Is your wireless network adapter is missing on your Windows 10 PC? Then, don’t worry! Though it might be frustrating you are not the only one who is experiencing this issue. There are a lot of other users who find the trouble in Wireless adapter missing on their PC. All you should know how you will be able to fix this problem.

Why is your Wireless Adapter Missing on Windows 10?

In this article, we will discuss some general troubleshooting methods that help in restoring the missing network adapters on Windows 10 computers. You first need to resolve your Internet connection problems.

Here we have defined some of the major reasons that cause this problem:

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

2: Sometimes the Network adapter refuses to get detected or it shows not found issue.

3: Wireless adapter gets missing from the device manager.

There are some more reasons that why the Windows 10 network adapter gets missing. But one possible issue is incompatible or outdated network drivers. This issue can also get happen if you have recently updated your system or your PC is running the corrupted programming data.

How to Fix Wireless Adapter Missing on Windows 10?

Nobody indeed likes when the internet stops working. Usually, we faced the issue due to the mischievous network adapter. Sometimes the network adapter gets disappeared from the device manager and one can get the notification that their network adapter is missing. Since the adapter is missing then the user will not be able to connect to the internet.

Look at the following given troubleshooting steps to resolve this error:

Solution 1 – Fix your Network Connection to Fix Wireless Adapter Missing issue:

Following has been listed some steps to fix your internet connection:

1: In the beginning, click on the search button inside your taskbar.

2: Now, type Troubleshooter and then click on the Troubleshooting settings from the results.

3: Here from the right-pane you need to click on the Additional Troubleshooters.

4: Next, you need to click on the Internet connections and then click on the Run the troubleshooter button.

5: Follow the on-screen instruction to complete the process.

Solution 2 – Reset Winsock Setting to Fix Wireless Adapter Missing issue:

In order to reset the Winsock settings, learn these following given steps:

1: First, you need to press Windows + X key and then you need to select the Powershell.

2: Now, type or copy the given command and then hit enter:

netsh winsock reset

3: Next, you need to wait for the process until it gets completed and then restart your PC.

4: Check if the adapter can be found in your Device Manager and then retry these given steps again.

5: The Power Shell command helps in restoring the driver for the network adapter and hopefully, this could solve your problem. Thus, you should try this step.

Solution 3 – Run Network Troubleshooter to Fix Wireless Adapter Missing issue:

Here is how you can run the network Troubleshooter:

1: On your computer keyboard, you first need to press the Windows logo key and then type the network troubleshooter.

2: Now, you need to select and identify the network problems and in the list of search results you can run the network troubleshooter.

3: Here the network troubleshooter will automatically detect your network problems on your PC.

4: You just need to follow the steps in the network troubleshooter and see if the problem gets resolved or not.

5: Now, check if your wireless network adapter starts working or not, and if not then continue with the next step.

Solution 4 – Perform Cleanup of Network devices:

Look for these steps to perform a clean-up of network devices:

1: First, you need to press the Windows key and R together and this will open the Run window.

2: Now, in the Run window you need to type cmd and then press Ctrl+ Shift+ Enter keys together and this will open the Command Prompt in the Administrative mode.

3: Here in the Command prompt window, you need to type or copy-paste the following command and then hit the enter key (netcfg-d)

4: Now, close the Command Prompt window.

5: In case if you face any error when you try to execute the command then you need to try executing the command on your computer.

6: Finally, restart your computer and let the changes take effect on your computer and see if this solves your problem and if not then continue moving to the next step.

Solution 5 – Show Hidden Devices in Device Manager:

Sometimes it happens that your network adapter gets hidden in the Device Manager window and then this problem gets occurs. To solve this problem, check for these given steps:

1: First, you need to open a Run window, and then you need to press Windows Key+ R.

2: Once you have opened the Run window then you need to type “devmgmt.msc”

3: Now, in the Device Manager window, you need to click on View on the menu bar and then make sure that the “Show hidden devices” has been checked.

4: After doing this, you need to click on Network adapters from the list of devices.

5: Now, you need to click on Action in the menu bar, and then finally you need to click on Scan for Hardware changes.

6: In the Device Manager window, you need to expand the Network adapters section and then check if the missing network adapter is appearing on your computer or not.

7: If still, it didn’t help you get out then continue with the next step.

Solution 6 – Automate WWAN Auto-Config:

While automating the WWAN auto-config on your operating device helps you in solving the network adapter problem:

1: Firstly, you need to press the Windows Key +S and then begin type Services.

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

3: Here in the service window, you need to scroll down to find the WWAN auto-config service.

4: Now, double-click on it, and WWAN auto-config properties window will get opened.

5: Next, in the WWAN auto-config properties, you need to check the Service status if it is running. In case if it gets stopped then you need to simply click on Start to begin the service.

6: Click on the drop-down menu beside the option “Startup type” and type Automatic.

7: Now, you need to click on Apply and then click the Ok button in order to save the changes on your computer devices.

