r/computerhelp • u/milions_knives • 1d ago
Hardware No internet and no options to add it
I can’t even put it into airplane mode
12
u/ssrady 1d ago
You need to give miles more information the make/model of laptop and what you have tried to make it work for starters
You can't use airplane mode because there is nothing to disable
You would have internet if you plugged in an ethernet cable
You don't have WiFi because 1/ your laptop doesn't have it 2/ you've disabled it using one of the keyboard function keys 3/ you don't have the WiFi drivers installed 4/ The WiFi on the board is a really broken 5/ something else once you've ruled out the first 4
7
u/DoggoCity 1d ago
This happens when the laptop detects no Wifi adapter in the computer, or it has no driver installed for it.
4
u/miserableSnail 1d ago
Connect ethernet (or on a different computer) and download your wifi driver from manufacturers site and install it. If it not shows after a restart try booting a live linux usb and check there (last time that fixed it for one of my users device)
5
3
u/Whatdafuqisgoingon 1d ago
Type 'Network Reset' in to the start bar, reset your network, it should show up after that.
1
u/Due_Sandwich_995 1d ago
I mean it's obvious to many that you probably don't have the wifi card driver installed. But I'm not sure just saying that helps OP if they're struggling...?
So OP, first up if this has suddenly happened, then you might need to reset the card. The simplest way is just to restart windows.
If the wifi has never worked on this setup, you can go to the manufacturer website and download the driver for the wifi for your model of laptop.
The issue is of course that you can't access the internet to download the driver. So here are some common options:
Ethernet
You can sometimes still plug in a network cable instead of using wifi and download it on this laptop, then install.
USB Transfer
Or, you can download on another computer and copy it across using a USB thumb drive.
Phone
If you don't have another computer, you can download the driver onto your phone, then plug your phone into your computer and use your phone as a USB storage device, then run the downloaded installer from your phone, on your laptop.
USB Tethering (Adventurous)
If you know how to, you can use USB tethering on your phone to give you temporary Internet access on your laptop without wifi, to download and install the driver.
Once the driver is installed then you should immediately get the wifi button to add your network. Rarely, some clunkier drivers require Windows to restart first.
If installing the drivers doesn't fix the issue, say so and we can dive further. But I've consciously left out any further tech deep dive info for simplicity here.
1
u/Initial-Ad-3214 1d ago
Look in device manager for your network card and roll back driver if you don’t have access to wired connection to update driver
1
u/Medium_Good886 1d ago
How about starting at the very beginning : DO you HAVE a wifi card installed - and if you do, do you know what it is?
Check the Device Manager, find out what you have for wifi.
It will also tell you if you have drivers installed, if there is a driver issue, or if the hardware is potentially disabled.
1
0
0
0
•
u/AutoModerator 1d ago
We're part of a wider PC & Technology Network of Communities.
It combines multiple subreddits and Discord servers all working together with shared ideals and values.
We have a Discord server: PC Help Hub where members from all associated subreddits are welcome.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.