Well, if you are seeing that your network adapter missing on your computer, then one of the reasons may be that you are using an older network card driver installed on your computer. But you don’t need to take worry as the fixes are available to solve this problem.

However, if the problem is happening for the first time on your computer then try rebooting it and then discover the network adapter on your computer. Many of us have faced the issue of the mischievous network adapter. Since the adapter is missing then one cannot be able to connect with the internet.

Why Windows 10 Network Adapter Missing?

Here are some of the major issues that you will face when it comes to missing Network Adapters on Windows 10:

1: Sometimes Wi-Fi doesn’t show up under the network connections.

2: Network Adapter refuses to get detected or shows not found issue.

3: Wireless Adapter gets missing from the Device Manager.

As such there are many more reasons that why Windows 10 Network Adapter gets missing, but one possible reason for this issue is incompatible or outdated network drivers. Usually, this can happen when you have recently updated your system or your PC is running corrupted programming data.

How to Fix Network Adapter Missing on Windows 10?

In this article, we will discuss some general troubleshooting steps to restore the Network Adapter Missing error on Windows 10. Following these steps, you can efficiently resolve this issue on Windows 10.

Solution 1: Restart your PC to Fix Network Adapter Missing Error:

Follow these steps in order to restart your PC:

1: Firstly, you need to press and hold the power button on the front of the computer.

2: Now, here it will display the three options:

3: Here you will need to click on the Restart option and thus the PC will get restarted.

Solution 2: Update Network Driver to Fix Network Adapter Missing:

In order to update Network Driver settings, you need to follow these given steps:

1: First, you need to open Settings.

2: Now, click Network and Internet.

3: Click on Status.

4: Now, under the “Advanced network Settings” you need to click the Change adapter options link.

5: Next, right-click the Wi-Fi or Ethernet adapter and then select the Enable option.

6: Once you have completed the steps, then the adapter will enable and reconfigure it automatically.

Solution 3 – Activate and Deactivate Network Adapter:

Follow these steps to activate and deactivate the Network adapter:

1: Firstly, you need to open the Settings.

2: Now, select Network and internet and then click on Status.

3: Next, under the “Advanced network settings” on the right, you will need to find the Change adapter options.

4: Next, you need to choose the network adapter or Ethernet port of your Windows PC.

5: Right-click on it and then select Disable.

6: Now, for activation, you need to right-click on the network adapter or Ethernet port and then select Activate.

Solution 4 – Change Adapter Settings:

Follow these steps to change Adapter settings:

1: Open the Windows Settings.

2: Now, select Network and Internet and then click on Ethernet.

3: Next, you need to look for a wireless adapter that is currently working.

4: Right-click on it and then select Properties.

5: Now, search for the internet protocol Version 6.

6: Uncheck IPv6 in order to disable it and then click on Ok.

7: Restart your PC.

Solution 5 – Update your Windows:

To update your Windows 10 look for the following steps:

1: Firstly, select the Start button and then select Settings>Update and Security>Windows update.

2: However, if you want to check for your updates manually, then you need to select Check for updates.

3: Now, select Advanced Options and then under Choose how updates are installed, you need to select Automatic.

Solution 6 – Use Network Troubleshooter:

Refer to these given steps to use Network Troubleshooter:

1: First, you need to open the Windows Settings.

2: Now, go to Update and Security and then select Troubleshoot then click Additional Troubleshooter.

3: Next, click on Internet Connections.

4: Go to the Run The Troubleshooter.

5: Follow the on-screen instructions and let the process finish.

6: Now, Restart your PC.

Solution 7 – Uninstall the Network Adapter:

Refer to these given steps to uninstall the network adapter:

1: First, you need to click the Windows icon in the bottom left corner of the screen and then type Device Manager into the search bar.

2: Here the Device Manager should appear.

3: Now, right-click the Network Adapter and then click Uninstall.

4: Here the program will confirm the uninstallation process.

5: Once it finishes the uninstalling driver then you need to Restart your computer.

Solution 8 – Perform a System Restore:

On Windows 10, the system restore feature is not turned on by default but you must enable it manually using Control Panel. Thus, to enable System restore, you need to use these steps:

1: Open Start.

2: Now, search for Create a restore point and then click the top result to open the System properties page.

