If Wi-Fi is not showing on your Windows 11 PC, check Airplane mode and your laptop’s Wi-Fi key first, then shut the machine down completely, unplug it, and hold the power button for about 30 seconds before starting it again. That power drain fixes it more often than anything else. If Wi-Fi is still missing, open Device Manager and check whether the wireless adapter is disabled, then make sure the WLAN AutoConfig service is running in services.msc.
Applies to: Windows 11 (23H2, 24H2, 25H2) and Windows 10 (22H2) | Last updated: August 21, 2026
Key Takeaways
- Airplane mode and the laptop Wi-Fi key are the two things worth ruling out before anything else. A hardware Wi-Fi key switches the radio off at the hardware level, and Windows cannot switch it back on by itself.
- Draining the residual power (full shutdown, unplug, hold the power button for about 30 seconds) is the single fix that brings Wi-Fi back most often. Most guides bury it at the end. It belongs near the front.
- If the wireless adapter shows a small down arrow in Device Manager, it is disabled, and enabling it puts Wi-Fi straight back into Settings. If it is not listed at all, use View > Show hidden devices.
- The entire Wi-Fi side of Windows runs on the WLAN AutoConfig service. If that service is stopped or disabled, Wi-Fi disappears from Settings completely even though the adapter is perfectly healthy.
- Network reset works, but it removes every network adapter and its settings, so you will retype your Wi-Fi password and set up any VPN client again. That is why it goes last, not first.
Quick Steps
- Open Quick Settings (click the network, sound or battery icons, or press Windows + A) and make sure Airplane mode is off.
- On a laptop, press the key with the airplane or antenna icon on the top row, both with and without the Fn key held down.
- Shut down fully, unplug the charger or power cable, hold the power button for about 30 seconds, then plug in and start up.
- Right-click Start > Device Manager > Network adapters. If the Wi-Fi or WLAN adapter has a down arrow on it, right-click and enable it.
- Open the adapter’s properties, go to Power Management, and untick the option that lets Windows turn the device off to save power.
- Search for
services, open WLAN AutoConfig, set it to start automatically, and click Start. - Still nothing? Roll back the Wi-Fi driver, then uninstall the adapter and restart, then run Network reset as the last software step.
In This Guide
- The 10-second checks — Airplane mode and the laptop Wi-Fi key.
- Drain the leftover power — the fix that works most often.
- Check the adapter in Device Manager — disabled, hidden, or turned off to save power.
- Start the WLAN AutoConfig service — a healthy adapter with no Wi-Fi anywhere.
- Roll back or reinstall the driver — and the checkbox I would leave unticked.
- Network reset — what it costs you, and why it is last.
- When it is not Windows anymore — BIOS, a dead card, and the cheap way out.
Start With the 10-Second Checks
Click the network, sound or battery icons in the bottom-right corner of the taskbar, or press Windows + A, and Quick Settings opens. Look at Airplane mode. If it is on, your Wi-Fi is off, and every other fix in this guide is wasted effort until you turn it back off. Microsoft lists this as the first check in its own Wi-Fi connection troubleshooting guide for the same reason.
Next, the laptop key. A lot of laptops have a key along the top row with a small airplane or antenna printed on it. If that has been pressed by accident, the Wi-Fi radio is switched off in hardware, and Windows genuinely cannot switch it back on for you. No driver, no service and no reset will bring the Wi-Fi option back while that radio is off.
How you press it varies by model. On some laptops it is the key on its own, on others you hold the Fn key (bottom-left of the keyboard, next to Ctrl or the Windows key) and then press it. Try it both ways, and give the Wi-Fi icon a couple of seconds to reappear after each attempt.
Tip: Some laptops, mostly older ones, have a physical slider switch on the front edge or the side of the chassis instead of a keyboard key. It is easy to knock in a bag. Run a finger along the edges and check.
Drain the Leftover Power (the Fix That Works Most Often)
This is the one I want you to try early, because in my repair shop years it sorted out more strange Windows behaviour than any single setting ever did, and missing Wi-Fi is one of its specialities. Every other video I looked at while making this guide buries it as method 9 or 10, and their comment sections are full of people saying it was the only thing that worked.
