Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

After upgrading OS to Windows 10, Wi-Fi card not recognized.

Aug 31, 2018 4:57PM PDT

After upgrading OS to Windows 10, Wi-Fi card not recognized. Help!

I'm experiencing some difficulties with my laptop/tablet and looking for a solution from members. I recently upgraded my Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro 1370 from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10. However after the upgrade my wireless Broadcom Wi-Fi card could not be found. I downloaded and installed the drivers for the card on Lenovo's website but still can't get the wireless card recognised in Device Manager to function. Is there a workaround or a patch that I'm missing??? I'm at my wits' end and I hope fellow members would help me resolve this problem. Please help! Thank you.

--Submitted by: Stephen A.

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
possible fix
Sep 8, 2018 4:29AM PDT

Try snappydriver installer it may give you a good driver

- Collapse -
Same problem, my solution
Sep 8, 2018 5:24AM PDT

It took me three days to fix this "improvement" to W10.
You have to do a bit more than just uninstall the WiFi device and then reinstall it.
After uninstalling it, I ran a registry clean program to remove any trace of the device, Then reinstall it. It worked for me. Like I said it took me three days to get my system up and running.
Luckily, I still have an WXP system that I used to help.
Another wonderful feature of the W10 upgrade, I lost my HP printer. Another two days of getting it to work.
Good Luck.,

- Collapse -
Wi-FY not working
Sep 8, 2018 6:51AM PDT

Plug in the Ethernet cable and update windows Most often this will fix the problem if you were updating in the wi-fy mode. If this fails, download the free version of Driver Max, scan your computer, and down load only the wify driver
Then I usually uninstall the D M program. (I have use this program for over 20 years with no problems) If this doesn’t work, contact MicroSoft and tell them it happened while updating. At one time this would have been a hopeless endover, but they are very helpful when it comes to updates. Anytime you have a problem after updating or downloading something, chances are 99.9% it is a software issue.

Post was last edited on September 8, 2018 10:22 AM PDT

- Collapse -
WI-FI failed in Windows 10
Sep 8, 2018 7:52AM PDT

Does not surprise me. Your best bet is to get your exact model and serial number and then go to the manufacturers web site and look up that model. Then look at the software / hardware specs for that laptop. It will tell you which variations of Windows it is compatible with. It will also show the latest drivers that are compatible with each piece of hardware for each OS.

Next Windows 10 it does not have a library of drivers like previous version did so unless a device driver conflicts with Windows then Microsoft will not tell you anything is wrong or do anything to fix it. On the earlier OS you would be familiar with the yellow exclamation point next to a device in the SYSTEM that would then tell it is not working. In fact if the driver is not right then Windows 10 creates no errors and will not even show the device. I found that out the hard way in the early Windows 10 upgrades with a PC that had no internet , USB , no sound and a dead mouse but Windows 10 said it was running fine. Fortunately on that PC I had 3 SATA selectable hard drives and the PC worked fine on Windows 7 hard drive and Linux Mint hard drive so I knew it was the POS Windows 10. I highly suggest a program called Drive Booster which is free to get all the available drivers or pay for it and get all the hardware and software updates needed to run you PC in Windows 10. It's not malware or spam like some will claim and it works great. Run it and you will find a bunch of old drivers on your laptop that it updates. It is that or you can look up each and every component in your laptop and trying looking up every driver and finding the newest ones that work in Windows 10.

Then again you can always do what a lot of the Windows 10 advocates say "Just buy a new computer because everyone should have the latest and greatest".

- Collapse -
Upgrading or Replacing?
Sep 8, 2018 8:35AM PDT

My back up computer is a Lenovo W7 Desktop and was bought in 2010. It has been updated with a 500 gig Samsung SSD and works really good. It has an i7 processor and 8 gig of ram. Not a bad computer, but the hardware was likely designed between 2008 and 2009. My newer HP W10 computer has an i7 processor, 24 gig of ram, and also a Samsung 500 gig SSD. It was purchased in 2016. Seeing as how the hardware is 7 to 8 years older in the Lenovo, I am ready to eliminate it when 2020 comes up. By then, the hardware for it will be 11 to 12 years older than computers being made then, it will not be useful enough for me to continue on with it. I only use it every couple of weeks now to keep W7 updated, but having a computer that I could use if my newer one develops problems makes it worth while to keep around. It would be very difficult to get a newer computer that has sufficient resources to use in place of my current W10 HP. If I feel I need the second computer in 2020, I will likely buy a different computer to use as back up. Technology changes so fast in Computers that 10 years of computer time is immense. To me, it is Fall Ahead or Fall Back, and I want to keep advancing.

