In this article, we will take a closer look at the process of connecting a laptop or Windows 7 computer to the Internet via Wi-Fi. I think the article will be useful to many, because when you first connect to Wi-Fi, there are always a lot of questions. As a rule, they are associated with installing the necessary drivers, enabling a wireless adapter on a laptop, etc. More on that later.
The laptop is a great thing. I do not really understand people who are now buying stationary computers. Except for serious games. Well, you must admit, with a laptop it is much more convenient. If you want a big screen, you can connect it to a monitor or TV. It does not make noise, and if necessary, you can take it with you. And yet, all modern (and not so) laptops have a built-in Wi-Fi module. A receiver that allows you to connect your laptop to the Internet via a wireless Wi-Fi network. In the case of a desktop computer, you will need to buy .
All you need is to buy and install (if you don't already have it), it will distribute Wi-Fi to which you connect your laptop. You can connect your computer to a free Wi-Fi network in cafes, shops, etc. Or, to your neighbor's unsecured network 🙂 This is much more convenient than laying a network cable. If for a regular desktop computer this is still normal, then for a laptop this is no longer the case. And it’s not convenient to move around the house all the time with this wire.
Connecting a laptop to the Internet is not difficult, but provided that the driver for Wi-Fi is installed. Many people have a lot of problems because of the driver. If you simply did not install the driver on your Wi-Fi receiver, or you installed Windows yourself and did not install it, then you will not be able to connect to Wi-Fi. But, perhaps, you already have everything installed and configured, therefore, first we will consider the process of a normal connection to a wireless network. If you can’t learn from it, there won’t be a wireless connection, etc., then read the article to the end, we will consider possible problems.
Connect laptop to Wi-Fi
Let's first consider the connection process without any settings and checks there. Why complicate things, maybe you already have everything set up. If everything is fine, your laptop sees the wireless network and is ready to connect, then the Internet connection icon on the notification bar will look like this:
Connection status that looks like network level with an asterisk (as in the picture above) indicates that the laptop sees available networks and is ready to connect to them. Click on this icon, then select the Wi-Fi network to which we need to connect and click the button Connection. In Windows 10, the Wi-Fi connection process is slightly different. If necessary, detailed instructions.
If the network is password protected, a window will appear in which you need to specify the password and confirm the connection by clicking the button Ok.
That's it, your laptop should connect to the Wi-Fi network. The connection status will be like this:
You can use the internet.
If you see connection status, it looks like this:
This means that most likely everything is configured on your laptop, but the laptop simply does not see networks available for connection. Perhaps there is simply no coverage in this place. If you are connecting to your network, then check if the router is turned on. If enabled, then .
This is how the connection will go when you have the driver installed on the Wi-Fi adapter and the adapter itself is turned on. But very often the adapter on the laptop is turned off, or no one installed the driver on it at all. In such cases, many questions arise. Now we will analyze in detail both cases, due to which you may have problems connecting your laptop to a wireless network.
Enable "Wireless Network Connection" on the laptop
If your wireless connection is disabled, or the driver for Wi-Fi is not installed, then the connection status will look like this:
This means that there is no way to connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi, and there is no connection via a network cable. As I wrote above, this happens due to the adapter being turned off, or due to the lack of a driver. Let's first check if you have "Wireless Network Connection" disabled. This, of course, is unlikely, unless you turned it off yourself, but you need to check.
Click on the internet connection icon, and select Network and Sharing Center.
Then choose Change adapter settings.
Look at the adapter "Wireless Network Connection", if it is disabled, then right-click on it and select Turn on.
After that, the connection status "There are available connections" should appear. (if there is a Wi-Fi network in the radius).
We turn on wireless connections with the buttons on the laptop
It seems to me that now manufacturers do not install separate buttons to turn on the Wi-Fi adapter. But, if you are having problems connecting to Wi-Fi, then charmingly check if there is a special button to disable / enable wireless connections on your laptop. I know for sure that Toshiba liked to make such switches.
