Wifi not working on phone but working on other devices

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• December 24: 7:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
• December 25: 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
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Bummer. Our schedules aren’t aligned.

• December 24: 7:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
• December 25: 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
• December 31: 7:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
• January 1st: 7:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.

In the meantime, why not leave us a message on your favorite channel below? We’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Explore the most useful methods created by our experts

by Aleksandar Ognjanovic

Aleksandar's main passion is technology. With a solid writing background, he is determined to bring the bleeding edge to the common user. With a keen eye, he always... read more

Published on August 16, 2022

Reviewed by Vlad Turiceanu

Passionate about technology, Windows, and everything that has a power button, he spent most of his time developing new skills and learning more about the tech world. Coming... read more

• If your Wi-Fi isn't working on your laptop, there might be issues with its drivers or settings.
• You can quickly fix the laptop Wi-Fi not working by restarting your router and laptop.
• Run the Windows troubleshooter, let your OS find the cause, and remedy the issue.

XINSTALL BY CLICKING THE DOWNLOAD FILE

Even with its stability and downsides, Wi-Fi is the most common way to browse the internet without being physically connected to the router.

Thus, the laptop is a valuable asset compared to a desktop PC. However, wireless enables you to move freely; connectivity issues are more prone.

And more than a few users reported that they could not connect to a Wi-Fi network with their laptops.

To eliminate the overall connection issues, they stated that every other device could connect (handheld devices mostly), with the laptop being the only exception.

For that purpose, we prepared a detailed list of various solutions and workarounds that should help you address this problem. Make sure to check them out below.

Why is my laptop Wi-Fi card not working?

If your Wi-Fi isn’t working, you may have some wireless adapter issues, so we encourage you to inspect your adapter settings and ensure everything is configured correctly.

One way to test it is to try to access your router settings page, but many reported that the Wi-Fi adapter wouldn’t connect to the router. This can be due to your drivers, so ensure they are up to date.

We explored this issue in depth in our Wi-Fi adapter not working guide, so we encourage you to visit it for more solutions.

What can I do if Wi-Fi is not working on my laptop?

1. Restart your equipment and laptop

Let’s start with the elementary troubleshooting steps. Restarting your router, modem, and laptop should always be a priority.

The IP conflict isn’t uncommon, mainly if you use more than a few devices for accessing the internet via a single router. Then, two of them get the same IP assigned, and the issues start.

In addition, there’s always the possibility of a stall within the system, so restarting the laptop is highly recommended.

Restarting your equipment will clear up the possible stall. Firstly, try using the LAN, wired connection. Next, restart your modem and router if the problem concerns only the Wi-Fi connection.

Power them off and wait for some time before turning them on again. Also, don’t forget about the physical switch or the function button (FN on the keyboard).

If you disabled Wi-Fi by accident, make sure to re-enable it accordingly.

2. Reinstall the network drivers

2.1 Uninstall the network driver

1. Right-click on the Start button and open Device Manager.
2. Navigate to Network adapters.
3. Right-click on the Wi-Fi device and click the Uninstall device option.
   
4. Restart your PC.

We can’t try to address network-related issues and skip on drivers in the process. There are various ways to get proper drivers for network adapters.

In Windows 10, drivers have been mostly installed automatically through Windows Update. Unfortunately, these generically applied drivers aren’t always the best for the job.

On the other hand, if you’ve upgraded from Windows 7 to Windows 10, then update them for Windows 10.

2.2 Update the network driver

1. Right-click on the Start and open Device Manager from the Power User menu.
   
2. Expand Network adapters.
3. Right-click on the Wi-Fi Network adapter and click Update driver.
   
4. If the system finds a new driver, it will install it.

The system should install the missing driver for the Network adapter automatically. If Windows fails to update the driver for some peculiar reason, you can do it manually. Follow these instructions to do so:

2.3 Update drivers automatically

This should resolve driver-related issues. However, we all know how drivers are essential for stable and reliable system performance. And tending to drivers isn’t always the most straightforward task.

We recommend using third-party software that provides fresh and trusted drivers within seconds to spare you some time and effort.

Hence, keeping track of your system drivers and updating them on time is recommended to avoid any issues.

Some specialized tools will scan your PC and show you the changes that need to be done. You can find those tools in our ranking of best driver updater software.

