For a long time I couldn’t come up with a good title for this article, so that it would be clear what it was about, and so that you could easily find it if you have problems with Wi-Fi in Windows 10. Now we will try to figure out why there is no Wi-Fi button in Windows 10 Where to look for wireless network settings, how to turn on Wi-Fi and why this problem occurs. I'll tell you about the error "We couldn't find wireless devices on this computer" in Windows 10.
I’ll say right away that when you can’t find “Wi-Fi” on your laptop (no power button, no item in settings, etc.), then most likely you simply do not have the Wi-Fi driver installed, you do not have a Wi-Fi receiver, or it is turned off. Let's look into everything in detail.
The essence of the problem:
The whole problem is that we cannot connect to a Wi-Fi network on Windows 10. I already wrote. But, when we open the connection management window, there is simply no control button for the Wi-Fi adapter.
If we go to the settings, to the network parameters, we also won’t find the item there "Wi-Fi". And on the tab Airplane mode we will see the error highlighted "We couldn't find any wireless devices on this computer" .
This problem could mean that:
- Your computer simply does not physically have a Wi-Fi receiver. If you have a laptop, then it should have a built-in wireless adapter. On your computer, you can use an external Wi-Fi receiver. If you are absolutely sure that your computer has Wi-Fi (used before Windows installations 10, looked at the specifications, connected an external receiver, etc.), then you need to check other reasons.
- The driver for the Wi-Fi adapter is not installed. In some article I already wrote that Windows 10 itself installs the driver for wireless adapters. But not always. And these drivers do not always work as they should. Therefore, the most common reason for such problems with Wi-Fi in Windows 10 is the lack of a driver wireless adapter, or inappropriate driver.
- Well, it may be that The wireless network adapter is simply disabled. I just checked, turned it off, the “symptoms” of the problem are exactly the same as I described above.
One small nuance. You probably know that your laptop has a keyboard shortcut to turn wireless networks on and off. On my Asus, for example, these are the keys Fn+F2. In Windows 10, these keys are responsible for turning Airplane mode on and off. If you have an “airplane” icon on your notification panel instead of the Internet icon, then simply disable this mode using the keys on your laptop, or by clicking on the icon itself and turning off the “Airplane” mode.
In any case, you can check the keyboard shortcut on your laptop, maybe it will help. U different manufacturers, these combinations may be different. Typically, this is the Fn key + the antenna icon key.
Let's check and fix it.
No Wi-Fi on a Windows 10 laptop: problem solving
Let's first check whether the Wireless Network adapter is turned on, and if you don't have this adapter at all, then let's make sure that the problem is in the driver, or in the absence of this adapter in your computer at all.
Right-click on the Internet connection icon in the notification bar and open Network Control Center and shared access . In the new window, select Change adapter settings.
If you see an adapter there "Wireless network" (Or something like that), and it is disabled, then right-click on it and select Turn on. After this, Wi-Fi should appear on your laptop and you can connect to the wireless network.
If there is no “Wireless Network” adapter at all, then, as I wrote above, your computer most likely does not have a Wi-Fi driver installed. Or it is installed, but does not work stably.
Problems with the Wi-Fi adapter driver in Windows 10
We need to go to the device manager and see what's there. Is there a wireless adapter and how does it work? To do this, click on the menu Start and select .
At the bottom of the page go to device Manager.
In Device Manager, open the tab Network adapters . Usually there are two adapters: LAN - for connecting the Internet via a network cable (network card), and a wireless adapter. As a rule, the name of the wireless adapter contains the word "Wireless". This is what the Wi-Fi adapter looks like in Device Manager on my laptop:
As you can see, the name indicates the manufacturer and model. If you have the adapter in device manager and it is enabled (I showed how to check above), but you still can’t turn on Wi-Fi, then try updating the driver for your adapter. Or, try performing the operations with the adapter that I wrote about in the article.
If there is no driver, or the adapter itself is missing, then you won’t see it in the device manager either.
But, please note that if there is no adapter in the manager (and in a computer, laptop it is), then in the device manager there should be at least one "Unknown device", as in my screenshot. In this case, you need to try installing the driver for the Wireless adapter.
