Wi-Fi not working on laptop: Causes and how to fix

Not having internet connectivity on any device is very frustrating when anything we need done must happen online. On a laptop in particular, on which the bulk of our work happens online, this can be frustrating. When the Wi-Fi is not working on your laptop, you can try the following steps to try and diagnose the issue.

Is it the router?

First check whether it’s your router and not your laptop that’s having trouble connecting. You can do this by trying to connect to the internet from another device such as a smartphone or tablet.

If you can’t, then you’re facing a router or internet issue and your laptop is likely fine. More often than not, simply restarting the router or contacting customer support will resolve the issue.

Restart the laptop

Another quick fix is to restart the device. Windows is a bloated organism of sorts that suffers from myriad driver issues and bugs, especially on older devices or those with a lot of apps installed. Simply restarting the laptop can often be enough to restore function.

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Ensure drivers are installed

If you’re using a new device or recently wiped your laptop’s OS, it might be missing the relevant drivers. Windows normally includes default drivers for basic functionality but these can sometimes fail to work.

Download the drivers on another internet-connected device and transfer them to your laptop to install them. You’ll usually find all the relevant drivers on the manufacturer’s website. Simply head there and go to the support pages for info.

Re-install drivers

Even if drivers are installed, they might sometimes need updating or to be replaced. In such a scenario, download the relevant drivers via another device and reinstall them on your laptop.

A hardware failure

It’s possible that your laptop’s Wi-Fi hardware failed entirely. This isn’t a common occurrence but if your Wi-Fi stubbornly refuses to turn on or connect despite all of the above, you’ll need to consider getting the device inspected by a professional.

If that’s not an option, you should consider picking up a USB Wi-Fi dongle or using an Ethernet adapter for a wired connection.

Check Wi-Fi channel

It’s rare but sometimes the Wi-Fi adapter in your laptop cannot interact with certain Wi-Fi channels that your router is operating in. Try switching channels in router settings to see if that fixes the issue. To learn how to do so you’ll need to check the user manual of the router you’re using.

Software issues are usually easy enough to sort out but we wouldn’t recommend attempting to fix a damaged laptop yourself. Laptops have limited space so their internals tend to be quite cramped. It’s quite easy to snap a cable or even to accidentally nick the battery and cause a fire. If you don’t have experience working on the innards of laptops, let a professional deal with it. Note that opening up a laptop might also void its warranty.