A great option with auto-update features and an intuitive UI is DriverFix. It uses a resourceful driver database to find exact matches for any hardware.

DriverFix

An easy and reliable tool that keeps all drivers up to date.

3. Run the Windows Troubleshooter

1. Right-click on the Wi-Fi icon at the bottom and click Troubleshoot problems.
2. Follow the instructions until the troubleshooter resolves the problem or at least diagnoses it.
   
3. Close the troubleshooter.

Windows Troubleshooter is commonly overlooked when issues emerge. Now, one might say that the resolution rates aren’t exactly sky-high.

However, there’s also the identifying the error, which might come in handy with the later steps.

Sometimes it’s the IP conflict; sometimes, it’s the Wi-Fi radio (pointing towards drivers or physical switch), SSID (network issue), or maybe the ISP (Internet Service Provider) is having problems.

Of course, in the scenario when even calculators can connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi and laptop can’t, the possible culprits are pretty limited.

So, don’t avoid unified Troubleshooters and give them a try before you move to more adaptable solutions. Then, in case you’re still unable to connect, push down through the list.

4. Renew the IP and flush the DNS

1. In the Windows Search bar, type cmd, right-click Command Prompt, and run it as an administrator.
   
2. In the command line, type the following commands and press Enter after each: ipconfig /release ipconfig /renew
   
   
3. Wait for some time and then type in this command and press Enter: ipconfig /flushdns
4. Then, close Command Prompt and try connecting to Wi-Fi again.

If IP conflicts with one of the other connected devices, you can always restart it (when you restart the router, it reassigns IP) and move from there.

Some PC issues are hard to tackle, especially when it comes to corrupted repositories or missing Windows files. If you are having troubles fixing an error, your system may be partially broken.
We recommend installing Restoro, a tool that will scan your machine and identify what the fault is.
Click here to download and start repairing.

However, the particular focus is on the DNS cache that collects your domain data and can negatively affect the connection.

DNS is there to translate the hostname to IP and IP to hostname. However, all collected translations are stored in the DNS cache, and the piling up can break the connection occasionally.

Fortunately, you can reset DNS, renew IP, and move from there, as described above.

5. Unhide and rename the SSID

With this, we’re mildly stranding in the strange area. For some reason, users couldn’t connect to networks with unusual names, meaning that you might reconsider renaming them to something less bloated.

So, make sure to use only standard alphanumerical symbols, without emoticons and Unicode characters in the SSID name, and try again.

Even though other devices locate it clearly, with the laptop as the only exception, give it a try.

Furthermore, sometimes the hidden SSID that needs to be manually inserted while connecting can also be an issue. Make it visible temporarily and try again.

That resolved the issue for some users, who could connect without difficulties.

6. Use 2.4 GHz instead of 5 GHz band on dual-band routers

1. Press Windows + S, type Control, and open Control Panel.
2. From the Category view, open Network and Internet.
   
3. Open Network and Sharing Center.
   
4. Select Change adapter settings from the left pane.
   
5. Right-click on your Wireless adapter (connection) and open Properties.
   
6. Click on the Configure button.
   
   
7. Select the Advanced tab.
8. In the left pane, scroll to WZC IBSS Number Channel.
9. From the right drop-down menu, choose channels 1, 6, or 11.
10. Confirm changes.
    
    

The story of the two bands is relatively simple. The 5 GHz band is much better in almost every regard. It’s faster; it’s less crowded since most other non-Wi-Fi devices use 2.4 GHz, and it’s more stable.

However, two things are better with 2.4 GHz. Firstly, its signal goes further and more accessible breaks through walls. Second, it supports older devices with older wireless standards.

So, if all devices in your household (handheld and smart devices or PCs) are connected on 5 GHz and working well, try to connect to the 2.4 GHz band with your laptop.

Also, if you have good software, choose channels 1, 6, or 11. They don’t overlap with each other. You can also do it in the Advanced adapter’s settings.

7. Change the adapter Power Settings

1. Right-click on the Battery icon in the notification area and open Power Options.
2. Click on Change plan settings by the preferred power plan (Balanced, in my case).
3. Click on Change advanced power settings.
   
