Fix: No Wifi Option in Settings on Windows 10

Some users have reported that out of the blue there is no Wifi tab in the Network and Internet category of Windows Settings. The issue is often due to the required services not running or your outdated Wifi drivers. Most of us use a Wifi card on our system instead of wired connections because we prefer it that way. There is not much change in the speed of the internet connection, however, just to save us from the troubles of a wired connection, we opt for a Wifi card.

The said issue can, in some cases, be due to your operating system. In such a case, the Windows is either not detecting the Wifi card or something is preventing it from doing so. Nonetheless the issue can easily be dealt with by applying a few specific solutions.

What causes the Wifi Option to disappear in Windows Settings on Windows 10?

Well, the reason you do not receive a Wifi tab in Windows settings is probably that your Windows is not detecting it. The issue is often caused by the following factors —

• Required services. The Wifi on your system requires certain services to be running in order for it to operate properly. If the required services are stopped, it can cause the issue.
• Wifi drivers. The Wifi drivers on your system are responsible for establishing a connection between the wireless card and the system. Corrupted or obsolete drivers can cause the issue to occur.

Now, in order to solve your problem, follow through the given solutions. However, some solutions might not be applicable to certain cases so make sure you go through them all.

Solution 1: Check the Wifi Card

If your motherboard comes without a built-in wireless card and you have bought a Wifi card for the system separately, this solution is for you. Before you get into the other solutions, please make sure that you have connected the wifi card correctly as in the case of incorrect connectivity, the card won’t be detected by Windows and you will get the said problem.

If you are using a laptop or your motherboard comes with built-in wifi, jump to the next solution.

Solution 2: Turning On the Required Service

Some users have reported that their issue was due to the required Wifi services not running. Therefore, make sure to check the required services before proceeding. Here’s how to do it:

1. Go to Start Menu, type in Services and open it up.
2. In the Services window, locate the WLAN Autoconfig service.
3. Right-click on it and select Properties. WLAN Autoconfig – Windows Services
4. Change the Startup type to ‘Automatic’ and click Start to run the service. Starting WLAN Autoconfig Service
5. Click Apply and then hit OK.
6. Check if this fixes the issue.

Solution 3: Update Wifi Driver

In some cases, you are unable to see the Wifi option in Windows Settings because your Wifi drivers are obsolete. In such a scenario, you should try updating the driver automatically. Here’s how to do it:

1. Open Start Menu, type Device Manager and open it up.
2. Expand the Network adapters list.
3. Locate your Wireless card, right-click it and select ‘Update driver’. Updating Wireless Driver
4. Click ‘Browse my computer for driver software’.
5. Select ‘Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer’.
6. Hit Next.
7. Wait for it to complete and then check if your issue is solved.

Solution 4: Reinstall Wifi Driver

There are scenarios where your Wifi driver is corrupted in which case merely updating your driver won’t fix the issue. In such an event, you will have to reinstall your Wifi driver by downloading the driver from your manufacturer’s website. Here’s how:

1. Open up the Device Manager.
2. Expand the Network adapters list and locate your wireless driver.
3. Double-click it to open up Properties.
4. Switch to the Driver tab and note down your driver details. Wireless Driver Details
5. Close the Properties window, right-click on your wireless card and click Uninstall. Uninstalling Wireless Driver

After you have uninstalled your wireless card driver, head to your manufacturer’s website and download the latest drivers for your Wifi card. Install the drivers and then restart your system.

Solution 5: Tweak Power Management

If the Wifi option in Windows Settings disappears out of the blue, this can be due to your card driver’s power settings. Therefore, to get the Wifi option back, you will have to edit the Power Management settings. Here’s how:

1. Open up Device Manager and expand the Network Adapters list.
2. Double-click your wireless card and then switch to the Power Management tab.
3. Uncheck the ‘Allow this computer to turn off this device to save power’ box. Changing Wireless Driver Power Settings
4. Click OK.

Wi-Fi adapter not working in Windows 10? Here’s a quick fix

• Windows Update is an essential component of your OS and you do not want to miss a single piece of valuable upgrade Microsoft has to offer.
• Nevertheless, the process is not always as smooth as intended. If your Wi-Fi adapter went berserk after an update, here’s how to fix it.
• Take a look at our WI-FI Guides as well for more tested solutions.
• Explore our Peripherals Hub and take your troubleshooting skills to the next level.

Various software and hardware-related problems may occur after the upgrade to Windows 10. One of these problems is the WiFi adapter not working afterwards for some users.

Namely, some users reported that their computers weren’t even able to detect and recognize the Wireless network adapter, which worked fine in Windows 8 or Windows 7. Don’t worry, we have a solution for you.

But first, here are some similar issues you can also resolve with the fixes presented below:

• Windows 10 no WiFi option – Sometimes, the WiFi button in the taskbar may not even be there. Nevertheless, you can still use the same solutions to resolve this problem.
• Windows 10 WiFi adapter missing – If your computer fails to recognize the adapter, you won’t be able to see it in the Device Manager.
• My Windows 10 WiFi disconnects frequently
• Windows 10 no WiFi option in settings – Just like it’s the case with the taskbar, the WiFi option may also disappear from its Settings page.
• Windows 10 WiFi connected but no internet – This one’s the worst. When everything seems right, but you just can’t connect to the internet. But don’t worry, you’ll be able to resolve this with the solutions presented below.

What can I do if WiFi adapter stops working?

Table of contents:

1. Update network drivers

Since you can’t download anything using your current internet connection, go and download the necessary drivers from another computer or using another network.

To get the most suitable drivers, go to your network adapter manufacturer’s website, and search for the drivers for your network adapter.