How to install or update the Wi-Fi adapter driver?
If you have a laptop, then go to the manufacturer’s official website, through the search, or through the menu, look for your model, there find the section with driver downloads, and look for the driver for the Wireless adapter. Please note that there will most likely be an option to select operating system. Select Windows 10. If there is no driver for Windows 10, you can try selecting Windows 8 (8.1). Also, the driver may be on a disk, which usually comes with the laptop. (but it’s unlikely there will be a driver for “ten”).
Save the driver to your computer and simply start installing it. If you downloaded the archive, then the archive should contain installation file, which you just need to run and follow the instructions. After installation, restart your laptop and try connecting to the Wi-Fi network (Wi-Fi must be turned on).
If you have a desktop computer with a USB/PCI adapter, then look for the driver on the website of the adapter manufacturer itself. According to the adapter model. Well, you should have a driver disk.
As for updating the driver, we do everything the same as in the case of installation: find it, download it to your computer, and install it.
And further...
By the way, after installing the driver on the wireless adapter, when it works, you can - a very useful thing.
Share your results in the comments, ask questions, and I will try to supplement this article with new information on solving this problem with Wi-Fi on the “top ten”.
On drive C I turned on the search and found the wireless LAN folder
C:\eSupport\eDriver\Software\WirelessLan\Qualcomm Atheros\WirelessLan\10.0.0.342\2886\
There are two files there: Setup. I started both of them and everything returned to normal.
If it helps anyone, thanks to Konstantin!
Update: WLAN Service
Check if the WLAN AutoConfig service is running on your computer. I showed how to do this.
Update: Windows Event Log Service
Appeared in the comments working solution, which is that you need to enable the "Log" service Windows events". Let's go to the services (you can press Win+R and run the command services.msc).
Find the Windows Event Log service and open its properties (by right-clicking on it). We check whether the startup type is set to “Automatic” and whether the service itself is running. If not, click on the “Run” button. You can try stopping it and starting it again.
Share your solutions in the comments! Ask questions.
After release new version software Microsoft's problems are growing like a snowball. And one of them is the absence of a Wi-Fi power button or settings, which leads to the error: “Wireless devices could not be found on this computer.” So, the topic of the article is solving the problem with the button, with the settings and enabling the wireless network in Windows 10. If the computer does not turn on wireless internet(there is no button, no settings, etc.), the problem lies either in the adapter or in Wi-Fi driver.
If the problem with the driver or adapter is resolved and the Internet is stable, you can turn your laptop or desktop computer into a router. Create a hot-spot (we already wrote about how to do this earlier) and distribute the Internet to peripheral devices - PCs, smartphones, tablets, ultrabooks.
Interesting advice received in the comments:
- Open system disk, for example, “C” and use search to find the “wireless LAN” folder.
- Go to: C:\eSupport\eDriver\Software\WirelessLan\Qualcomm Atheros\WirelessLan\10.0.0.342\2886\.
- There are two installation files there. Open both files and the problem will be solved.
When there is no reception of the Wifi network, and for this reason there is no access to it, this is logical. But when there is a wireless network, and WiFi button is missing in Windows 10 or 8, for example, after an update - this fact makes even experienced users nervous.
Let's look at the probable causes of the failure and find options for returning the button to access the Internet.
In Windows 10 and 8, for diagnostics you will have to deal with such issues as:
- network adapter;
- BIOS system;
- access restriction functions;
- availability of drivers;
- power supply stability;
- automatic hibernation mode.
Each reason can lead to the disappearance of the Wi-Fi button in the taskbar on a laptop or computer, but correct actions Everything will be restored quickly!
How to return the Wi-Fi button in Windows 10 and 8.1
To figure out the cause of the “breakage”, you will have to sequentially check each version and look at the final result. Anything would definitely help!
Network adapter - direct path to Wi-Fi!
Laptop owners need to make sure that the network adapter is turned on. How to do it?
Activate WiFi from the keyboard.
To do this, use a combination of two keys: “Fn” and the one where the wave-transmitting antenna (or airplane) is drawn. It could be F2, F10, F12 and even “PrtScr”.