Now, on laptops, to disable / enable the wireless network, use a keyboard shortcut. As a rule, different manufacturers have different keys. But usually this Fn+F2. So on Asus laptops. You can see for yourself, there should be a network icon on the key that is pressed in tandem with Fn. Approximately like this:
True, my combination of these buttons is responsible for turning off Bluetooth. Wi-Fi does not seem to respond at all. But, yours may be different. It's definitely worth checking out.
If there is no "Wireless Network Connection" adapter at all in the adapter management window, but there is Wi-Fi on your computer / laptop for sure, then this means that Wi-Fi adapter driver not installed.
Now we will check everything and try to solve this problem.
Check and install the driver on Wi-Fi
I have not yet seen a case that after installing Windows 7, the system itself installed the driver on the Wi-Fi adapter. In Windows 8, this is much better. Windows 10 often installs the necessary drivers itself. So, after installing Windows, in order to use Wi-Fi, you need to install the driver specifically for your laptop or adapter (very often, adapters from different manufacturers are installed in one laptop model. It is because of this that you can see several Wi-Fi drivers on the manufacturer's website).
We go to the device manager.
Open the tab in Device Manager Network adapters, and looking for a driver for Wi-Fi. I have it called Atheros AR9485WB-EG Wireless Network Adapter, it is installed. You must also have something like Wireless Network Adapter.
If you do not have a wireless connection, then most likely you will not find an adapter either. You need to install the driver, then Wi-Fi will work. And yet, if the driver on the Wireless Network Adapter is not installed, then there will be at least one unknown device with a yellow exclamation mark in the device manager. It looks something like this:
This is most likely the same Wireless adapter that the laptop does not know how to work with.
Driver installation
All you have to do is download the right driver and install it. It is best to download the driver from the official website of your laptop / adapter manufacturer, and for your laptop (or adapter) model. Best of all, use Google to find the official website of your laptop, for example Asus, then use the site search on the site, indicating the model of your laptop. Most likely, your computer page will be found, open it and find utility and driver downloads there. Find the driver for Wireless and download it for the operating system you need.
Most likely, the driver will be in the archive. To install, run the .exe file from the archive. For example, the archive with the driver for my laptop:
After installing the driver, restart the laptop and try connecting to the wireless network, following the instructions. I wrote in more detail about installing the driver in an article about.
If some points from the article remained incomprehensible to you, or you still couldn’t connect your computer to Wi-Fi, then write about it in the comments, we will try to solve your problem.
Is there no Wi-Fi icon in the Windows taskbar or in the Network and Control Center menu? This does not mean that the equipment is out of order. Equipment failure is only one of the possible causes. In some cases, you can do it yourself.
What to do if there is no "Wireless Network Connection" icon.
This problem appears if:
Is there a Wi-Fi receiver?
If the receiver is not installed on the computer, then you will not see the Wi-Fi network icon. But how to check what kind of adapter you have? The simplest thing is to look at the characteristics of the PC. Laptops should have a sticker that lists the specifications of the device. Another option is to find out the adapter model and find information about it. Do you have a desktop computer? Then find the ports on the system unit for connecting the modem. If an antenna is installed there, then the product is suitable for working via Wi-Fi.
And the easiest way:
- You need the Windows Control Panel.
- Open "Device Manager". It's in the Hardware and Sound category.
- Expand the "Network adapters" menu.
- See if there are any models that say "Wirelles", "802.11" or "WiFi".
If there are no such inscriptions, you will not be able to set up a wireless connection. But you can purchase a Wi-Fi module or a network card that already has an antenna. There are also external Wi-Fi receivers.
Driver
Windows usually loads the software it needs on its own. But if the network hardware driver is missing or corrupted, it must be installed manually.
To connect, you need to download the software. There are several ways. The first is suitable if the driver was installed incorrectly.
- In the Dispatcher, right-click on the item with the yellow triangle.
- Select "Delete" and confirm the action.
- Restart your computer.
- After starting Windows will "detect" the presence of a new device.
- If this does not happen, go to the Manager again.
- Highlight any item.
- "Actions - Update Configuration".
This will only work with equipment that is installed on a Plug and Play basis. The software for these devices boots automatically. You can use them immediately after connection. If the board, in general, does not have such a function:
- Highlight any item in the Dispatcher.
- "Actions - Install old device"
- An explanation window will open. Click next.