- Collapse -
A BIOS setting?
Sep 8, 2018 12:25PM PDT

My nephew had this issue with a Lenovo laptop (T540; if I remember correctly) after a Windows 10 update.
On this laptop the problem was a BIOS setting. There was a setting to turn the Wi-Fi on and off. Fix was
simple; toogle the settong to 'ON'. Getting access to the BIOS was a little tricky. It appeared to want a
password. It was just a matter of pressing the 'Enter' key on the keyboard. Getting into the BIOS may be
differnt on your model. If you don't already have the manual, Lenovo's website will have it. The procedure
for entering the BIOS should be there. Hope this helps, if you haven't found the problem already.
Good Luck!

- Collapse -
Get the Right Update
Sep 8, 2018 5:31PM PDT

On the Lenovo support/driver download page for your model:

There's a BIOS/UEFI update which says it's for Windows 8.1 and Windows 10. Have you tried it?

There are two deifferent WLAN (WiFi) drivers, one for an Intel wifi card and one for a Broadcom wifi card. Which one did you try?

- Collapse -
One of these solutions should fix your problem
Sep 9, 2018 12:25AM PDT

I have to disagree with changing the wifi adapter since it worked before the upgrade. I ran into this same problem and through research found the solution. There are several methods to try so you will have to see which works for you. I kept my notes and am posting the different methods.
Hope this helps you. I can't take credit for figuring this out. I am just copying and pasting from the article that gave me my answers.

What worked for me-Open Command prompt with admin rights then give the following commands in sequence

1. netsh winsock reset catalog
2. netsh int ipv4 reset reset.log

Now reboot the computer. If it doesn't help then try these old methods.

Method #1 Administrative Command:

netsh int ip reset
restart computer

Method #2 Administrative Command:

netsh int tcp set heuristics disabled

netsh int tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled

netsh int tcp set global rss=enabled

netsh int tcp show global
restart computer

Method 3
1. Left click or tap on the WiFi icon you have present in the lower right side of the screen.
2. Left click or tap on the “Open Network and Sharing Center” feature.
3. Now you should have a Network and Sharing Center window in front of you.
4. Left click or tap on the “Change adapter settings” link situated in the left side panel of the Network and Sharing Center window.
5. Look for the connection you have to the internet and right click on it or just hold tap if you are using a touchscreen device.
6. From the menu that appears you will need to left click on the Properties feature.
7. In the upper side of the Properties window you will need to left click or tap on the “Networking” tab.
8. Search for the IPv6 option.
9. Remove the check-mark from the IPv6 option.
10. Left click or tap on the “OK” button to close the window.
11. Right click or hold tap on the “This PC” icon.
12. Left click or tap on the “Properties” feature from the menu that shows.
13. Left click or tap on the “Device Manager” link situated in the left side panel.
14. Now you should have the “Device manager” window in front of you.
15. On the left side panel you need to search for and expand the “Network Adapters” icon.
16. Look for your wireless adapter in the list and double click it .
17. Left click or tap on the “Power Management” tab situated in the upper side of this window.
18. Uncheck the box next to “Allow the computer to turn off this device”
19. Left click or tap on the “OK” button to save the changes here.
20. Close every window you opened so far.
21. Press and hold the “Windows” button and the “X” button.
22. Left click or tap on the “Control Panel” feature present in the menu.
23. In the Control Panel window left click on the “Small Icons” feature.
24. Search for “Power Options” and double click or double tap on it to expand it.
25. Left click or tap on the “Change plan settings (for the selected Power Plan)” feature.
26. In the lower side of this window left click or tap on the “Change advanced power settings”
27. Now left click or tap on the “Wireless Adapter Settings” to expand it.
28. Go to the Power Savings Mode option.
29. In the Power Savings Mode select the feature “Maximum Performance”.
30. Left click or tap on the “OK” button to save changes.
31. Close the windows you opened so far.
32. Reboot your Windows 10 Technical Preview operating system.
33. After the device starts check if your WiFi internet connection is working properly

- Collapse -
What version of Windows 10?
Sep 12, 2018 7:20AM PDT

I had the same thing happen to me last year. Have you done all the updates after installing Win 10? Plug in an ethernet cable and make sure you are running the latest version of Win 10. That would be ver 1803. It's a long process but worth it in the end. Everything should then be corrected. Microsoft had an article posted back when Win 10 was first available talking about the WiFi not working and posted the work-around. Either way it's easy to fix.