4. Expand Wireless Adapter Settings and then Power Saving Mode.
5. Set Power Saving Mode on battery and plugged into a wall socket to Maximum Performance.
6. Confirm changes and close the window.
   
   

On the other hand, if the problem isn’t residing in Power Settings, move on to the next step.

Multiple power-related options will affect how Wi-Fi works. Some will stall it to reduce power consumption; others will completely block Wi-Fi.

Power Settings are critical on laptops since they’re mobile devices dependable on batteries in various scenarios.

You can set the High-Performance power plan or change individual preferences related to the Network adapter.

Follow the above steps to ensure that Power settings won’t affect your Wireless adapter and thus inflict connection issues and so forth.

8. Disable the antivirus temporarily

Third-party antivirus solutions are arguably a must in the current fear state caused by dangerous malware threats.

Nonetheless, even though the protective software improved over time with detection and multi-threat protection features, it sometimes might act a ted more overzealous for its sound.

Certain firewall-based security features and network protection can block your Wi-Fi connection.

That leads us to believe that temporary disabling antivirus might resolve your issue. You can also try to create an exception or make your network trusted later on if the problem is resolved.

9. Disable IPv4 or IPv6

1. Press Windows key + I to open the Settings app.
2. Open Network & Internet.
   
3. Under the Status section, select Change adapter options.
   
4. Right-click on your Wi-Fi adapter and open Properties.
   
5. Disable IPv4, confirm the changes, and try connecting via Wi-Fi.
6. If the problem is persistent, re-enable IPv4 and disable IPv6.
   
   
7. Click OK and look for changes.

The internet protocol IPv4 and its successor IPv6 mainly function symbiosis, but your configuration and network adapter, former or latter, can prevent connection.

You can try to disable either IPv4 or IPv6 (not both protocols at the same time, obviously) and look for changes.

This shouldn’t pose a challenging task, but just in case you’re not sure how to do it, we provided the steps below:

10. Turn to recovery options

1. Type Recovery in the Windows Search bar and open Recovery.
   
2. Click on Open System Restore.
3. Click Next in the dialog box.
4. Select the preferred restore point (the one where Wi-Fi worked without issues).
   
5. Click Next and then Finish for the restoring process to commence.
   
6. The procedure can take some time, so be patient.

Finally, if none of the previous steps succeeded in addressing the inability to connect to Wi-Fi on your laptop, there’s one final step that crosses my mind.

System Restore was always an excellent get-out-of-jail card when something went wrong. However, besides System Restore, Windows 10 offers a more advanced recovery option that could come in handy.

If there’s something wrong with your system and it’s severe enough to break the Wi-Fi connectivity completely, try the presented recovery options above.

11. Use the Reset this PC option in Windows 10

1. Press Windows key + I to summon the Settings app.
2. Open the Update & Security section.
   
3. Select Recovery from the left pane.
4. Under Reset, this PC, click Get started.
   
5. Choose to preserve your data and restore your PC to default settings.

That’s it. We hope you’ve resolved your issues with one of the advised solutions.

Of course, these are all mainly software-related workarounds, and they won’t be of much use if your hardware is faulty.

Please share your experience with the problem or add alternative solutions. The comments section is just below.

Moreover, do note that the above solutions may be used to overcome all these common issues:

• Laptop won’t connect to Wi-Fi, but the phone will – When encountering this problem, note that it is likely related to incorrect drivers or a complete lack of drivers.
• HP laptop not connecting to wireless – Many laptop brands are affected by the same issue. To fix it, be sure to use the above tips.

If you updated to the latest OS, check our guide on how to fix your Wi-Fi when it’s not working in Windows 11.

For any other questions or suggestions, feel free to address them in the comments section below.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Why is my Wi-Fi not working on my laptop?

  When facing this issue, chances are the IP is conflicting with other connected devices. There are also times when the Wi-Fi gets disconnected when a VPN connection is made. However, you may apply the fixes found in this dedicated guide.

• How do I fix the Wi-Fi on my laptop?

  To fix Wi-Fi on your laptop, you may apply a handful of solutions. We first recommended restarting your equipment.

• How do I reset my wireless connection on my laptop?

  To reset your wireless connection, enter into Settings > Network & internet, then click on Manage known networks. If you can’t open the Settings app, follow closely this detailed guide.

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