No Realtek wireless adapter found in device manager.

[Ela115]

Good day, I have been experiencing a network problem in my HP laptop. At first, the device is connected to our wifi, but it cannot browse. Nothing at all. Even tough it says "connected," there is still no connection on the laptop. I tried disabling, uninstalling, enabling, and reinstalling the Realtek adapter but it didn't work. It can only connect to my cellphone mobile hotspot. Also, I do not see any "wireless," adapter in my device. How do you fix this? 

[VikramTheGreat]

Hi @Ela115,

Welcome to the HP Support Community.
 

Thank you for posting your query. I will be glad to help you.

If your HP laptop shows as connected to Wi-Fi but can't browse, and only works with your mobile hotspot, it’s likely a network adapter or DNS issue. Since you mentioned the Realtek adapter and that no wireless adapter appears in Device Manager, here’s a focused set of steps to help you fix it.

1. Check for Hidden Wireless Adapter

• Open Device Manager.
• Click View > Show hidden devices.
• Expand Network adapters.
• Look for entries like:
  • Realtek RTL8821CE, RTL8852BE, or similar.
  • If it’s greyed out or missing, proceed to reinstall.

2. Reinstall the Correct Wireless Driver

• Visit the Official HP® Drivers and Software Download | HP® Support.
• Enter your exact laptop model (e.g., HP Envy x360 15-fe0xxx).
• Download the latest Realtek Wireless LAN driver for Windows 11.

If you're unsure of your model, press Windows + R, type msinfo32, and look for System Model.

3. Reset Network Settings

• Open Settings > Network & Internet > Advanced network settings > Network reset.
• Click Reset now.
• Restart your laptop.

4. Flush DNS and Reset TCP/IP Stack

Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run these commands one by one:
ipconfig /flushdns
netsh int ip reset
netsh winsock reset

Then restart your laptop.

5. Disable Power Saving for Network Adapter

• Go to Device Manager > Network Adapters.
• Right-click your Realtek adapter > Properties > Power Management.
• Uncheck “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.”

6. Check Router Settings

• Ensure your router is not blocking the laptop’s MAC address.
• Try changing the Wi-Fi channel or security mode (e.g., WPA2 to WPA3).

I hope this helps.

Take care and have an amazing day!
 

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Regards,

VikramTheGreat