8: Close the Services Window.

9: Reboot your computer.

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

Solution 7 – Update Drivers for Wireless Adapter:

However, if you cannot discover a network adapter driver on your computer system then the reason will be old/incompatible version of the network adapter is installed in your computer. While updating your existing driver might help in solving the problem.

Just follow these given steps to update your network adapter driver:

1: In the beginning, you need to press the Windows Key and then start to type “devmgmt”.

2: Now, click on the Device Manager that appears in the elevated search result.

3: In the Device Manager window, you need to find the Network adapters from the list and then click on it.

4: Now, from the drop-down menu you need to select the driver that you are using.

5: Right-click on it and then click on Update driver.

6: When you see that this prompt has appeared “ How do you want to search for the drivers? Then you need to click on this option and then start searching automatically for updated driver software.

7: Now, you need to wait for the windows till it searches for the compatible driver for your network adapter.

8: Now, download it and then install it.

9: Close the Device Manager window.

10: Restart your computer.

11: Now, check if you can find the network adapter driver and if still, the problem persists then go for the next step.

Solution 8 – Replace Network Interface, Controller Card:

To replace the Network Interface controller card, you need to follow these steps:

1: First, assemble the materials.

2: Now, gather the network card and the driver disks.

3: Next, shut down the Windows and then turn off the computer and unplug it.

4: You need to remember that you shouldn’t work on your computer insides with the power on.

5: Now, remove the cover from your computer.

6: Find an unused expansion slot inside your computer.

7: Next, remove the metal slot protector from the back of the computer framework.

8: Insert the network interface card into the slot.

9: Secure the network interface card.

10: Plug in the computer and then turn it back on and you will see that you have replaced the Network interface card.

Solution 9 – Scan for Hardware Changes:

Following has been listed some steps to scan for hardware changes:

1: First, click Start and then type devmgmt.msc in the Start search box and then press enter.

2: Now, here the Device Manager gets open.

3: In the Device Manager, you need to click your computer so that it is highlighted.

4: Click Action and then click scan for hardware changes.

5: Now, check the USB device to see if it’s working or not, and if not then check the next step.

Solution 10 – Change Power Management Setting:

In order to change the power management settings then look for these steps:

1: First, you need to press Win+ X keys on your keyboard and then open the Device Manager.

2: Now, expand the Network adapters section and then double-click the Wi-Fi network adapter.

3: Next, inside the newly opened window, you need to select the Power Management tab.

4: Deselect the option and then Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.

5: Click the Driver Tab and then select Enable Device and then press Ok.

6: When you change the PC power management settings, then you can easily fix the problem of Network adapters.

Frequently Asked Question (FAQ)

Q1: What are the ways to get a wireless adapter back?

Ans: Here we have defined some ways to get your wireless adapter back

1: First, you need to troubleshoot your network adapter.

2: Now, update the network adapter driver.

3: Roll back the network adapter driver.

4: Now, you need to temporarily turn off the firewalls and any antivirus or malware prevention software.

5: Next, uninstall the network adapter driver and then restart.

6: Re-install the network devices.

Q2: How you can fix wireless adapter windows 10?

Ans: Here is how you can do it:

1: First, update your network drivers.

2: Now, use the network troubleshooter.

3: Reset the TCP/IP stack.

4: Now, perform a registry tweak with Command prompt.

5: Next, change the adapter settings.

6: Reinstall the network adapter.

7: Reset your adapter.

8: Update the router firmware.

Q3: How you can re-install the wireless network adapter?

Ans: Perform these given steps to re-install it:

1: First, press Windows key + X and then select Device Manager.

2: Now, expand the network adapter.

3: Right-click on the driver and then uninstall it.

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

Q4: How you can fix the wireless adapter problem?

Ans: Following has been listed some steps to fixing the wireless adapter problem:

1: First, you need to update the wireless drivers.

2: Now, switch to a wired connection.

3: Remove antivirus.

4: Delete your wireless profile.

5: Check if the password is correct.

6: Make use of Command prompt solutions.

7: Check if the wireless adapter gets disabled.

8: Change the name and password of your Wi-Fi connection.

Q5: How to reset network adapter manually?

Ans: To reset network adapter manually, learn these given steps:

1: First, type ipconfig/release and then press enter.

2: Type ipconfig/flushdns and press enter.

3: Now, type ipconfig/renew and press enter.

4: Next, you need to type netsh int ip reset and press enter.

5: Type netsh int ip reset and press enter.

6: Again, type netsh winsock reset and then hit enter.

Conclusion

We hope that all the above-given solutions have helped you in solving the Wireless Adapter Missing issue. Try these methods and see which method works best for you and resolve your problem.

However, if you still face an error then contact our technical support team and get help from them. We are all time available at your service. So, feel free to contact us at any time and get hassle-free solutions from our technical experts. Also, if you would like the article then don’t forget to comment!