3: Next, under the “Protection Settings” you need to select the main “System Drive”.

4: Now, click the configure button.

5: Next, select the Turn on System protection option.

6: Click the Apply button.

7: Next, click the Ok button.

8: Once you completed these steps, then Windows 10 will automatically create a restore point when applying a new update or when the specific system changes have been made.

Solution 9 – Using an Elevated Command Prompt:

Here has been listed some steps to use an Elevated command prompt:

1: First, click Start.

2: In the search box you need to type cmd.

3: Now, you need to right-click cmd.exe and then select Run as Administrator and if it is done properly then the user account control window below opens.

4: Next, click yes to the Windows Command Prompt as Administrator.

Solution 10 – Reset Winsock Component:

To reset the Winsock component, follow these steps carefully:

1: Firstly, you need to type cmd in the Start search box and then right-click cmd.exe

2: Now, click Run as Administrator and then press continue.

3: Next, you need to type netsh winsock reset at the command prompt and then press Enter.

4:  Now, type exit and then press Enter.

Solution 11 – Show Hidden Devices in Device Manager:

Perform these following steps to show hidden devices in Device Manager:

1: First, click Start> Run.

2: Type cmd in the text box and then click OK.

3: Type set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices and press Enter.

4: Now, type cd\ windows\system32 and hit enter.

5: Next, you need to type devmgmt.msc and then hit Enter.

6: When the device manager gets open then you need to click the View menu.

7: Now, click and show the hidden devices.

Solution 12 – Check Power Management Settings:

To check the power management settings, perform these following steps:

1: Firstly, click on Start.

2: Now, click Control Panel.

3: Next, you need to click Power options.

4: Click and change the battery settings.

5: Now, select the power profile you desire.

Solution 13 – Automate WWAN Auto Configuration:

Here is how you can automate WWAN auto-configuration into the following given steps:

1: Firstly, you need to press Windows key + S and then begin type “Services”.

2: Now, click on the services in the search result.

3: In the WWAN Auto-Configuration properties window, you need to check the Service status if it is running.

4: Now, click the drop-down menu next to the option “Startup type “and then select Automatic.

5: Next, click on the Apply button and then press ok to save the changes on your computer.

6: Close Services Window and then Restart your computer.

7: Once you reboot your computer then check if you can discover the missing adapter on your computer.

Solution 14 – Pull computer in Sleep Mode:

In order to make your PC in sleep mode, you need to follow these given steps:

1: First select the Start button.

2: Then select Settings.

3: Now, go to the System and then power and sleep mode.

4: Next, select PC into the safe mode.

Solution 15 – Disable VPN and Antivirus:

Follow these steps to disable VPN and Antivirus settings:

1: First, you need to open the Windows Defender Security Center.

2: Now, go to Virus and Threat protection settings.

3: Next, select Exclusions.

4: Now, select Add or remove exclusions.

5: Finally, select add exclusion and then add your VPN client software.

Solution 16 – Check Physical Network Button:

To check the physical network button, learn these given steps:

1: In the command prompt, you need to type ipconfig and then press Enter key.

2: Here the network address is given as the physical address.

Note: You need to remember that if your computer has more than one network card and wireless network card then you may get the two entries.

Solution 17 – Remove Battery:

To remove the battery in your laptop, learn the following given steps:

1: If you see that your laptop is plugged in, then you need to either unplug it or disconnect it from the power cable.

2: Now, turn your laptop over so the bottom is facing up.

3: Next, you need to locate the battery latch on the bottom of the Laptop.

4: Now, to remove the battery, you need to slide the latch switch to the opposite side and then hold it and open until the battery is released.

5: There are some laptops whose battery pops out its own and on some others; you need to pull the battery out gently with the tip of your fingers.

Solution 18 –Rollback Network Adapter Driver update:

If you see that the network adapter driver was not working well before the recent updates to your driver then it may be the reason that why your network adapter on your computer doesn’t work. Thus, rolling back the last network adapter driver can help in solving the problem that you are facing.

Follow these given steps to rollback the faulty update of your network adapter driver:

1: Firstly, you need to right-click on the Windows icon on the left-side corner of your computer screen.

2: Now, click on Device Manager.

3: Here the Device Manager utility will open.

4: Next, in the Device Manager window, you need to find Network Adapters from the list and then click on it.

