In the comments, I am periodically asked questions related to the problem when Wi-Fi completely disappeared on the laptop. It means that even in the device manager there is no Wi-Fi adapter. It is absent there not only as a configured and working Wireless (802.11) adapter, but also as an unknown device (as it is displayed when the driver is not installed).
Of course, in most cases, the problem is in the drivers or Windows settings. It's not uncommon that Wi-Fi is just turned off. How to enable it, I wrote in these articles:
- How to turn on Wi-Fi on a Windows 7 laptop
- Wireless - Disabled in Windows 10. Wi-Fi won't turn on
- How to turn on Wi-Fi in Windows 10 when there is no Wi-Fi button and the error "Could not find wireless devices on this computer"
Any hardware in Windows works as follows: for example, the system sees some equipment (in our case, it is a Wi-Fi adapter). It tries to automatically find drivers for it (Windows 10 most often finds). If it fails to do so, then the device in Device Manager is displayed with a yellow triangle, as an unknown device (sometimes "Network Controller"). Then we install the driver manually and everything works. But if there is no Wireless adapter installed in the device manager and there are no unknown devices (if there are any, you can try to find drivers for them according to this instruction), then most likely the system does not see this Wi-Fi module at all.
And then I see two options:
- The Wi-Fi module is broken and therefore it cannot be detected in the system in any way. If it turns out? that this is the case, then you can try to replace the module (board) itself according to the instructions: how to replace the Wi-Fi module in a laptop. Or buy a USB Wi-Fi adapter for your laptop.
- Wireless adapter is disabled in laptop BIOS.
In the BIOS menu of most laptops there is an item in which you can disable (block) the Wi-Fi module. After disabling the Wireless adapter in the BIOS, it is not displayed in Windows at all. It seems to be disabled at the hardware level.
Wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) settings in BIOS menu
What is BIOS, I think everyone has heard. This is such a program (small operating system) with different settings, which is stored on the motherboard. It boots immediately after turning on the computer (before Windows boots). To enter the BIOS, immediately after turning on the laptop (pressing the power button), press (or press and hold) a certain key. As a rule, different laptop manufacturers (and in the case of PCs - motherboard manufacturers), these are different keys.
Here is information about the keys to enter BIOS on laptops from popular manufacturers: ASUS - F2 (Del or F9), Acer - F1 and F2 (there can also be a combination of Ctrl + Alt + Esc, Ctrl + F2), HP - F10 or Esc, Lenovo - F2 (Fn + F2), Samsung - F2, F8, F12, Del, Dell - F2.
There are no special settings there. Disable / enable wireless interface.
On ASUS laptops
I have checked on ASUS laptop (2012). Found there settings for disabling the Wireless adapter on the "Security" tab, in the "I / O Interface Security" section.
There is a point "Wireless Network Interface"... It can be either locked (Lock) or unlocked (UnLock).
For example, opposite the "Wireless Network Interface" parameter, set "Lock", save the BIOS settings (usually, this can be done with the F10 key), restart the computer and after Windows boots you will not find the Wi-Fi settings and the adapter itself anywhere. Do not enable it again in BIOS by setting "UnLock".
An interesting point: the Wi-Fi module is combined with Bluetooth. Simply put, it all works through one board. If you disable "Wireless Network Interface", then Bluetooth continues to work. At least that's how it was on my laptop.
Thus, there you can block the operation of the LAN interface (network card) and the card reader. As well as the work of audio and SATA HDD.
On Lenovo laptops
Things are a little simpler on a Lenovo laptop. Paragraph "Wireless LAN" located on the "Configuration" tab.
Enabled - the wireless network adapter is enabled and Wi-Fi is working. Disabled - Wireless LAN is disabled and, accordingly, nothing works and is not displayed anywhere in the system.
But in the BIOS of the Acer laptop, I did not find the function to disable the wireless adapter. On laptops from Samsung, Dell, HP and other manufacturers, I currently have no way to check for the function to disable the wireless network adapter. As I learn something new, I will definitely supplement this article. I would be grateful if you would help me with this. For example, share in the comments a photo with these settings in the BIOS of your laptop.