On a laptop: shut the machine down completely, not a restart. Unplug the charger. If the battery comes out, take it out. Hold the power button down for about half a minute. Then put the battery back, plug the charger in, and start up as normal.
On a desktop: shut down, pull the power cable out of the power supply, then hold the power button for about half a minute. Pressing it a few more times after that does no harm. Plug the cable back in and switch on as usual.
What this does is flush the residual power still sitting in the components, which gives the wireless card a proper power cycle rather than the half-sleep it gets from a normal restart. It sounds too simple to be a real fix. It is still the one that brings Wi-Fi back most often.
Note: If you cannot remove the battery, do not force it. The power-button hold does the same job with the charger unplugged, it is just slightly less thorough.
Check What Windows Thinks of the Adapter
Right-click the Start button, open Device Manager, and expand Network adapters. Your wireless adapter almost always has Wi-Fi or WLAN somewhere in the name, often alongside the chipset maker (Intel, Realtek, Qualcomm, MediaTek).
If it is listed with a small down arrow on the icon, the adapter is disabled. Right-click it, choose the option to enable it, and Wi-Fi comes straight back into Settings, usually within a second or two. This is by far the most common thing I find on machines where Wi-Fi has vanished without warning.
If the adapter is not in the list at all, click View at the top of Device Manager and choose Show hidden devices. If it turns up greyed out, enable it exactly the same way.
Stop Windows Turning the Adapter Off to Save Power
While you are in the adapter’s properties, go to the Power Management tab and untick the box that lets the computer turn the device off to save power. This is the setting behind Wi-Fi that works fine until the machine sleeps, then comes back with no wireless at all. Microsoft’s own Wi-Fi article lists disabling power saving for the adapter as a step for exactly this reason.
Untick it, click OK, and the setting applies immediately. There is no restart and no downside. The power saved by letting Windows switch off a wireless card is negligible, and the cost of it going wrong is a laptop with no Wi-Fi every time you open the lid.
Make Sure the WLAN AutoConfig Service Is Running
This one is easy to miss, and it is how a perfectly healthy adapter still leaves you with no Wi-Fi anywhere in Windows. The whole Wi-Fi side of Windows runs on a service called WLAN AutoConfig. It is what scans for wireless networks, picks one, and connects through the adapter. Microsoft documents it as installed and enabled by default on Windows client devices, so if it is stopped, something switched it off.
Open the Start menu, type services, and open the Services panel. Scroll down to WLAN AutoConfig and double-click it. Set the startup type so it starts automatically, click Start, then click OK. Wi-Fi comes back the moment the service is running, with no restart needed.
If you prefer the command line, an administrator Terminal does the same thing:
net start wlansvcTip: If you have ever used a debloating or optimisation tool that disables services, this is the first place to look. Wi-Fi vanishing right after a “tune-up” is almost always this service. Winhance, my own tool, does not touch WLAN AutoConfig at all.
Roll Back or Reinstall the Wi-Fi Driver
If everything above is fine and you still have nothing, it is most likely the driver, and this usually happens right after a Windows update. Windows replaced a driver that worked with one that does not, and the adapter went quiet.
Back in Device Manager, open the adapter’s properties and go to the Driver tab. If the button to roll back the driver is available, use it. That is the quickest way back, because it restores the exact driver that was working before the update.
If it is greyed out, there is no previous driver stored. In that case, right-click the adapter, choose Uninstall device, and restart the PC. Windows normally reinstalls the driver it holds for that card on the next boot, which rebuilds the connection between Windows and the adapter from scratch.
The Checkbox I Would Leave Unticked
The Uninstall device dialog offers to remove the driver for the device as well. Microsoft’s guide says to tick it, so Windows goes looking for a fresh driver, and that advice is sound if you have Ethernet or a phone hotspot as a backup way online.
If Wi-Fi is your only connection, leave it unticked. With the box clear, Windows puts the same driver back from the copy it keeps locally, and you cannot end up on a machine with no driver and no way to download one. That is a judgement call based on how I would do it on a customer’s laptop, not a Microsoft instruction, and it is worth knowing the difference.