So, wireless module It is there and works, but there is silence on the screen.
Keys for Wi-Fi
First of all, check in the settings Is your wireless Wi-Fi module working properly?.
The best way to do this is:
- In the address bar of any folder, type “ Control Panel" and press Enter;
- Go through " Network and Internet" in "Sharing and Network Center"».
- Choose " Change adapter settings»;
- Assess the status of the icon " Wireless network - enabled/disabled;
- We run network diagnostics. To do this, also in the Network Control Center, select the function “ Troubleshooting" The launched program will comprehensively check the functionality of the network adapter and, if errors are detected, will try to correct them.
There is also a faster way if there is a network connection symbol with a red x-error cross on the taskbar. Then you need to do the same thing, but go to the “Control Center” by right-clicking on the “no Internet” symbol. You can also launch Diagnostics using the same method.
If everything goes well, everything will return to normal automatically.
Checking network adapter drivers?
- For Windows 10 click “Search in Windows 10”, “Device Manager”, and in Windows 8 simply select “Options” from the side pop-up menu. Further the same: "Device Manager".
- In the manager, expand the tab "Network adapters" and view its contents. For Wi-Fi to work you need wireless device– in its name it will contain the word “Wireless”. If there is no “Wireless”, but there is some kind of “Unknown Device”, then with a high degree of probability this is the missing equipment.
It's up to the drivers. In the first case, update, in the second - install. To do this, on the website of the laptop manufacturer or the creator of the PC adapter, find a driver for the desired OS (Windows 10 or 8), download and install. It is better not to use third-party programs.
Some users find a simpler installation path helpful:
- On drive C, in the search, type wireless LAN.
- Find the Setup files there.
- Both run.
Still not solved? Let's go find out further.
Enabling Wi-Fi through the BIOS.
To access the BIOS, you will need to restart the computer and in the first 3-5 seconds after startup, activate the system with the button, which will be indicated by the inscription on the screen.
It looks something like this: “BIOS Setup”, “Press DEL to enter setup”. In this case, you need to press Del. In other options it could be Esc, Ins, F10, F2, F1.
In the BIOS, in the Configuration block, the option to use the built-in Wi-Fi must be enabled. That is, next to the words WireLess LAN support (or OnBoard Wireless LAN) the value should be “Enabled”.
What should I turn off to make Wi-Fi work?
Yes, yes, just disable it, since many modes and functions automatically block the operation of the wireless system and disable the Wi-Fi connection button.
The following will need checking:
- Airplane mode. It needs to be disabled. In the tray - click on the “airplane” icon. In “Settings” in “Wireless Networks” - by moving the slider.
- "Traffic monitoring", activated with third party programs. The installation of utilities is likely to fail, so it is better to completely remove this update.
- "Automatic hibernation". Since when exiting sleep mode, the Wi-Fi module sometimes continues to “sleep” until the device is rebooted, it is better to check this function. Check path: “Control Panel” - “System and Security” - “Power Options” - “Configuring the power plan” - “Advanced settings” - “Sleep” - “Hibernation”. Set the value to “Never”.
- Very rarely, but the reason for the disappearance of the Wi-Fi icon can be unstable power supply. The problem is solved by choosing “maximum performance”.
Still have a problem? Then the last way is to roll back Windows from the last restore point.
VIDEO REVIEW
If the button does not appear even after a rollback, then you need to look for a technician to thoroughly check the insides of your laptop. After all, one of the problems no WiFi button– breakdown network card. And here you can’t do without service!
If on a laptop after Windows reinstallation or just without any visible reasons Wi-Fi doesn't work, says no available connections and shows a red cross on the connection icon, the material below describes several possible reasons this problem and what to do to fix it.
About other problems with Wi-Fi connection:
There are no Wi-Fi connections available the next time you turn on the laptop
If you previously connected to wireless networks on the same laptop Wi-Fi networks, and now, without any action with the drivers, without reinstalling Windows, they suddenly write to you that there are no connections available, this usually means that for some reason the Wi-Fi adapter was turned off.