5: Now, from the drop-down menu, you need to double click on the driver that you are currently using.

6: Here the Properties windows will get open.

7: Now, in the properties window, visit the Driver Tab.

8: Next, click on Roll Back Driver and then click on Ok.

9: Finally, the driver will be roll-backed.

Solution 19: Troubleshoot network problems:

If none of the steps work then you can troubleshoot the problem with the help of a Windows troubleshooter. However, the troubleshooter will not only detect the problem of your network adapter but will also attempt to fix those problems.

Follow the below-given steps to troubleshoot your network adapter driver problem:

1: Firstly, you need to type the Troubleshoot Network in the search dialog box i.e next to the Windows icon.

2: Now, you need to click on Troubleshoot network.

3: Next, you need to click on network troubleshooter.

4: Here you need to follow the on-screen instructions and this will automatically attempt to fix your problem.

5: Once the process gets completed you need to click on Close.

6: Finally, you need to reboot your computer and then check if you can find your network adapter driver on your computer. You need to also check that whether your problem has been resolved or not.

Solution 20:  Restart Network:

Have a look of how you can restart your network:

1: First, open Settings app.

2: Now, select Network and Internet.

3: Next, keep status selected in the left pane.

4: Now, scroll down in the right pane to find and click Network Reset.

5: Click Reset now button and then confirm your selection.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)

Q1: How you can fix the missing network adapter?

Ans: Follow these steps to fix the missing network adapter:

1: Firstly, right-click “My Computer” and then click Properties.

2: Now, you need to click the Hardware tab and then click Device Manager.

3: Here you will see a list of installed network adapters and then expand Network adapters.

4: Now, restart the computer and then let the system automatically detect and install network adapter drivers.

Q2: How you can reinstall the Windows network adapter?

Ans: In order to re-install the Windows network adapter, learn the following given steps:

1: Firstly, you need to press Windows Key + X and then select the Device Manager.

2: Now, expand the Network adapter.

3: Next, you need to right-click on the driver and then uninstall it.

4: Now, restart the computer and then check the functionality.

Q3: How you can enable a Network adapter?

Ans: To enable network adapter settings, learn these following given steps:

1: First, you need to open Settings.

2: Now, you need to click on Network and Security.

3: Next, click on Status.

4: Click on Change adapter options.

5: Now, right-click the network adapter and then select the enable option.

Q4: How you can fix wireless adapter windows 10?

Ans: Refer to these given steps to fix wireless adapter windows 10:

1: Press Windows + X and then click on device manager.

2: Now, right-click on the network adapter and then choose Uninstall.

3: Next, you need to click on Delete the driver software for the device.

4: Now, reboot the system and the windows and this will automatically reinstall the drivers.

Q5: How you can install a wireless adapter on a PC?

Ans: In order to install the wireless adapter on PC, learn these given steps:

1: Firstly, you need to insert the adapter onto your computer.

2: Now, right-click the computer and then click Manage.

3: Open, the device manager.

4: Next, you need to pick from a list of device drivers on my computer.

5: Highlight and show all devices and then click Next.

6: Click “Have a disk”.

7: Now, point the inf file into the drive folder and then click open.

8: Click Next.

9: Click and install the driver software.

10: Now, click close.

Q6: How you can fix the wireless adapter problem?

Ans: To fix the wireless adapter problem, try to follow these steps:

1:  Firstly, update the wireless drivers.

2: Now, switch to the wired connection.

3: Next, you need to remove the antivirus.

4: Now, delete your wireless profile.

5: Check if your password is correct.

6: Next, you can use some command prompt solutions.

7: Check if your wireless adapter has been disabled or not.

8: Now, change the name and password for your Wi-Fi connection.

Final words

In this article, we have defined all the basic steps in order to resolve the issue of Network Adapter missing. You can go through this article and check the above troubleshooting steps for resolving this problem.

However, if these solutions won’t work accurately then you can contact our experienced team of technicians and get help from them. You can communicate or contact us via chat and we assure you that we try to deliver the best possible solutions to fix this problem. We are available all time so, feel free to contact us.

We have covered the best possible solutions to fix the disabled network adapter. So, if you have any questions or queries regarding this article then feel free to share your doubts via the comment section below. We would love to hear your queries and thanks for being with us.