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- HP Community
- Notebooks
- Notebook Wireless and Networking
- Wifi adapter missing

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05-03-2022 09:17 AM
My notebook installed an automatic update and my WiFi suddenly stopped working. I checked and I couldn’t find my WiFi adapter in my device management. It was under hidden devices and no matter what I did, it kept on showing me that there was an error with the drivers. I’ve done a system restore, a system reset, network reset, downloaded and installed a lot of drivers, used Driver software to try to fix the problems. Made changes to the registry (with a backup of course) . And none of this has fixed the problem
05-03-2022 10:57 AM
A second option, is to try these steps:
Power cycle the network:
1. Shut down your notebook.
2. Unplug the power to your router.
3. Unplug the power to your modem.
4. Wait at least 45 seconds.
5. Plug in the modem, and wait for it to come back online.
6. Plug in the router, and wait for it to come back online.
7. Turn on your notebook, and test your connection.
Disable the Power Off option for the adapter:
1. Open Device Manager. (Win Key+R > type devmgmt.msc > OK)
2. Expand the Network adapters.
3. Right- click on the Ethernet/Wireless Adapter and click Properties.
4. Click the Power Management tab.
5. Remove the check mark beside Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.
6. Click OK.
7. Test.
Reset the TCP/IP settings on your PC:
1. Go to your start screen/menu and type CMD.
2. Right- click on the command prompt icon and chose Run as administrator.
3. In the window that opens type "netsh int ip reset resetlog.txt" without quotes, and press enter.
4. Restart your PC and test.
It may also help to reset the winsock catalogue:
1. Go to your start screen/menu and type CMD.
2. Right- click on the command prompt icon and chose Run as administrator.
3. In the window that opens type "netsh winsock reset" without quotes, and press enter.
4. Restart your PC and test.
Reinstall the network adapter drivers:
1. Download the drivers from here but do not run them yet.
2. Go to your start screen/menu and type Device Manager.
3. Expand Network adapters.
4. Right- click on the wireless adapter and choose Uninstall.
5. Run the downloaded drivers from step 1.
6. Restart your PC and test.
Test an ethernet connection:
Self -explanatory. Test if the issue persists on a wired connection to rule out the wireless adapter hardware so troubleshooting can be directed towards the right areas.
Test another connection:
Many people rule out their home network as an issue if another device is working on the same network. Networking is not that simple. Each device interacts differently with your router or modem and it is impossible to rule out settings in that device until the notebook has been tested on another network.
05-06-2022 02:27 PM
I figured out a temporary fix. Install your regular network adapter as a legacy hardware. Then open your network troubleshooter and troubleshoot the WiFi. It’ll bring up the option to fix it. It should restart and fix the issue but to prevent it, delete the old network adapter. The old one will have the name of your network adapter and the new one will have a (#2) sign . Then disable “sleep to save battery” option of the network adapter. If problem reoccurs if your laptop goes into sleep mode, repeat the above steps