How to fix Wi-Fi option is missing in Windows 11

Most windows users make use of laptops or desktop for browsing/surfing purposes only (mostly for entertainment, reading blogs, etc.).

Many users have reported that the wi-fi option suddenly disappeared from their system and they are not able to connect to the wifi for internet connectivity. A few of them have no other means of internet provision which makes them very infuriating and helpless as to what can be done from their end.

The potential reasons can be either damaged wifi internet card or unknowingly disabled the wifi adapter on the windows system which is not updated for quite some time. We have given a lot of thought to all the possible reasons and came up with a bunch of solutions that might help the users in a significant way. Please continue ahead to read more.

Fix 1 – Enable / Turn On the Wi-Fi Adapter on the system

If the wi-fi adapter is disabled by any chance, then this might be the reason why you are not finding the wi-fi option on your system. Therefore, let us enable the wi-fi adapter using the steps below.

Step 1: To open the Run dialog box on your system, simply press and hold the Windows and R keys together.

Step 2: Once the run command box appears on the left bottom of the screen, type ncpa.cpl in the textbox space and hit Enter key.

 

Run Command Ncpa.cpl Enter

 

Step 3: This will take you to the Network Connections page.

Step 4: Here you will find all the network-related adapters listed down.



Step 5: Find if there is any Wi-Fi adapter among them.

Step 6: Just right-click on the Wi-Fi adapter and click Enable from the context menu as shown in the below screenshot.

 

Wifi Enable 11zon

 

Step 7: After the Wi-Fi adapter is enabled, check if the Wi-Fi option appears on the taskbar right side corner.

Step 8: Close the Network Connections page.

Fix 2 – Run Network Adapter and Internet Connections Troubleshooters

Microsoft has given an option where the users can easily troubleshoot the problem on the system specifically without the need for any third-party software installed on the system. These troubleshooters will diagnose and try to fix the problems if any are found.

So we will show you how you can do that with the steps below.

Step 1: Press the Windows and R keys together on the keyboard which opens the Run command box.

Step 2: Next, type control.exe /name Microsoft.Troubleshooting in the textbox of Run and press Enter key.

 

Run Command Control.exe Name Microsoft.troubleshooting Enter

 

Step 3: This will take you to the Troubleshoot page directly.

Step 4: Select the Other troubleshooters option on the Troubleshoot page as shown below.

 

Other Troubleshooters 11zon

 

Step 5: On the Other troubleshooters page under the Most frequent section, click the Run button of Internet Connections.

 

Internet Connections Run 11zon

 

Step 6: This will start diagnosing the issues related to any internet connections on the system. Follow the onscreen instructions and fix it.

Step 7: Similarly, scroll down the page and click the Run of Network Adapter option and perform the onscreen directions.

 

Run Network Adapter Troubleshooter 11zon

 

Step 8: If there are issues found, please fix them with the tips suggested by the troubleshooter.

Step 9: That’s it. Once you are done, close the window.

Fix 3 – Update / Reinstall Wi-Fi network adapter

The Wi-Fi adapter if not updated, might cause such issues mentioned above in this post. So if none of the above solutions worked, then you might want to try to update or reinstall the wi-fi adapter and see if that works.

Step 1: Press the Windows + X keys together to see the context menu of the Start button on the taskbar.

Step 2: Then, select the Device Manager from the list to open/launch it.

 

Open Device Manager Windows Button Min

 

Step 3: Once the Device Manager window appears on the screen, double-click on the Network Adapters to expand it to see the list of network adapters installed on the system.

Step 4: Next, right-click on the Wi-Fi adapter and click the Update driver option from the context menu to start updating the driver as shown below.

 

Update Driver Wifi 11zon

 

 

Step 5: Once the driver is updated and still the issue remains, then you may want to reinstall it.

Step 6: To do so, right-click on the Wi-Fi adapter and select Uninstall device.



 

Uninstall Device Wifi 11zon

 

Step 7: This will uninstall the wi-fi adapter from the system and you should restart the system so that the wi-fi device will get installed again while the system gets booted up.

After that, see if the problem got resolved. If not, try our other solutions listed below.

Fix 4 – Try updating the Windows system

It is always a better practice to keep your Windows system updated so that these types of issues can be kept at bay. Here are a few steps to know how to update the windows system.

NOTE: While doing this please make sure you have a stable and speedy internet connection for downloading any updates that are huge in size.

Step 1: Press the Windows and I keys simultaneously to open the Settings page on the system.

Step 2: Then, click the Windows Update option on the left side menu as shown in the below image.

 

Windows Update 11zon

 

Step 3: Next, click the Check for updates button on the right topmost corner of the Windows update page as shown below.

 

Windows Update Check For Updates Min

 

Step 4: After it starts checking for any updates, please download and install them if any are found.

Step 5: Later, close the Settings page and restart the system.

Step 6: Once the system is booted up, see if the Wi-Fi option is available.

Fix 5 – Perform Network Reset on your Windows system

WARNING – This fix will uninstall and reinstall all the network adapters on the system including wi-fi, WLAN, etc. It will also restore the network with the default/original settings. Therefore, after this network reset you might have to set all the configurations needed to use the VPN or other such software.

Step 1: Press the Windows key on the keyboard and type network reset.

Step 2: Then, select the Network reset system settings from the search results by clicking on it as shown in the below screenshot.

 

Open Network Reset 11zon

 

Step 3: This will open the Network reset page.

Step 4: Now click Network reset to start resetting all the network adapters on the system.

 

Click Network Reset 11zon

 

Step 5: Click Yes on the confirmation window to proceed.

 

Confirm Network Reset 11zon

 



Step 6: After the network reset is done, check if the problem still exists or if you are able to see the Wi-Fi option on your system.

Fix 6 – Ensure the WLAN Autoconfig service is Running

Step 1: Press the Windows and R keys together on the keyboard which opens the Run command box.

Step 2: Then, type services.msc in the textbox and press Enter key to open the Services window.

 

Run Services Command Min

 

Step 3: Next, look for the WLAN Autoconfig service in the list of services.

Step 4: Double-click on the WLAN Autoconfig service to open its properties window.

 

Open Wlan Autoconfig Service 11zon

 

Step 5: In the Properties window, make sure you are on the General tab.

Step 6: Also, select Automatic from the dropdown option of Startup type.

Step 7: Then, click Start just below Service Status which is shown as Stopped.

Step 8: Click Apply and OK to make changes and close the properties window.

 

Start Wlan Autoconfig Service 11zon

 

Step 9: Once everything is done, close the services window and restart your system once.

Now check if the problem is fixed.

Fix 7 – Try System restore on the system

If none of the above-mentioned fixes worked for you, then possibly this can solve the issue of Wi-Fi missing on the windows system. Please refer to this article which will guide you on how you can restore the system using system restore on the windows 11 system.

Did you manage to resolve the issue with the help of this post? Please let us know which fix helped you in the comments section below!