- Check "Automatic search" or "Manual".
- Select "Network adapters".
- If you know the model and type of gadget, find it in the list.
- Wait for the installation to finish.
To download an update for outdated software:
- In the Manager, right-click on the device.
- In the drop-down list, click on "Update driver". This option will be active if Windows has determined the hardware model.
- Select "Automatic search" so that the system finds the software on the network and downloads it.
- Or click "Search on computer" to specify the path to the installer.
A disc should come with a new Wi-Fi adapter or laptop. You can download the necessary software from it. If you don't have a driver CD and the system didn't find it on its own:
- Go to the network equipment manufacturer's website.
- Copy the model name into the search bar.
- Open the page with information about your adapter.
- Download software from there. It's usually located under Support, Downloads, Files, or Programs.
There are special applications for installing system software. For example, Driver Booster. It determines the hardware model and downloads the latest driver versions for it.
A laptop is a compact and mobile device that allows you to use the full Windows OS, but at the same time not depend on sockets and wires (if, of course, the battery allows). Today the question will be devoted to the Wi-Fi adapter, namely its inclusion in order to be able to connect to wireless networks.
A Wi-Fi adapter is a special device, usually built into a laptop, that allows you to search for available Wi-Fi networks and connect to them. If you are a laptop user, then with almost 100% guarantee you can say that it has a built-in Wi-Fi adapter.
How to activate Wi-Fi adapter?
In the event that all your attempts to find a wireless network have failed, it can be assumed that the Wi-Fi adapter is simply turned off on your laptop. Accordingly, the following steps will enable it.
Activating the adapter using the keyboard
As a rule, most functions on a laptop can be activated using the keyboard. If you pay attention to the F1-F12 layout, you will see a set of icons, each of which refers to a particular function. So, for example, most often the Wi-Fi adapter icon is located on the F2 key, and it looks like this:
Most likely, in order to turn on the Wi-Fi adapter in your case, you will need to hold down the special Fn key, and then press F2, after which a message will appear on the screen that the adapter has been activated or, conversely, turned off.
Activating the adapter using the Windows menu
In the event that you still could not find the key responsible for activating the Wi-Fi adapter on the keyboard, you can try to activate it through the Windows menu.
To do this, click on the network connection icon in the lower right corner of the screen. A small window will appear on the screen in which you need to click once on the item Wifi so that it has a status "Included".
WiFi adapter not working after reinstalling Windows
In the event that you reinstalled Windows, and after that the Wi-Fi adapter stopped working, it is highly likely that the computer does not have the necessary drivers that ensure the normal functioning of the equipment.
1. First of all, to check this, open the menu "Control Panel", and then navigate to the section "System".
2. In the left pane of the window, select "Device Manager".
3. Expand the tab in the window that pops up. "Network adapters". As a rule, network adapters from two manufacturers are installed in laptops: Atheros and Broadcom. If you don’t see the name of one of these manufacturers in the expanded list, or if the list of network adapters says “Unknown device”, then it’s really about the drivers, the problem with which needs to be fixed.
4. You can download the necessary drivers from the official website of your laptop manufacturer. To do this, go to the site and, using the built-in search, find the section dedicated to your laptop model.
5. On the right page, you will definitely find a section with drivers and utilities. As a rule, the driver for the adapter is hidden under the item "Wireless"(do not forget to take into account the version and bitness of the operating system).
6. After downloading the necessary drivers, you will need to unpack the archive, and then run the distribution kit and install the drivers. Once the installation is complete, you will need to restart your computer.
Actually, if after restarting the computer you look again at the "Device Manager", you will see in the list of network adapters the name of the device for which we installed the driver. As a rule, after these manipulations, the problem with the inoperability of the Wi-Fi adapter disappears. If in your case it remains relevant, try returning to the activation methods described in the article above.
Hello! Today we will deal with turning on Wi-Fi on laptops that run on Windows 7. For some reason, many people ask such questions. But as a rule, Wi-Fi on a laptop is enabled by default. That is, if the driver is installed, then you can immediately connect to Wi-Fi networks. You don’t need to make special settings, and somehow you don’t have to turn on Wi-Fi on a laptop in a special way. No, there are, of course, different cases and problems when you cannot connect to Wi-Fi without dancing with a tambourine. Now we will understand everything in detail.
