Why Did My Wi-Fi Disappear After Updating Windows?
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I can’t resist a good wireless riddle and this week’s question writer for Lifehacker’s Tech 911 has a good problem – a problem you don’t even think about until it happens, and then it consumes your mind as you try all the tricks. in the book to get your wifi back.
I’ll let Lifehacker reader Joe explain:
“I lost Wi-Fi after the last update and after reinstalling W10 and performing expected updates, I lost Wi-Fi again when I turned off and restarted my laptop. So, I did it again, no updates, and set it to never shut down. So far, so good. But obviously I cannot leave like that. Any suggestions? “
Drivers, drivers and other drivers
My first guess, Joe, is that there is some kind of driver issue that is causing havoc with your laptop’s Wi-Fi card. This is partly to suggest that you can get a working wireless connection if you have Windows 10 installed at a basic level, but you lose the ability to connect whenever you install any new updates. Obviously, either something in the update (or something downloaded and installed with it) is causing your havoc.
However, I don’t think the long term solution is to never update your laptop. And never turn it off – even worse for the longevity of your laptop and your monthly energy bills. It is always ideal to have the system as up to date as possible so that any vulnerabilities or other security issues in the operating system are fixed. The same is true for any system stability issues, feature updates, or whatever else Microsoft has in store. I would not run an operating system that is not updated to the latest and greatest version – at least if I had a choice between Windows 10 (the old version that came with my laptop) and Windows 10 (the latest version) … …
My advice would be to check with your laptop manufacturer online, that is, as long as you have an Internet connection. Somewhere in the support section of their site should be a way to find your specific laptop model. Once you have done this, you will be presented with a list of drivers that you can manually download, or perhaps even some tool that you can install on your system that takes the most recent drivers (and / or firmwares) directly from the manufacturer. … …
Note that what your manufacturer installs may differ from what Windows wants to install through the Windows Update app (for example, if you ever notice that it wants to provide you with updated wireless drivers). While I usually use whatever Windows wants for convenience, this is probably what is interfering with your connection in this scenario.
So, on your manufacturer’s support site, you’ll want to download any latest wireless and / or network drivers that it offers. And while you’re there, make sure you have installed all available BIOS updates for your laptop (just in case).
Update the BIOS, then install the wireless and / or network drivers that you downloaded to your system. You should still be fine with your internet connection; Then you can download and install any pending Windows 10 updates and see what happens. If you lose connection, try reinstalling the above wireless and / or network drivers again. In theory, this should fix anything that affects your system.
Another option is to open Windows 10 Device Manager, locate your wireless adapter, right-click, select Properties , click the Driver tab and Roll Back Driver. There is no guarantee that this will solve your problem, but it’s worth a try. (You can also try uninstalling the entire device and then reinstalling the aforementioned drivers from the manufacturer to see if that helps.)
Finally, you can try looking for drivers directly from your network card manufacturer – Intel for me, as shown in the screenshot above. Perhaps a new (or beta) driver can help you, but I would try this as a last resort. Generally speaking, drivers offered directly through Windows or drivers from your laptop manufacturer (probably older ones) are your best bet. But something is better than nothing if you still find that you cannot connect wirelessly from your laptop.
And if none of those solutions work, you can simply pull the trigger on a cheap wireless USB adapter . It’s an inelegant solution, and I don’t like the idea of wasting money on something that should just work, but rebuilding your laptop’s wireless connection will cost you less than $ 20. I would have done this before leaving the unprotected computer constantly on, at least.