The problem may be due to reasons like faulty drivers, disabled network discovery, or Firewall and VPNs in rare cases. This article will guide you through various solutions for the “No Wi-Fi Networks Found on Windows” problem.
How to Solve No Wi-Fi Networks Found Problem?
Ensuring a wireless network adapter module on the computer should be your first priority, which can be done online. Then, make sure your computer is within Wi-Fi range and disable airplane mode as well. Besides, you can try the solutions methods listed below if the issue persists.
Power Cycle
Operating System can suffer a spin-lock loop while trying to communicate with the network adapter. Spin-lock loop is a waiting state of OS when the driver or hardware it’s trying to communicate becomes unresponsive. Power cycling the computer will help in stopping such spin-lock loops for OS by re-initializing adapters configuration. To begin, disconnect your computer from the power cable, detach the battery and then press the power button. Hold it for 20-30 seconds to dissipate all charge from the components. Then, put the battery back, redo the power cable and boot the PC. Check if it solves the issue.
Automate WLAN Autoconfig
WLAN Autoconfig is a Windows Service that specifies WindowsOS with the logic to discover and access Wireless networks. If the WLAN Autoconfig service is on manual startup mode or stopped, it can create issues for your adapter in finding Wi-Fi networks. Follow the steps given below to Start and automate the WLAN AutoConfig service: You can check and perform the same steps for another important Windows service, Network Connected Devices Auto-setup.
Turn on Network Discovery
The network setting can control if the computer will discover other networks or not. Though the setting is turned on by default, unaware changes in it can cause problems. The Network Discovery setting is located in Control Panel. But you can simply enable the setting through the command prompt with the given steps:
Network Troubleshooter
Windows consist of various troubleshooter programs targeting particular areas. The network is one of such areas for which you can run the program and let Windows inspect for problems and solve them. These troubleshooters can be accessed through settings. Go with the steps mentioned below:
Reset Network Settings
Certain network settings misconfiguration also generates the ‘no Wi-Fi network found’ issue. If you recently changed any network settings, try to revert that and check if it solves the issue. But, if you are unaware of such a change, you can proceed to reset the network settings by following the steps mentioned below:
Update Drivers
The wireless network adapter is the hardware component that catches and accesses Wi-Fi networks around your computer. Drivers act as the interpreter between your network adapter and OS. The technical bugs within your drivers may exploit various settings and mechanisms of your adapter, which can eventually lead to the discussed issue. The driver manufacturers constantly try to fix such bugs by uploading driver updates. Though Windows should automatically update drivers, sometimes it may not recognize any updates. So, if it’s the case you are encountering, you can try to initiate the update for your drivers manually. Proceed with the steps mentioned below: If Windows couldn’t find any drivers themselves, you can download them yourself. You can check out the model number of your laptop and search the web with the name of your Laptop brand for drivers. Example: network drivers for “brand” “model number” Then, follow the steps below:
Reinstall Drivers
Although manufacturers tend to replace drivers’ buggy pieces of code through updates, they cannot fix the corrupted base files on your computer. Such corrupted driver files should be fixed by reinstalling. Follow the steps mentioned below to uninstall your corrupt driver and install a new one: Windows will automatically detect the uninstalled driver and install a new one in its place. Alternatively, you can download a new driver from the manufacturer’s site and add it as guided in the above section. Moreover, if network adapters show a yellow exclamation mark error, resolve it with the help of our article and continue with the reinstalling process.
Disable Firewall
Windows firewall can take strict actions if it confuses secured network as unprotected, including total ignorance towards a particular Wi-Fi network. You try to disable the firewall temporarily and check if the issue resolves. Follow the steps below to proceed:
Disable VPN
VPN services let you stay anonymous while surfing the internet. To protect your IP from being exposed at any cost, these services consist of a feature called the Kill Switch. Imagine you are accessing a site with the help of a VPN, and suddenly, the VPN server connection drops. In such a case, you will be bound to expose your device to the site’s server if no action is taken. The kill switch comes to save the day by totally disconnecting your device from any network. This is an automatic process. But, if VPN doesn’t turn off the function of the kill switch after enabling it, you will have issues in discovering networks. Thus, temporarily turn off any third-party VPN and check if it solves the issues.
Manually Add Networks
An alternative workaround to this issue is to add a known network on your computer through settings manually. This will help in adding networks that weren’t recognized by the adapter. Though this isn’t a legit solution if the problem is due to severe hardware or software malfunctioning, you can follow the steps below and give it a try:
