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2024-10-06 by CHUWI
We all have had that one moment: in the middle of an important task, joining an online meeting, or just about to stream your favorite show, and suddenly the laptop won’t connect to Wi-Fi. In today’s world of electricity and computers, losing internet connectivity can feel like everything comes to a standstill and leaves you feeling frustrated. Since broadband Internet is used in around 80% of households, finding a fix for your Wi-Fi is crucial, but it is challenging to know where to start.
This guide will walk you through the best steps to fix the problems regarding your connection. Here, you will find simple, easy-to-follow methods to restore your Wi-Fi connection. From basic checks to more advanced troubleshooting, you can work through this blog to solve the problem when Wi-Fi is not working on your laptop.
First, check very obvious issues before diving into these more complex solutions. Sometimes, the simplest things, like Wi-Fi settings or router failure, cause a connectivity issue.
The most common reason for Wi-Fi not working on a laptop is that the Wi-Fi is switched off. Many laptops have a WLAN switch; some have function keys with a Wi-Fi symbol. Just make sure it’s turned on, either on your laptop or on your taskbar.
If you are using a Windows laptop, go up your taskbar to look for the icon showing whether your Wi-Fi is enabled or disabled. A red X or the symbol that means not connected may indicate that you’ve disabled Wi-Fi. If you are on a Mac, look for your Wi-Fi signal in the top right corner of your computer. Selecting it ensures that your Wi-Fi is enabled.
Another reason your laptop won’t connect to Wi-Fi is airplane mode. Although this feature is useful when you are flying, it will turn off all wireless communication, including Wi-Fi. You can turn off Airplane Mode from the Action Center or Settings > Network & Internet for Windows users. For Mac, go to System Preferences > Network and make sure that Airplane Mode is disabled.
If your laptop won’t connect to Wi-Fi, the problem could be with the router. Try connecting another device, phone, or tablet to the same Wi-Fi. If this device can’t get online either, it is probably the router’s fault, and you may be able to resolve this by rebooting.
Again, check the light on your router. The lights for the Wi-Fi and the internet should be steady and on. If one of them is blinking or is not on, it indicates that your router might not be working correctly. If your laptop won’t connect to Wi-Fi, let your router sit idle for about 10-20 seconds, unplug it, wait for about a minute, then plug it back in and wait for it to come back on.
The most overlooked yet effective solution when Wi-Fi fails to work on your laptop is restarting your devices.
You may jump to complex fixes, but a simple laptop restart could solve the problem. It refreshes your system and clears bugs preventing your laptop from connecting to Wi-Fi. Try reconnecting your Wi-Fi after rebooting.
If your laptop won’t connect to Wi-Fi, there is a slight chance that your router will need to reset. Routers also get old and experience degradation, at which point they can’t connect. Unplug the power cable from the router- the fastest way to reset it, with the wait time between a few seconds, and plug it back in. Give your router a few minutes to renew its connection. When it’s back up, attempt to connect your laptop to the Wi-Fi network to determine if you can resolve the problem.
But if it doesn’t work, it’s time to investigate your laptop’s network settings.
It can help you deal with persistent issues, such as forgetting and re-connecting your Wi-Fi network. Here’s how you do this:
Another reason a laptop won’t connect to Wi-Fi is simply the incorrect input of a password. Sometimes, when the password entered is a long alphanumeric sequence, one should double-check his or her password. If you have forgotten your password, then most appropriately and accurately, you should look for information on your router or ask an authorized member who controls the network.
The most famous overlooked cause of Wi-Fi issues is outdated or corrupted network drivers. The laptop’s drivers allow the hardware to speak technically, and your Wi-Fi adapter also communicates with the operating system. If your network drivers are outdated or malfunctioning, that may probably be why the laptop won’t connect to Wi-Fi.
You could reset network settings if none of the above steps worked and the laptop won’t connect to Wi-Fi.
Steps to Reset Network Settings
Here are other things you can do when the laptop doesn’t connect to Wi-Fi.
Your laptop can sometimes receive the same IP address that another computer has been assigned to on the network. This is a reason for connection issues. You can solve this by manually letting go and renewing your IP address by this process:
If your laptop doesn’t connect to Wi-Fi, most laptops include an inbuilt utility that can diagnose and resolve some network issues. In Windows, right-click on the icon for Wi-Fi in your taskbar and then click Troubleshoot problems. It automatically detects and resolves the issue for you and is usually a good shortcut to restore your laptop’s Wi-Fi connection.
A laptop refusing to connect is quite frustrating, but there are thousands of solutions you might attempt. From figuring out if your Wi-Fi is turned on to some more advanced steps, including resetting network settings, you are now armed with tools to troubleshoot when your laptop won’t connect to Wi-Fi.
Still, if none of the above solutions work, and your laptop won’t connect to Wi-Fi, do not hesitate to call the internet service provider or a qualified IT person who can give you specific advice.
