi Router
Your laptop might have trouble connecting to WiFi if it’s getting weak WiFi signals. The best way to diagnose this is by moving your laptop closer to your WiFi Router.
If you discover that doing so leads to your laptop regaining its WIFi connection, then poor WiFi signal strength is at fault here.
So it’s quite possible that you lost your WiFi connection on your laptop the moment you moved to a place in your house where there is weak WiFi signal coverage.
You can easily resolve this issue by getting a WiFi repeater/extender which boosts your WiFi signal coverage and allows you to get a stable connection in rooms where there are potential dead zones.
If you still find yourself without a WiFi connection after going through this step, then we suggest moving on to the next step where we start troubleshooting the laptop itself.
Troubleshooting your Laptop
Try opening a different website
It’s quite possible that the website you are trying to visit is down, which may lead you to think that your WiFi is not working.
An easy way to check if this is the case is by opening different websites on a new tab. If those websites are working completely fine.
Then the issue is most likely with the website you are trying to visit rather than your laptop’s WiFi connection.
If the issue persists, we can move on to the next step.
Is your WiFi on?
There is a chance that you might have accidentally turned off WiFi by misclicking something or by accidentally hitting a button. And hey, that’s okay, it happens to the best of us.
Your laptop might have a physical button that turns your wireless comms on or off. If that button is amber, then your WiFi is most likely turned off. Simply press that button, and all the wireless comms on your laptop will be on.
There’s another way you can turn on WiFi on Windows:
Go to the bottom right side of your taskbar and click on the Globe icon.
Click on the WiFi button.
This issue can also arise if you accidentally turn on the Aeroplane mode. To turn that off, you would have to do the following:
Go to the bottom right side of your taskbar
Click on the Notifications icon.
There, you should see some quick action tiles. If you don’t see the Aeroplane mode tile, click on Expand.
Click on Aeroplane mode and turn it off if it’s on
This should simply turn on WiFi on your laptop, and you should be connected in no time.
However, if the issue persists, move on to the next step.
Is your laptop trying to connect to a different WiFi network?
Your laptop may be trying to connect to a WiFi network that somehow shares the same SSID but has a different password.
This could happen if people in multiple places have WiFi SSIDs that are the same. This could happen if someone does not change their default WiFi router SSID when setting it up.
I would like to explain this in a simple scenario. Let’s assume you went to a cafe and connected to their WiFi network with the following name “TP-LINK-WR740N”.
After you connect to that network, your laptop will save the WiFi network details so that it can auto-connect the next time you visit the cafe. Later on, when you return home, you find that your laptop is trying to connect to a network named “TP-LINK-WR740N” but cannot do so.
This could happen if someone in your neighborhood also has the same WiFi router but didn’t bother setting up a different network name.
The solution to that would be manually selecting your home network by going onto the WiFi settings of your laptop and choosing your WiFi network.
And if you find that your laptop is still trying to connect to that network, then simply click on that network and click on forget.
If this isn’t the issue you are facing, you may move on to the next step.
Forget and reconnect to your home WiFi network.
This is another simple trick that works most of the time. Forgetting your WiFi network from your laptop and reconnecting it works like a charm when your laptop is not connecting to WiFi.
Here’s what you need to do:
Step 1: Go to the bottom right side of the taskbar and click on the Globe Icon.
Step 2: Select the WiFi network you want to connect to and right-click on it
Step 3: Click on ‘Forget’
Step 4: Select the WiFi network you want to connect to, tick the ‘connect automatically’ box, and enter your password.
Step 5: Click on ‘Yes’ if you want your laptop to be discoverable on your home network.
And voila! You should be connected.
If still, for some reason, you cannot connect to your WiFi network, then don’t worry; we still have a couple of things to try.
Reboot your Laptop
Like almost everything, this issue could be resolved with a simple restart.
Though it’s quite easy, and you might already know how to do it, we are still going to walk you through it:
Step 1: Close everything you have opened, any chrome tabs or apps, etc.
Step 2: Go to the start menu.
Step 3: Click on the power button and press restart.
Step 4: Wait for your laptop to restart.
Step 5: Check if your WiFi is now connected.
This should resolve the issue. However, if you can still not connect to the internet, here are a couple of things you can still try.
Uninstall your Laptop’s WiFi Driver
Sometimes, your laptop might have trouble connecting to WiFi if your current WiFi drivers are having compatibility issues with the latest Windows Update.
Here’s how you can fix this:
Step 1: Click the Start button or press the Win key on your keyboard.
Step 2: Type ‘Device Manager’ and click on it.
Step 3: Click on Network Adapters.
Step 4: Select your WiFi network card, right-click on it, and click uninstall the driver.
Step5: After that, restart your laptop.
If this doesn’t fix your issue, move on to the next step.
Update your Laptop’s WiFi Driver
Another way you can resolve the WiFi driver issue is by installing an updated driver for your laptop.
You can find the latest drivers for your laptop by searching for your laptop model no along with the word network drivers.
Now I know you must be wondering, “how can I search for drivers online if I am not connected to the internet?” Yes, you are correct. So you would need a computer, whether a laptop or a computer with a working internet connection.
After you get your hands on that device, go on Google and search for your laptop’s drivers and download them, and use a USB flash drive to transfer it to the laptop with the driver issue.
After transferring the driver, install it and restart your laptop. Your WiFi should be working now.
If this still doesn’t work, there is still one more thing you can try.
Run the Windows Troubleshooter
Windows Troubleshooter can also be extremely helpful when your laptop is not connecting to WiFi. Simply do the following:
Step 1: Go to the bottom right and right-click on the globe icon.
Step 2: Click on ‘Troubleshoot Problems’
Step 3: After the Troubleshooter opens, select the WiFi Adapter you want to troubleshoot.
Step 4: Wait for the Troubleshooter to resolve the issues.
At this point, your laptop should connect to your WiFI network, and you should be good to go.
Faulty WiFi Network Adapter
If your laptop is still not connecting to WiFi after going through all the troubleshooting procedures, your laptop’s WiFi Network Adapter may have gone bad.
The only solution would be to order a replacement WiFi Network Adapter. You can replace the internal WiFi adapter by opening your laptop or replacing the faulty network laptop.
Or if you don’t feel comfortable opening up your laptop, you could buy an external USB WiFi adapter that is easy to install in a free USB port on your laptop. But remember that one USB port would be occupied, so you won’t be able to earn any other accessories.
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