If you encounter a problem turning on Wi-Fi, then your Internet connection status will most likely be like this:
If just the network icon is crossed out with a red cross, then there are no Wi-Fi networks available for connection in the radius.
Before moving on to some instructions, let's figure out what turning on Wi-Fi on a laptop, and turning on Wi-Fi on Windows 7 (in the operating system itself) are different things. Therefore, I will divide the article into these two points. So it will be much clearer and easier to understand this issue. What is our main goal? That's right, connect to a Wi-Fi network. You will succeed! Follow instructions.
Before you go to some settings and fill your head with unnecessary information, try connecting your laptop to a Wi-Fi network right now. According to this instruction: . Perhaps you already have everything turned on, configured, and you can connect without any problems.
If something does not work out, then see this article to the end, or possible connection problems that I described in the article at the link above.
Turn on Wi-Fi on a laptop: with a keyboard shortcut, or a switch on the case
On almost every laptop: Asus, HP, Acer, Lenovo, Del, etc., there is either a special switch or a keyboard shortcut that turns Wi-Fi off and on. To be honest, I don’t know how it is on other laptops, but on my Asus, pressing the FN + F2 key combination turns off all wireless modules. The pop-up window says: "all wireless device on". Which means that all wireless interfaces are enabled or disabled. At the same time, Wi-Fi does not disappear.
These keys, or switches, should be checked only in extreme cases, when nothing else helps. And manage wireless connections from under Windows. Since the combination of special keys does not always work, or they work, but not as they should.
On the same Asus laptop, to turn off or turn on Wi-Fi, you need to press the key combination FN+F2.
On laptops DEL, is the key combination Fn+F2, or Fn+F12. On HP- Fn+F12. Lenovo-Fn+F5 (or, look for a special switch on the laptop case). If you have Samsung, then these are the keys Fn + F12, or Fn + F9. And on Acer- Fn+F3.
As I already wrote, a special switch can also be used to turn on Wi-Fi. Look at the body of your laptop. And on the key, which is used in combination with Fn, an antenna is usually drawn.
It is better not to touch these keys at all. As I wrote above, they do not always work adequately. And yes, they make little sense. Everything is fine, in most cases, pressing the keys simply tells the system to turn off the Wi-Fi adapter.
Turn on Wi-Fi in Windows 7
Let's now figure out how to manage the wireless adapter in the operating system itself. Let's start with the most important. And most importantly, this is an installed, properly working driver for Wi-Fi (Wireless adapter). If there is no driver, then no matter how hard we try, we will not be able to turn on Wi-Fi. But first things first.
First, let's check if we have the adapter enabled. To do this, right-click on the Internet connection icon (in the lower right corner), and select Network and Sharing Center. Left, select item Change adapter settings.
If near the connection "Wireless Network Connection" written "Disabled" then right click on it and select Turn on.
After these steps, the status of the Internet connection should change. And if there are Wi-Fi networks available for connection within the radius, they will be displayed in the list, which can be opened by clicking on the icon itself. You can select the desired network and connect to it.
If you do not have a "Wireless Network Connection" connection, then most likely you do not have a driver installed on your Wi-Fi adapter. Install the driver and everything will work.
How to check the operation of the Wi-Fi adapter in the device manager?
You can also go to Device Manager and see if there is a wireless network adapter and how it works. To open the device manager, do this: go to Start, then Control Panel. Choose a section Equipment and sound. On the tab Devices and printers click on device Manager.
Open a tab in the manager Network adapters. Wi-Fi adapter has something like this: "Atheros AR9485WB-EG Wireless Network Adapter". Can be guided by word Wireless. You should have something like this picture:
If you see an arrow icon next to the driver, then right-click on the adapter itself and select Engage.
If the adapter is not in the device manager at all (usually there is only one network card driver) then you need to install the driver. Again, you can see the article.
That's actually all the Wi-Fi settings in Windows 7.
After you still connect to the wireless network, you may expect another surprise - Error "Without access to the Internet" I wrote about solving this problem in a separate,.
