Wi-Fi Not Working on Windows 11: How to Get Connected Again

No Internet

Why it happens

Microsoft's Fix Wi-Fi connection issues in Windows page separates the cases by what Windows shows:

• Wi-Fi is off, or Airplane mode is on. The PC does not try to connect at all. On some laptops a physical Wi-Fi switch does the same thing.
• Connected to Wi-Fi, but No Internet. To decide this, Windows "sends a small HTTP request to a server on the Internet". If no answer comes back, it shows the No Internet status. The PC is on your local network, but the path to the internet is broken. Microsoft points to the IP configuration, the DNS cache, a manual proxy, DHCP on the router, or the modem and provider.
• An IP address that starts with 169.254. Microsoft says this "means that Windows couldn't get an IP address from your router".
• No Wi-Fi networks found. The adapter may not support the band your router uses (for example an adapter limited to 2.4 GHz near a 5 GHz-only network). Its driver may also be filtering that band out, which Microsoft says is not common.
• No network adapter detected or enabled. The adapter is disabled in Device Manager, or its driver did not load. Microsoft suggests reinstalling the driver if the connection stopped working properly after a recent update.

How to fix it

Work through these steps in order and test your connection after each one.

1. Run the troubleshooter. On Windows 11, Microsoft's first step is the automated Network and Internet troubleshooter in the Get Help app. It runs diagnostics and attempts to fix problems on its own.

2. Check that Wi-Fi is on. Select the Network, Sound or Battery icons on the right of the taskbar, make sure Wi-Fi is turned on, and check that your network shows Connected. If it does not, pick your network from the list and connect. Then check Airplane mode:

   Settings > Network & Internet > Airplane mode   (turn it off)
   

   If the Wi-Fi option is missing altogether, check for a physical Wi-Fi switch on the laptop.

3. Forget the network and reconnect. This removes the saved network from the PC, so you join it again from scratch:

   Settings > Network & internet > Wi-Fi > Manage known networks > [your network] > Forget
   

   Then select the network again and type the password. If you do not know it, Microsoft's Connect to a Wi-Fi network page shows how to read it on another Windows PC that is already connected: Settings > Network & internet > Properties, then Show next to Wi-Fi network password.

4. Restart the modem and the router. This creates a new connection to your internet provider. Everyone on your Wi-Fi is disconnected for a moment. Microsoft notes that the exact steps vary by device, so use the power button or the restart method in your router maker's documentation. Do not open the device. The order is: switch the router off, then the modem, and wait at least 30 seconds. Switch the modem back on and wait for its lights to stop blinking. Then switch the router back on, wait a few minutes for both to finish starting, and reconnect from the PC. With a combined modem/router, there is only one device to restart.

5. Try the other band. If your router broadcasts a 2.4 GHz and a 5 GHz network, they appear as two separate names in the list. Try connecting to the other one.

6. Test another device. Join the same network from a phone or another laptop. If that device connects, the problem is probably your PC.

7. Reset TCP/IP and renew the IP address. Search the taskbar for command prompt, select Run as administrator > Yes, and run these commands in this order:

   netsh winsock reset
   netsh int ip reset
   ipconfig /release
   ipconfig /renew
   ipconfig /flushdns
   

   Microsoft says these reset the TCP/IP stack, release and renew the IP address, and flush and reset the DNS client resolver cache.

8. Reinstall the network adapter driver. First download the latest network adapter driver from your PC maker's website. If the PC has no connection, download it on another PC and copy it over on a USB flash drive. Then:

   Device Manager > Network adapters > right-click your adapter > Uninstall device
   > tick "Attempt to remove the driver for this device" > Uninstall
   

   Restart with Start > Power > Restart. Windows looks for and installs the adapter driver itself. If it does not, install the driver you saved.

9. Stop Windows switching the adapter off. In Device Manager, right-click the Wi-Fi adapter, select Properties, open the Power Management tab and untick Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.

10. Install updates and restart. Go to Settings > Windows Update > Check for updates, install what is offered, then restart. If an update itself refuses to install, see Windows Update failed to install.

11. Use Network reset, last. This removes every network adapter and its settings. They are reinstalled with default settings after the restart:

    Settings > Network & internet > Advanced network settings > Network reset > Reset now > Yes
    

    Afterwards you may need to reinstall VPN software or virtual switches such as Hyper-V's. Your known networks may also be set to the public profile, where the PC is not discoverable by other devices on the network.

Check that it worked

Open the network list from the taskbar: your network should show Connected, without No Internet. To prove the PC reaches the router, open Command Prompt as administrator, run ipconfig, and note the Default gateway address of your Wi-Fi adapter. Then ping it, replacing the address with yours:

ping 192.168.1.1

Microsoft's example of a good result is a series of lines such as Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=5ms TTL=64, with Lost = 0 (0% loss) in the statistics. If you get replies but still have no internet, the link to the router works. Microsoft points to the modem or your provider next: check for a service outage from another device. If the router does not reply and you can plug the PC into the modem with an Ethernet cable, a working wired connection shows that the problem is the Wi-Fi router. In that case check the router's documentation and make sure its firmware is up to date.

If something still connects but then fails, Windows can build a log of the last three days of Wi-Fi activity. Microsoft's wireless network report page explains it. In an elevated Command Prompt, run:

netsh wlan show wlanreport

The command saves an HTML report. It groups events by connection session, lists the disconnect reasons, and, if there is a problem with an adapter, lists its Problem number.

Connected to Wi-Fi but "No Internet"

When the network shows No Internet, start with the steps Microsoft gives for this case:

• Turn Wi-Fi off and on again, then reconnect.
• Run ipconfig /release, ipconfig /renew and ipconfig /flushdns in an elevated Command Prompt.
• Go to Settings > Network & Internet > Proxy and turn off any manual proxy setting.
• Check your IP address. If it starts with 169.254, Windows got no address from the router. Unless your network uses static IP addresses, check in the router's documentation that DHCP is enabled.
• Check your DNS server. Run ipconfig /all | findstr /c:"DNS Servers", then ping the address it shows. If your IP address is valid but the DNS server does not answer, Microsoft suggests switching to a different DNS server through Change TCP/IP settings.

If the connection keeps dropping instead, Microsoft lists a power setting: Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power Options > Change plan settings > Change advanced power settings > Wireless Adapter Settings > Power Saving Mode > Maximum Performance.

The same checks help when only one service misbehaves on a working connection. A printer that Windows reports as offline can be on a different network from the PC; see printer offline on Windows 11. App-specific codes have their own guides: Roblox error code 279 is a failed connection to a game server, and Disney+ error code 83 can come from a slow or unstable connection.

Wi-Fi faults on Windows 11 sort themselves out by what Windows tells you: no network at all points to the switches, the adapter or its driver; No Internet points to IP, DNS, proxy or the router and provider. Go from the quick settings checks to the commands, and only then to Network reset, and you change as little as possible to get back online.