Here's what to look for to try to fix the problem:
In general, that's usually all possible options, which help fix the problem unless it is due to missing drivers, a recently reinstalled system, or some kind of hardware problem. If these options do not help, you can try the following solutions.
Just in case, also check if the Wi-Fi adapter was somehow accidentally disabled in Device Manager:
- Press the Win+R keys on your keyboard, type devmgmt.msc and press Enter.
- See if Wi-Fi is present in the “Network Adapters” section (It may contain the words “Wireless” or “Wi-Fi” in the name. Right-click on it and if there is an “Enable” item in the menu, click it (and if no, it is already turned on).
Wi-Fi does not work on a laptop after installing Windows 10, 8 or Windows 7
If the “no available connections” problem occurred to you after installing or reinstalling Windows (or you have simply never tried to connect to Wi-Fi from this laptop, which is almost the same thing), then the problem is almost guaranteed to be in the drivers, and, moreover, I am sure that if you have already looked for what to do if Wi-Fi does not work, then you have seen a mention of this reason, but few places mention that the problem may not only be in drivers not only for Wi-Fi, which will also be discussed.
So, the most important thing you should consider about Wi-Fi drivers is:
- Wi-Fi drivers for a laptop should be installed from the official website of the laptop manufacturer (the drivers are located there in the “support” section, as a rule) specifically for your model. If, for example, there are no drivers for Windows 10, you can install them for 8 or 7. If they are not installed, try installing in compatibility mode.
- If Device Manager for a Wi-Fi adapter reports that “The device is working normally”, but the driver does not need to be updated, this does not mean anything (i.e., in fact, the device may not be working normally, and the driver needs to be updated). We install the official driver anyway.
The most important. And now a subtle nuance regarding the operation of Wi-Fi on a laptop after reinstalling the system: if before reinstalling the OS on the laptop (on many models) you turn off the wireless network using a key on the keyboard (or Fn + key), then after installation, even with the original wireless drivers adapter, you will see a message stating that there are no connections available and a red cross on the connection icon - because the adapter is disabled from the point of view of Windows. And sometimes the same thing happens without first turning off Wi-Fi.
At the same time, it is the drivers and utilities for the operation of these keys that many people do not install, and they are not included in the driver packs.
Check if you have it installed easily - try using any of the function keys from the top row (except for sound and brightness - they may work like that). If they do not work, it is quite possible that this is the reason for the Wi-Fi not working.
The solution is to install all the necessary official utilities for your laptop model so that the function keys are in top row It worked on the laptop keyboard. And then turn on the adapter using the keys. Moreover, in some cases this is not the only utility, but a set of drivers and utilities from the manufacturer, so the best option is to install all the official drivers from the support page of your laptop.
As a rule, such official utilities are named in the spirit of: Hotkey Utility (Asus and Acer), Keyboard Driver, Launch Manager (Acer), Hotkey Features Integration (Lenovo) and the like.
Which, in turn, may require additional official utilities, such as, for example, HP Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) Support Environment and HP Software Framework for HP laptops (plus some of them may additionally require HP Wireless Button Driver to enable Wi-Fi), and for Lenovo laptops, the drivers for these keys are a whole package that includes System Interface Driver and other software.
So, we install the official drivers in order until the function keys work (in this case, the option is that the necessary drivers/utilities are only available for previous versions OSs that are initially installed on a laptop are very common, take note and try to install them), and after that we try to turn on Wi-Fi on the laptop.
Laptop owners usually use a wireless connection to access the Internet; fortunately, a Wi-Fi adapter is available on all laptop models without exception. However, to use it, sometimes you have to figure out how to turn on wifi on a laptop.
Hotkeys or hardware switch
The first step is to physically turn on the Wi-Fi adapter. On different models For laptops, this procedure is slightly different, but its meaning is the same: you need to find a hardware switch or use the function keys. Let's look at a few examples:
You can continue the options for turning on Wi-Fi for a long time, citing methods for MSI, Acer, Samsung and other brands. Even different series from the same manufacturer have different ways of activating the wireless module, therefore:
- Inspect the laptop case for a hardware switch or Wi-Fi power button.