Now download the drivers, move them to your computer, and begin the installation process. Hopefully, a fresh set of network drivers will resolve the problem.

Update drivers automatically with DriverFix

If you don’t want the hassle of searching for drivers on your own, you can use a tool that will do this for you automatically.

Of course, as you’re not able to connect to the internet at the moment, this tool won’t be useful. However, once you get online, it will help you to keep all your drivers up to date, so you won’t be in this situation anymore.

DriverFix will help you update drivers automatically and prevent PC damage caused by installing the wrong driver versions. After several tests, our team concluded that this is the best-automatized solution.

Let’s quickly look at its key features:

• A detailed report of all of your up-to-date and out-of-date device drivers
• Scanning speed improved by up to 100%
• Download the latest device drivers (printer, mouse, controller, modem, monitor, and more)
• Beautiful design

DriverFix

2. Use the Network troubleshooter

The first thing we’re going to do is also the easiest one. We’re simply going to run the network troubleshooter and let it do the job for us. Here’s how to run the network troubleshooter in Windows 10:

1. Go to Settings.
2. Head over to Updates & Security >Troubleshoot.
3. Select Internet Connections, and go to Run the Troubleshooter.
4. Follow further on-screen instructions and let the process finish.
5. Restart your computer.

If the network troubleshooter failed to resolve the problem, move on to another workaround.

3. Reset TCP/IP stack

If the previous two solutions didn’t get the job done, you can try resetting the TCP/IP stack. To do that, you’ll also need to enter a few command lines into the Command prompt.

Here’s exactly what you need to do:

1. Right-click on the Start Menu button and choose Command Prompt (Admin)
2. Enter the following lines into Command Prompt and press Enter after each one:
   • netsh int ip reset
   • netsh int tcp set heuristics disabled
   • netsh int tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled
   • netsh int tcp set global rss=enabled
3. Restart your computer and see if you’re able to connect to WiFi now

4. Perform a registry tweak with Command Prompt

1. Right-click on the Start Menu button and choose Command Prompt (Admin)
2. Enter the following line and press Enter:
   • netcfg –s n
3. This command will show a list of network protocols, drivers and services. Check if DNI_DNE is in the list, if it is, then you have a problem.
4. If DNI_DNE is listed, in the same command prompt window enter the following line and press Enter:
   • reg delete HKCRCLSID <988248f3-a1ad-49bf-9170-676cbbc36ba3>/fnetcfg -v -u dni_dne

This should solve the issue, but if you receive an error 0x80004002 after entering the command then this value is either not in the registry, or need to be deleted slightly differently.

So here’s what to do, if you receive this error code:

1. Go to Search, type regedit and open Registry Editor
2. Navigate to the following path:
   • HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTCLSID
3. Delete DNI_DNE if it still exists

5. Change the adapter settings

The next thing we’re going to do is changing the adapter settings (read: disable the TCP/IPv6 protocol). Here’s how to do that:

1. Go to Properties of the Network Adapter and look for a wireless adapter that is currently running.
2. Search for the Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) under the options that show up and uncheck IPv6 to disable it.
3. Click on OK and restart the computer to enforce the changes you made.

6. Reinstall the network adapter

If installing the right driver didn’t get the job done, let’s try to uninstall the network adapter first. Here’s how to uninstall the network adapter in Windows 10:

1. Go to Search, type devm, and open Device Manager.
2. Find your network adapter.
3. Right-click your network adapter, and go to Uninstall.
4. Follow further on-screen instructions.
5. Restart your computer.
6. Now, go on and install the network adapter driver once again, as shown above.

7. Reset your adapter

Resetting your network adapter can do wonders. As cliche as it sounds. So, find that little button on the back of your adapter, and press and hold it.

Wait for a couple of minutes for the signal to get back, and try to connect to the internet once again.

8. Update the router firmware

This one’s tricky. Yes, updating your router firmware may resolve the problem, but it’s by no means a simple procedure.

So, your best bet is to check your router’s user manual for additional instructions on how to update it.

Just bear in mind that if you don’t update the router properly, you can damage it permanently. So, proceed with extra care.

9. Switch to the Maximum Performance Mode

1. Go to Search, type power management, and open Power & Sleep.
2. Under Related Settings, go to Additional Power Settings.
3. Once the Power Options window opens, locate your current plan and click Change plan settings.
4. Go to Change advanced power settings.
5. Locate Wireless Adapter Settings and set the Power Saving Mode to Maximum Performance.
6. Click Apply and OK to save changes.

Just keep in mind that the Maximum performance mode will put some extra pressure on your device, so your laptop battery might last shorter.

10. Make sure nothing disrupts the Wi-Fi signal

Some appliances and hardware not related to your computer can disrupt the Wi-Fi signal.

For example, it’s known that microwave weakens the signal. So, make sure you don’t have any appliances that can possibly disrupt the signal near your router.

If you didn’t manage to solve the problem after performing all of these solutions, check our article about internet problems in Windows 10 , and you’ll maybe find the solution there.

In case you have any comments, questions or suggestions, just let us know in the comments down below.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I fix network adapter problems?

You can tweak its settings (TCP/IPv6) or completely reinstall the adapter. For a clean install, make sure you remove all leftovers by using a specialized uninstaller tool.

Why does my WiFi adapter need to be reset?

The WiFi adapter usually causes issues after a major Windows update. You can reset it via Command Prompt. If you’re unable to run the command prompt as admin, here’s what you need to do.

How do I fix my wireless adapter on Windows 10?

Start by running the Network Troubleshooter on your Windows 10 running device. Check out the entire procedure and additional testes solutions in this complete guide.