How to Fix a Missing Wi-Fi Option in Windows 11 (Step-by-Step Guide)

Is your Wi-Fi option missing on Windows 11? Don’t worry, this happens to many people. It can happen after a Windows update or power cut. When the Wi-Fi icon is gone, it means your computer can’t find the Wi-Fi device or it’s turned off. The good news is that it’s easy to fix. In this article We’ll show you simple steps to get your Wi-Fi working again.

How to Solve Missing Wi-Fi Option Issue in Windows 11

1. Restart Your Computer

Before diving into advanced fixes, try restarting your PC. It sounds basic but many temporary glitches disappear after a quick reboot.

• Click the Start menu, select Power and then click Restart.
• If you’re using a laptop you can also press the Sleep button once, wait a few seconds, and press the Power button again to wake it up.

Your laptop’s power management settings might be the cause if your Wi-Fi and Bluetooth disappear each time it comes up from sleep but return after restarting. You can modify them to avoid this problem in the future.

2. Run the Internet Connection Troubleshooter

Common network issues can be fixed with the built-in troubleshooters in Windows 11. Internet Connection Troubleshooter is one of them it looks for network problems and attempts to resolve them automatically.

To use it:

• Press Windows + I to open Settings.
• Go to System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters.
• Find Network and Internet and click Run.
• When prompted, click Troubleshoot my connection to the Internet.

Let Windows scan and fix the issues. Once it’s done, check if the Wi-Fi option is back.

3. Enable the Wi-Fi Adapter

If your Wi-Fi adapter is disabled, Windows won’t show any wireless network options. Here’s how to enable it:

• Press Windows + R, type control, and press Enter.
• Go to Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center.
• On the left, click Change adapter settings.
• Look for your Wi-Fi adapter. If it’s greyed out, right-click it and choose Enable.
• If it’s already enabled, right-click it again and choose Diagnose to let Windows scan for problems.

Follow the recommended steps and apply the fix if one is found.

4. Update Network Adapter Drivers

Outdated or faulty network drivers can cause Wi-Fi to stop working. Updating them might fix the issue:

• Open Device Manager by pressing the Windows key, typing “Device Manager,” and selecting it.
• Expand Network adapters.
• Right-click your Wi-Fi adapter (e.g., Intel Wi-Fi) and choose Update driver.
• Click Search automatically for drivers.

If Windows finds a newer version, it will install it. Restart your PC afterward and check for Wi-Fi.

Tip: If your Wi-Fi adapter doesn’t show up in Device Manager, it might be hidden or have hardware issues. Use our separate guide on fixing a missing adapter for that.

5. Change Power Management Settings

Sometimes, Windows disables the network adapter to save power. This can cause your Wi-Fi to disappear after sleep mode.

To fix this:

• Open Device Manager and expand Network adapters.
• Right-click your Wi-Fi adapter and choose Properties.
• Go to the Power Management tab.
• Uncheck the box next to Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.
• Click OK and restart your PC.

This will stop Windows from turning off your Wi-Fi adapter during sleep mode.

6. Start the WLAN AutoConfig Service

WLAN AutoConfig is a key service that manages Wi-Fi settings and connections. If it’s stopped, your Wi-Fi won’t work.

To enable it:

• Press Windows + R, type services.msc, and press Enter.
• Scroll down and find WLAN AutoConfig.
• Right-click it and choose Properties.
• Set the Startup type to Automatic.
• Click Start, then Apply and OK.

Once it’s running, your system should detect available Wi-Fi networks.

7. Reinstall the Network Adapter

If updating doesn’t work, try reinstalling the adapter. This resets the driver and can fix hidden issues.

• Open Device Manager and expand Network adapters.
• Right-click your Wi-Fi adapter and select Uninstall device.
• Confirm by clicking Uninstall.
• Then, click Action in the top menu and select Scan for hardware changes.

Windows will detect the missing hardware and reinstall it. Restart your PC after this step.

If this doesn’t solve it, do a full system shutdown with this command:

bashCopyEditshutdown /s /f /t 0

Open Command Prompt as administrator, paste this command, and press Enter. This will power off your device fully and help reset the hardware settings.

8. Manually Reinstall the Wi-Fi Driver

Sometimes, Windows installs a generic driver that doesn’t work well. You can choose a specific one manually.

• Go to Device Manager > Network adapters.
• Right-click your Wi-Fi adapter and choose Update driver.
• Click Browse my computer for drivers.
• Then choose Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer.
• Select the first driver in the list and click Next.

After installation, check if your Wi-Fi icon is visible again.

9. Perform a Network Reset

If nothing else works, try a network reset. It reinstalls all networking components and resets configurations.

• Open Settings > Network & Internet.
• Scroll down and click Advanced network settings.
• Under More settings, click Network reset.
• Click Reset now and confirm.

Your PC will restart. Once done, check if Wi-Fi is available again.

Note: After resetting, you might need to reconnect to your saved Wi-Fi networks and reinstall VPNs or virtual adapters.

10. Roll Back to a Previous Windows Version (Optional)

If you started having issues after a Windows update, rolling back might help.

• Open Settings > System > Recovery.
• Under Recovery options, click Go back and follow the instructions.

This option is available for up to 10 days after an update. You can extend this rollback period to 60 days by configuring your update settings early on.

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Conclusion

A missing Wi-Fi option in Windows 11 can be annoying, but it’s usually easy to fix. Start with simple steps like restarting your PC or running the troubleshooter. If the problem goes deeper, update or reinstall your network drivers, tweak power settings, or restart key services. In rare cases, the issue might be hardware-related, in which case replacing your internal Wi-Fi card or using a USB Wi-Fi dongle can help.

No internet? No problem. Follow this guide step by step, and your Wi-Fi should be back in no time.