HP Envy connects to wifi for several minutes before saying "No connections are available"

[CjSoo]

My HP Envy Laptop suddenly stopped connecting to the wifi  network in my home. After performing a system restore to an older version the problem goes away BUT only for about 3 minutes before it is unable to connect to a network again and it tells me that no connections are available.

When I go to the device manager there is a small yellow hazard sign next to my wireless network adapter (Intel (R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265).

I have tried just disabling the ethernet adapter for my virtual machine and restarting. I have also tried performing a network reset but neither have solved my problems. 

I appreciate any help anyone can offer, 

Thanks.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

The only suggestion I can offer would be to download and install the latest wifi driver for that model card directly from Intel.

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/29122/Windows-10-Wi-Fi-Drivers-for-Intel-Wireless-Adapters...

What I suggest you try before installing the driver is to download and save the above file.

Go to the device manager, click to expand the Network Adapters device manager category.

Right click on the Intel 7265 wifi adapter, select Uninstall.  Also check the Uninstall driver box.

Restart the PC and install the above driver you saved.

I have that model card in 3 of my HP PC's, and it works flawlessly on W10 with the above driver installed (knock on wood).

[CjSoo]

Thanks for the help Paul but unfortunately it didnt quite work. 😞

It says "A fatal error occurred during installation." Any idea what that could be and/or how to resolve it? 

(I downloaded the file you linked to onto a separate machine and moved it onto a usb. Then transferred the file from the usb to my own machine. And finally ran the .exe file. I'm not sure if this background is any help but thought it might show if I went wrong anywhere?)

[CjSoo]

I have also realised that if I restart my machine after uninstalling the driver that I have a problem with, the driver is back again. Is this normal? 

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

Sorry the easy way didn't work.

It is normal for the old driver to reinstall because that is the default driver W10 has in its database.

Let's try a slightly different approach to install the new driver.

Download and save the W10 x64 zip file from the link below.  1st one at the top left side of the page.

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/29124/Intel-PROSet-Wireless-Software-and-Drivers-for-IT-Ad...

Right click on the zip file and select Extract all:

Now it has created the driver folder.

Go to the device manager, click on the Intel 7265 wifi adapter.

Click on the driver tab.  Click on Update driver.

Select the Browse my computer for driver software option, and browse to the unzipped wifi driver folder.

Make sure the Include Subfolders box is checked, and the driver should install.

Then restart the PC.

Hopefully the driver will have updated without any issues that way.

[CjSoo]

Thanks again but unfortunately the problem still isn't resolved. 

It says that "The best drivers for your device are already installed".  Any ideas for where I could go from here?  No worries if I've exhausted my options 😅

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

Unfortunately, I don't have any other suggestions for you to try.

[CjSoo]

Thank you for all your help anyways. I appreciate it.

[CjSoo · Accepted solution]

I managed to fix the problem, so I thought I'd share my solution in case anyone else is in the same boat as I was.

Turns out the issue was with Windows itself, possibly a Windows update. Update KB4515384 is known to cause connectivity issues. I didn't have that particular update myself but uninstalling it could help others. Here's how:

1. Go to Settings and select Update & Security

2. Go to Windows Update

3. Click View update history 

4. Select Uninstall updates

5. Click on the offending update (KB4515384 or maybe just the most recent one) and select uninstall

6. Restart the computer when prompted

If this didn't help you may need to perform a factory reset. 

1. Back up your files to a USB

2.  Go to Settings and select Update & Security

3. In the sidebar select Recovery

4. Under Reset this PC, click Get Started

5. Choose to either keep your files or delete everything. (It doesn't matter which. Keeping your files is the least hassle but I'd still back up to a USB just to be safe)

The factory reset worked for me. But keep in mind that the reset deletes all your applications so be prepared to have to re-install a lot of software (including a browser that isn't Edge!!) 

Best of Luck to anyone giving it a go! 🙂