How to enable wireless network on a laptop. How to turn on Wi-Fi on a laptop Where is the wireless switch on a laptop

The presence of Wi-Fi makes it possible to use the Internet in various places. But before you can, comfortably sitting in a cafe or on a park bench, plunge into the world of the Internet, you need to deal with your laptop and find how and where to turn on the network on your laptop.

There is nothing complicated about turning on the wireless connection on a laptop. You just need to know the function keys to enable wireless communication on a laptop of your brand, because each manufacturer plays up the key combinations differently. For those who are trying to understand:

  • how to enable wireless communication on an Asus laptop, you just need to press Fn and F2;
  • the wireless button on an HP laptop is a combination of Fn and F12, or a touch-sensitive button with an antenna pattern on models where it is available;
  • on Lenovo, press Fn and F5 or a special switch, which is indicated in the instructions;
  • Acer and Packard Bell turn on the network by combining Fn and F3;
  • on different Samsung models it is either Fn and F9 or Fn and F12.

If the standard combinations are not suitable (in new models another may be introduced), then attention should be paid to the instructions from the manufacturer, which must indicate all the necessary information related to the functionality of the laptop. In any case, it should be the Fn button, and in its absence, a special button with an antenna pattern or a switch is pressed.

Turn on wireless on your laptop in other ways

If the switch is not marked on the keyboard, it can be moved to the side panel or the bottom of the laptop. The buttons located on the lower part are made invisible, so you need to take special care to find it there. If neither the combination nor the switch could turn on the wireless network, then most likely, the wi-fi is simply not configured, and it's time to do it.

How do I turn on the wireless adapter?

Any setup begins with checking for the presence of the necessary drivers, which are connected, if any, but not connected, and are first downloaded and installed, and then connected if they are not in the laptop. You can check the drivers through the "Control Panel", menu item "Device Manager". If this subsection is not immediately visible, then perhaps it is in the "Hardware and Sound" section.

From the "Dispatcher" you need to go to "Network adapters" and find the Wireless section there, which is the right one. It may be that there is no inscription, or it is marked with an exclamation mark. This is a direct indication of driver problems that will need to be installed first. They must be present on the disc that comes with the laptop. If the disk is lost or for some reason the installation fails, you can look for them on the manufacturer's website.

If there are drivers, but are marked with an exclamation mark, then you need to right-click on this icon and select the appropriate item in the menu that appears. This is usually the phrase "Engage". You may need to enable it additionally if the adapter is connected to the power saving mode.

You can eliminate the saving factor in the windows 7 menu in the "Properties" section, where there should be a subsection "Power management". It has a check mark on the item "Allow shutdown to save".

After unchecking the box, the drivers will work, and the connection can be made by standard keystrokes. If the above manipulations did not bring results, the laptop must be shown to a specialist - it may be damaged.

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How to enable wireless networking on a laptop

A wireless Wi-Fi network is the ease and convenience of using the Internet wherever you have access to it. But sometimes many people face the problem of connecting a laptop to a Wi-Fi network. In most cases it is easy to fix, but sometimes you have to make certain adjustments.

Wireless Internet in some laptops is turned on using a button with an antenna image. You should look for it on the device case.

Most newer laptop models do not have a separate power button. Then the wireless Internet must be turned on by pressing a certain key combination:

  • Asus - "Fn" - "F2";
  • MSI - "Fn" - "F10";
  • Acer - "Fn" - "F3";
  • HP - "Fn" - "F12";
  • Lenovo - "Fn" - "F5";
  • Samsung - "Fn" - "F9" or "Fn" - "F12".

If an external adapter is used to connect to the network, then it must be connected to the laptop via the USB port.

If the laptop has a built-in Wi-Fi adapter, then in order to connect to a wireless network, you need to enable it in the windows settings. To do this, press the "Win" - "R" keys, then enter "ncpa.cpl" in the window. The section "Changing adapter settings" (or "Network connections") contains "Wireless network connection". If it is gray, then you need to right-click on it and select "Enable".

Due to a failure, the Wi-Fi adapter may be disabled in the Device Manager. If this happens, then in the "Network Connections" icon "Wireless network connection" will be absent. To fix this problem, you need to press the "Win" - "R" keys, enter "devmgmt.msc" in the pop-up window. In the "Device Manager" select the "Network adapters" section and find a Wi-Fi or Wireless device. Right-click on it and select "Engage". If the device fails to turn on, you need to download and install the drivers for the Wi-Fi adapter.

