We can all agree that Wi-Fi is now a fundamental part of our civilization. It is something that is around whenever we need it. Another thing we can agree on is that when Wi-Fi can’t connect or is no longer functioning properly, we do not feel at ease.
As a result, there are ways we’ve discovered can fix a broken Wi-Fi connection on Windows 10.
One thing you want to do first is check if other devices can connect to your own Wi-Fi without any problems, if they can, then it is obvious the problem lies with your system. If that’s not the case, then the problem is from the router, in which case you have to turn it off and then turn it on again.
One thing you want to try is switching on your Wi-Fi, to do this, go to Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi.
While in the Wi-Fi menu, click “Manage known networks” and then click “Forget” to forget the network you want to connect to. After that, reconnect it again.
If that fails, try this:
Restart Wi-Fi Direct Virtual Adapter
We have gathered that a broken Wi-Fi connection usually comes from the Microsoft Wi-Fi Direct Virtual Adapter. This is what turns Windows into a Wi-Fi hotspot, but note that when you disable it, you also disable the Portable Hotspot function. To do this:
Search for “Device Manager” in the Start menu search bar, click on it and once the “Device Manager” window opens, click “View > Show hidden devices”.
Scroll down to Network adapters, right-click “Microsoft Wi-Fi Direct Virtual Adapter”, click on “Disable device”. When you’re done, reboot your PC.
Disable Power Management on Wi-Fi
In the Device Manager window, you could also disable power management for the wireless network adapter that is having an issue. To do this, look for the adapter that has the word “Wireless” or “Wi-Fi” under Network adapters in the Device Manager. Once you do that, right-click on it, and select properties.
A new window will open, click the Power Management at the top of the window and untick the box “Allow the computer to turn off this device”.
Reset Network Settings
You can also reset the network in Settings. What this does is uninstall and reinstall the network drivers in your system and could remove the issues as well.
Go to Settings > Network & Internet > Status > Network reset.
Restart Wireless NIC in BIOS
Not everybody will be able to do this, however, if you want to enter your BIOS, keep pressing either Del, f8, f10, or f12 while your system is booting. If Windows starts up, you will have to reboot it again.
In the BIOS, you’ll see something like “Power Management”, under it you’ll see an option like Wireless, Wireless LAN or something of the sort. Disable it and reboot your PC, after which you enter BIOS again to enable it again.
Please note that the above methods can only fix Wi-Fi connection issues that arise from software or drivers in your PC.
