Can't find any wifi networks

Question

On an Inspiron 3880 that I've had for years now with no network issues until now. Updated to Windows 11 last year, most recent update was just last month. Yesterday, I restarted my computer and now it's unable to connect to wifi. My wifi is working fine (phone and other devices are working normally), and I live in an apartment but I'm not seeing any neighbors' networks either. Airplane mode is off, wifi is on.

I have tried:

Reinstalling network adapter through Device Manager
Optimizing network using SupportAssist
Network reset
USB network adapter (TP Link AC600) (this also cannot find any wifi networks)
Checking BIOS/UEFI network settings
Running Dell hardware diagnostics (no issues found)
Optimizing network adapter settings in Device Manager
Running the network adapter troubleshooter (it only says that my Ethernet network adapter is disabled, but if I look at Advanced network settings, it says it's enabled. Also, not trying to use ethernet)
Clean boot troubleshooting
Resetting WLAN AutoConfig

Can anyone please help??

redxps630 · Accepted Answer

Either software or hardware issue.

check internal antenna leads are still connected to wlan card inside pc to r/o

wlan card can die mysteriously too. this can only be fixed by replacing the card and reconnecting internal antenna leads.

do a clean install of Win 11 to see if it detects a working wlan

If still no clue change to a wireless usb dongle

Tesla1856 · Answer

Router: Be sure you are NOT excluding either 2.4ghz or 5ghz connections.

Computer: The other stuff you did/checked is fine, but also

- Check Control-Panel/Device-Manager for errors.

- If you want to use WiFi, be sure ethernet-wire is actually disconnected

- Be sure TCP/IP v4 is still set to auto (so it will just grab the next available IP-address from router's DHCP-pool)

anne_droid · Answer

Hi

I suggest a few old fashioned commands.......

getmac & netsh interface ip show interface

netsh wlan show interfaces & netsh wlan show drivers

powershell get-netadapter

ipconfig /all

msinfo32

########

netsh wlan show profiles

@ECHO PLEASE NOTE every NETWORK-SSID
@ECHO NAME and KEY for a connection.

netsh wlan show profile name=%wkey% key=clear

set /p wkey=Please type in the SSID

netsh wlan set profileparameter name="%wkey%" connectionmode=a

The last bit may help to establish a connection, if everything else is working.

DELL-Daniel V · Answer

Since an external adapter is having an issue, then I would expect this to be a software issue. However, here are few other things to check preboot.

Load the BIOS defaults
1. Enter the BIOS
2. Select Load Defaults
3. Select BIOS Defaults
Confirm if the WLAN card is detected in the BIOS
1. Enter the BIOS
2. Confirm if Intel Wireless is listed in the Wi-Fi Device heading in the Overview tab
3. If the card is detected, ensure WLAN is enabled in the BIOS (sounds like this is already the case)
Test Wireless capability in the SupportAssist OS Recovery environment
1. Restart the unit
2. Tap the F12 key on the keyboard when the dell logo appears
3. Select SAOS Recovery
4. Click on the network icon on the top right
5. Select Wireless and confirm if the network can be detected and connected

If you can get a wireless connection established in the preboot OS recovery menu, then the hardware should be functional and the issues should be within Windows.

mmorgan96 · Answer

@redxps630​ Still not sure what the root cause was, but the clean install of Windows 11 did the trick! Thanks for the suggestion!

Inspiron Desktops

Can't find any wifi networks

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