- Examine the keyboard - one of the keys in the F1-F12 row should be marked with a wireless connection icon. If you press it together with the Fn button, the adapter will turn on or off.
If you have a laptop series Sony Vaio, then there may be neither a hardware key nor an Fn button on its keyboard. For Wi-Fi to work in this case, you need special utility VAIO Smart Network, which can be found on the manufacturer’s official website.
Fn button doesn't work
What to do if the Fn button does not work? How to turn on the adapter in this case? First you need to figure out why the key does not work. Fn operates under BIOS control and has its own utility, without which the key does not function. Therefore, if the button does not work, you first need to find the specific model laptop utility for enabling hot keys (the name should contain the word “HotKey”). 
If installing the utility did not help or the key is physically damaged, you will have to use an alternative method of turning on the adapter. On Windows 8 and Windows 10, to turn on the adapter, just click on the Wi-Fi icon in the notification panel and move the “Wireless network” slider to the active position. If the adapter drivers are installed correctly, then the icon must be there. 
There is no such function in Windows 7, but you can try to enable the wireless connection through the window for changing adapter settings (this is discussed below). If this method does not help, then you will have to look for an external keyboard with a working Fn key and then never turn off the Wi-Fi module.
Setting up Wi-Fi on different versions of Windows
You will figure out how to physically turn on the module quite quickly. Sometimes on this Wi-Fi setup ends: the system performs the remaining necessary actions independently, displaying a list of available wireless points. But sometimes you have to establish the connection manually.
Regardless Windows versions, first you need to check that the Wi-Fi module drivers were installed without errors:
To be sure, it’s better to go to the official website of the laptop manufacturer and find latest version wireless network module drivers for your model. In addition, right-click on the adapter and select “Enable” (if its operation is stopped).
Windows XP
In theory, Windows XP should have been discontinued a long time ago, but on some older Dell models and other laptops, the legendary system still continues to perform its functions. Wi-Fi in Windows environment XP is configured as follows:
There should be a Wireless Network Connection icon in the File Explorer window. Its presence demonstrates that the Wi-Fi module is working correctly. Right-click the icon and select Enable. Further:
If the list of available points does not include the network that your router distributes, click “Update list”. Then select the desired point by name and click “Connect”. If the network is password protected, you will be prompted to enter an access code, after which a connection will be established.
Windows 7
On Windows 7, the procedure for connecting to a wireless network has changed slightly, becoming a little easier. That's it available networks are displayed after clicking on the Wi-Fi icon in the system tray. But if there is no icon, then:
- Go to Network and Sharing Center.
- Click "Change adapter settings."
- Find your wireless connection and make sure it is turned on.
After turning on the wireless connection, the Wi-Fi icon will appear in the tray. Click on it to see a list of available points, select the network and click “Connect”.
Windows 8
On Windows 8, the procedure for connecting to Wi-Fi remains the same, but an Airplane mode has been added, which you need to know how to work with. If the adapter driver is installed and the wireless connection is working correctly, then in the notification panel you will see a Wi-Fi icon, when you click on it, a list of available networks appears.
If there is no icon, follow the same steps as on Windows 7 - open the “Change adapter settings” window and turn on the wireless connection. If there is no wireless connection itself, check the drivers and the status of the module - everything should be turned on and installed. 
If the adapter is turned on, the drivers are installed, but no available networks are detected, check that the Airplane mode icon is not hanging on the notification panel. If it is, you need to disable this mode. To do this, click on the icon and move the slider to the “Disabled” state.
Windows 10
On Windows 10, everything remains the same with a few minor changes, so you'll quickly figure out how to connect your laptop to Wi-Fi:
- Click on the wireless connection icon in the tray.
- Select the desired network.
- Click "Connect" and enter your password.
If the access point does not appear, try adjusting your network settings. Click on the link of the same name - the “Network and Internet” section will open Windows settings 10.
There are two tabs of interest here:
- Wi-Fi - Make sure your wireless network is turned on.
- Airplane mode - make sure the mode is turned off.
You can go to the section for changing adapter settings and enable the wireless connection. Simply put, on Windows 10 you have several equivalent options - you just need to choose the more convenient method for yourself.