Sometimes it is necessary to independently enter the parameters of a network that works in a hidden mode. To do this, you need to open the "Network and Sharing Center", select "Manage wireless networks", "Add" and then "Create a network profile manually." Enter the required parameters in the table, click "Next" and "Connect".

Sometimes you can find laptops in which to connect to a wireless network, you first need to launch the "Wireless Assistant" or "Wi-Fi Manager" buttons located in the "Start" menu. Then you can turn on Wi-Fi without hindrance.

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Enabling and configuring Wi-Fi on laptops with different versions of windows

Laptop owners usually use a wireless connection to access the Internet, since there is a Wi-Fi adapter on all laptop models without exception. However, in order to use it, sometimes you have to figure out how to turn on wifi on a laptop.

Hotkeys or hardware switch

The first step is to physically turn on the Wi-Fi adapter. This procedure is slightly different on different laptop models, but its meaning is the same: you need to find a hardware switch or use the function keys. Let's look at a few examples:


You can go on with the options for enabling Wi-Fi for a long time, giving ways for MSI, Acer, Samsung and other brands. Even different series of the same manufacturer have different ways of activating the wireless module, therefore:

  • Examine the laptop case for a hardware switch or Wi-Fi button.
  • Examine the keyboard - one of the keys in the F1-F12 row should be marked with a wireless icon. If you press it together with the Fn button, the adapter turns on or off.

If you have a Sony Vaio series laptop, then there may be no hardware key or Fn button on its keyboard. For Wi-Fi to work in this case, you need a special VAIO Smart Network utility, which can be found on the manufacturer's official website.

Fn button does not work

What if the Fn button doesn't work? How do you enable the adapter in this case? First you need to figure out why the key is not working. Fn runs under BIOS control and has its own utility, without which the key will not function. Therefore, if the button does not work, first you need to find on the manufacturer's website a utility for enabling hot keys for a specific laptop model (the name should contain the word “HotKey”).

If the installation of the utility did not help or the key is physically damaged, then you will have to use an alternative method to turn on the adapter. On windows 8 and windows 10, to enable the adapter, just click on the Wi-Fi icon in the notification bar and move the "Wireless network" slider to the active position. If the adapter drivers are installed correctly, then the icon must be present.

In windows 7, there is no such function, but you can try to enable the wireless connection through the window for changing adapter parameters (described below). If this method did not help, then you will have to look for an external keyboard with a working Fn key and then no longer turn off the Wi-Fi module.

Setting up Wi-Fi on different versions of windows

You will figure out the physical inclusion of the module quickly enough. Sometimes the Wi-Fi setup ends here: the system performs the rest of the necessary actions on its own, displaying a list of available wireless points. But sometimes you have to establish a connection manually.

Regardless of the version of windows, first you need to check that the drivers for the Wi-Fi module were installed without errors:


To be sure, it is better to go to the official website of the laptop manufacturer and find the latest version of the wireless module driver for your model. In addition, right-click on the adapter and select "Enable" (if it is stopped).

windows XP

In theory, windows XP should have stopped using a long time ago, but on some older Dell models and other laptops, the legendary system still continues to perform its functions. Wi-Fi in windows XP is configured as follows:

  1. Check that the Wi-Fi indicator on the laptop is on (that is, you turned on the adapter and installed the drivers).
  2. Open "Control Panel".
  3. Find the "Network Connections" section.

There should be a "Wireless Network Connection" icon in the Explorer window. Its presence demonstrates that the Wi-Fi module is working correctly. Right click the icon and select Enable. Further:


If there is no network in the list of available points that your router distributes, click "Refresh List". Then select the desired point by name and click "Connect". If the network is password protected, you will be prompted to enter the access code, after which the connection will be established.

windows 7

On windows 7, the procedure for connecting to a wireless network has changed slightly, becoming a little easier. Now all available networks are displayed after clicking on the Wi-Fi icon in the system tray. But if there is no icon, then:

  1. Go to the Network Sharing Center.
  2. Click "Change adapter settings".
  3. Find a wireless connection and make sure it is turned on.

