Laptop cannot detect wifi connections when other devices can

[queen10]

My laptop (HP Envy Touchsmart Sleekbook 4 with Windows 😎 cannot find any network connection. When I click on the networks icon on the screen, I get the message "no connections are available". There are several wifi connections available because both my phone and tablet show that connections areally available and are connected. A representative for hp told me that there was an issue with the software, rather than the hardware.

[Malygris1]

Hi there @queen10 

Welcome to the HP Support Forums! It is a great place to find the help you need, both from other users, HP experts and other support personnel.

Please post the full product number for your notebook. See the following, if you need help with that information.
How Do I Find My Model Number or Product Number?

I understand that you are currently not seeing any wireless networks. I am happy to help with this.

Was it detecting the wireless networks before? If yes, did you install anything new, either hardware or software?

Have you tried connecting to a different wireless network, say at a friends home?

Did you try resetting the wireless router at home?

The following pages are helpful when troubleshooting wireless connectivity issues.
Troubleshooting wireless network and Internet (Windows 😎

Also, you can look at the power management for your wireless adapter:
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.

Forget the network: (Windows 😎
1. Press Windows Key + C
2. Click Settings.
3. Click Change PC settings.
4. Click Network on the left.
5. Click Manage known networks.
6. Click the network name.
7. Click Forget.

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.

[queen10]

Product number : C2K73UA#ABA

The laptop was detecting wireless networks before I updated the Windows 8.1. I factory reset the computer to see if it would fix the problem, but it remained the same.

I have tried connecting to several networks, including tethering from my phone, using the wifi at my university, friend' homes, and even starbucks, but it did not detect any of the networks.

It seems that the problem is with the computer itself. In the device manager, under "Other devices", there is a yellow symbol with an exclamation point beside the "Network controller ". Also, sometimes the same symbol shows up beside the "Generic Bluetooth Adapter" and the it says that the Bluetooth is not functioning properly or that it is disabled.

I do not have access to an ethernet cord so I cannot download drivers or anything. I usually tether from my phone when I'm at home, so the computer is useless at this point without wifi.

[queen10]

Also, the computer is not back to windows 8 after the factory reset.

[Malygris1]

@queen10 

Ok, from the sound of things your system updated to Windows 8.1, so you will need the 8.1 drivers for your devices. See the following page for your notebook.

HP ENVY TouchSmart Sleekbook 4-1115dx - Software & Drivers

As you are not getting a connection because of the driver issue, you should download the drivers to a difference device and transfer them to your notebook, and then install. Let me know if that helps. You may need to go through the things in my previous post if it does not detect connections after updating the drivers.

As to the factory reset, it depends on what was done. A System Restore would not help roll back to 8.0 after the 8.1 upgrade. So it would have to be a System Recovery. But it is now an automatic update being pushed to 8.0 systems as part of the system updates from Microsoft.  A full factory restore would erase all personal data from the hard drive as part of the process. I would normally recommend backing up all data before doing this unless there is nothing you need to save.