If Windows comes back without a driver, or with one that still does not work, the fix is a driver from the laptop or motherboard manufacturer rather than anything inside Windows. I go through where to get those, and what to do when a driver update breaks something, in my guide on how to update drivers on Windows 11 the right way.
Network Reset: the Last Software Fix
Go to Settings > Network & internet > Advanced network settings, and Network reset is at the bottom of that page. It removes every network adapter on the PC along with their settings, restarts the machine, and reinstalls them with default settings.
That is a real cost, and it is why it goes last rather than first. Expect to type your Wi-Fi password in again afterwards. Anything like a VPN client, a virtual adapter, or a manually set IP address will need setting up again too. Nothing is lost that you cannot re-enter, but it is inconvenient enough that you should exhaust the cheaper steps first.
With that said, when nothing else in this guide has worked, this is the one that usually fixes it. Give the machine a few minutes after the restart before deciding it failed, because Windows is reinstalling adapters in the background while you are looking at the desktop.
And Then the Troubleshooter
You will find it under Settings > System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters > Network & Internet. I have put it here, near the end, because it mostly tells you to do the things this guide has already walked you through. It is worth 30 seconds if you have got this far, and I would rather mention it than have you wonder whether you missed something.
One thing to expect: Microsoft has been retiring the old MSDT troubleshooters, so on current builds this one hands you over to the Get Help app rather than running the classic wizard.
When It Is Not Windows Anymore
If none of the fixes above brought Wi-Fi back, I stop treating it as a Windows problem. On some laptops the wireless card can be switched off in the BIOS or UEFI settings, so that is worth a look before anything else. Restart, press the key your model uses to enter setup (usually F2, F10 or Delete), and look for a wireless or WLAN entry under an onboard devices or advanced menu.
Otherwise, the card itself has failed, or it has worked loose from its slot, which happens on laptops that get carried around a lot. Reseating a wireless card means opening the machine, and if you are at that point on a laptop that is out of warranty, be honest with yourself about whether it is worth the afternoon.
The cheap way out is a USB wireless adapter. It plugs into a USB port, Windows installs it on its own, and you have working Wi-Fi again for the price of a takeaway. On an older laptop, that is usually the sensible call.
If Wi-Fi is showing and connecting but everything feels slow, that is a completely different problem with a different set of causes. I cover it in how to fix slow internet on Windows 11, including the three “fixes” that do nothing at all. And if your Bluetooth has gone missing alongside the Wi-Fi, which happens when both radios live on the same card, my guide on fixing Bluetooth issues on Windows 10 and 11 covers that side.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did my Wi-Fi option disappear from Windows 11 Settings?
Windows hides the Wi-Fi section entirely when it cannot see a working wireless adapter. The three usual causes are a disabled adapter in Device Manager, a stopped WLAN AutoConfig service, or a driver that broke during a Windows update. Airplane mode and a hardware Wi-Fi key produce the same symptom, which is why they are worth ruling out first.
Does holding the power button for 30 seconds delete anything?
No. With the machine shut down and unplugged, holding the power button only discharges the power still sitting in the components. Your files, apps and settings are untouched, and nothing is reset. It is safe to do on any laptop or desktop.
Will a network reset delete my saved Wi-Fi passwords?
Yes. Network reset removes every network adapter and its settings, then reinstalls them with defaults after a restart. You will need to reconnect to your Wi-Fi network and type the password again, and reconfigure any VPN client or manually assigned IP address.
Should I tick “Attempt to remove the driver for this device”?
Only if you have another way to get online, such as Ethernet or a phone hotspot. Ticking it makes Windows look for a fresh driver, which is Microsoft’s recommendation. Leaving it unticked makes Windows reinstall the copy it already has, which is safer when Wi-Fi is your only connection.
Do these fixes work on Windows 10 as well?
Yes. Device Manager, the WLAN AutoConfig service, driver rollback and network reset all work the same way on Windows 10 (22H2), and the menu paths are close enough to follow. Only the Quick Settings panel and the Settings layout look different.
