Network Diagnostics Troubleshooter Reports Problem With Wireless Adapter or Access Point
By Timothy Tibbetts |
After running the Network Diagnostics Troubleshooter, you might have received an error that states "Problem with wireless adapter or access point" with nowhere else to go. Here's what you can do to fix this problem. This article can also be helpful with just about any network connectivity issues.
1: Restart Your Router and Computer
While this step is essentially Tech Support 101, we can't ignore it. Shut down your computer. Go to your router and turn it off by unplugging from the wall or back of the router. Twiddle your thumbs for a minute, then plug the router back in and turn your computer back on.
2: Remove and Reinstall the Adapter and Drivers
Make sure you have the latest driver for your network card before proceeding.
Open Device Manager by pressing the Windows Key + X or use the Windows Key + S and type in Device manager.
Locate the network adapter that you're using (wired or wireless) and right-click on that and click Uninstall device. Now, reboot your computer and wait while Windows detects the "new" hardware and installs it.
If that didn't work, we want to update the driver. Of course, if your network card didn't install correctly, use the driver you saved earlier. If the network card installed properly, now update the driver by finding your driver here or use Driver Booster.
3: Reset Your Network
Press the Windows Key + S, type in and click on Network Reset. Network reset is similar to what step 2 discusses, however, it resets all of your network settings. Click on Reset now and wait while your network is reset and your computer restarts.
4: Reset Winsock, TCP/IP & Flush DNS
We'd like to think that uninstalling and reinstalling your network card or resetting it would do the trick, but it's rarely that simple. If your still not up and running you should try to Reset Winsock, TCP/IP, and Flush the DNS Cache.
5: Malware Scan
Hopefully, you found your problem by now, but we have seen some cases where malware, and especially ransomware intentionally break the internet so you can't get online and see articles like this one. As you can probably guess, your best bet here is to do a complete system scan with Malwarebytes.
6: Bad Hardware
Boy, we hope you didn't make it down this far, but there's another obvious consideration here; your network card is bad. In a perfect world, you have, or can get your hands on, a USB wireless network adapter to see if that works. If you plug in a wireless USB adapter and it works, you can bet your network card has failed or is failing.
Similar:
How to Improve Your Wireless Network Performance
Hide or Block Neighbor's Wi-Fi Networks on Windows
How to See Your Network Adapter Speed in Windows 10
How to Reset Network Settings in Windows 10
Network Diagnostics Troubleshooter Reports Problem With Wireless Adapter or Access Point
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1: Restart Your Router and Computer
While this step is essentially Tech Support 101, we can't ignore it. Shut down your computer. Go to your router and turn it off by unplugging from the wall or back of the router. Twiddle your thumbs for a minute, then plug the router back in and turn your computer back on.
2: Remove and Reinstall the Adapter and Drivers
Make sure you have the latest driver for your network card before proceeding.
Open Device Manager by pressing the Windows Key + X or use the Windows Key + S and type in Device manager.
Locate the network adapter that you're using (wired or wireless) and right-click on that and click Uninstall device. Now, reboot your computer and wait while Windows detects the "new" hardware and installs it.
If that didn't work, we want to update the driver. Of course, if your network card didn't install correctly, use the driver you saved earlier. If the network card installed properly, now update the driver by finding your driver here or use Driver Booster.
3: Reset Your Network
Press the Windows Key + S, type in and click on Network Reset. Network reset is similar to what step 2 discusses, however, it resets all of your network settings. Click on Reset now and wait while your network is reset and your computer restarts.
4: Reset Winsock, TCP/IP & Flush DNS
We'd like to think that uninstalling and reinstalling your network card or resetting it would do the trick, but it's rarely that simple. If your still not up and running you should try to Reset Winsock, TCP/IP, and Flush the DNS Cache.
5: Malware Scan
Hopefully, you found your problem by now, but we have seen some cases where malware, and especially ransomware intentionally break the internet so you can't get online and see articles like this one. As you can probably guess, your best bet here is to do a complete system scan with Malwarebytes.
6: Bad Hardware
Boy, we hope you didn't make it down this far, but there's another obvious consideration here; your network card is bad. In a perfect world, you have, or can get your hands on, a USB wireless network adapter to see if that works. If you plug in a wireless USB adapter and it works, you can bet your network card has failed or is failing.
Similar:
How to Improve Your Wireless Network Performance
Hide or Block Neighbor's Wi-Fi Networks on Windows
How to See Your Network Adapter Speed in Windows 10
How to Reset Network Settings in Windows 10
Network Diagnostics Troubleshooter Reports Problem With Wireless Adapter or Access Point
comments powered by Disqus