After turning on the wireless connection, the Wi-Fi icon will appear in the tray. Click on it to see a list of available points, select a network and click "Connect".

windows 8

On windows 8, the procedure for connecting to Wi-Fi remained the same, but the "Airplane" mode was added, with which you need to be able to work. If the adapter driver is installed and the wireless connection is working correctly, you will see the Wi-Fi icon on the notification panel, when you click on it, a list of available networks appears.

If there is no icon, follow the same steps as on windows 7 - open the "Change adapter settings" window and enable the wireless connection. If there is no wireless connection itself, check the drivers and the status of the module - everything should be turned on and installed.

If the adapter is turned on, the drivers are installed, but no available networks are found, check that the Airplane mode icon is not displayed in the notification bar. If there is one, you need to disable this mode. To do this, click on the icon and move the slider to the "Disabled" state.

windows 10

On windows 10, everything remains the same with minor changes, so you will quickly figure out how to connect your laptop to Wi-Fi:

  1. Click on the wireless icon in the tray.
  2. Select the desired network.
  3. Click "Connect" and enter your password.

If the access point is not displayed, try adjusting the network settings. Click on the link of the same name - the "Network and Internet" section of windows 10 settings will open.

There are two tabs you are interested in here:

  • Wi-Fi - Make sure the wireless network is turned on.
  • Airplane mode - make sure the mode is off.

You can go to the section for changing adapter parameters and enable the wireless connection. Simply put, on windows 10 you have several equivalent options - you just need to choose a more convenient method for yourself.

I will describe all the ways I know to turn on a Wi-Fi network on a laptop (after all, everything that can be turned off can be turned on and off ?!) I'll start with the simpler and more common methods, then I will move on to more complex methods that units will need.

So if you see on taskbar icon turned off Wi-Fi (or do not see the icon at all), then this article is for you.

Turn on Wi-Fi using a slider / button on the laptop case.

On many laptop models, to turn on Wi-Fi, you need to use the slider or a separate button to turn on Wi-Fi. This switch is often located on the front of the laptop.

The switch looks different, but has one function - turning the wireless network on and off.

To turn on Wi-Fi, simply move the slider to the On position.

How to turn on Wi-Fi using a keyboard shortcut.

If your laptop does not have sliders or separate Wi-Fi enable buttons, take a closer look at the keyboard, you can find the Wi-Fi icon on one of the function keys (F1-F12).

It can be located on different buttons, it all depends on the manufacturer and model of the laptop.

In order to turn on Wi-Fi, you must press this key or use the keyboard shortcut +<клавиша Wi-Fi>.

Consider the key combinations that are most commonly used in laptops from different manufacturers:

  1. Acer... We hold down the keys: +.
  2. Asus... Combination +.
  3. HP... Click here +.
  4. Lenovo... Needed buttons: +.
  5. Samsung... Or +or +.
  6. Dell keyboard shortcut + or +

How to turn on Wi-Fi in Windows settings.

If the specified procedures did not help and you are still wondering How do I turn on Wi-Fi on my laptop? you need to check if Wireless Network Connection is enabled in Windows settings. To do this, you need to go to the Network and Sharing Center. One way is to right-click on network icon in the lower right corner of the screen and select "Network and Sharing Center".

Another way to use hotkeys + enter command ncpa.cpl and press Enter.

No matter which of the methods you used, the result will be one - the Network Connections window will appear on the monitor. Next, you need to find a wireless connection, right-click on it and select "Enable" (if the Enable option is not available, then the Wi-Fi network is enabled).

Enabling Wi-Fi via Windows Device Manager.

If your Wi-Fi adapter is still not enabled, you need to check if it is enabled in the task manager. To do this, click the "Start" button, right-click "Computer" and select "Manage". On the left menu, select Device Manager.

Or press the keyboard shortcut + enter the command in the search bar mmc devmgmt.msc and press Enter.

If the adapter icon is marked with an arrow down, it means it is disabled, in order to enable it, right-click on it and select "Enable".

Updating drivers for Wi-Fi.

Another reason for the inoperability of Wi-Fi may be an inappropriate driver or its lack. In order to install the required driver, go to the website of the laptop manufacturer, find your model (on some sites it will be difficult to do this, you can write the laptop model in the comments, I will try to help you) and download the driver for the Wi-Fi network card for your operating system systems. After that, it will be enough to install the drivers, after restarting the laptop, Wi-Fi should work.

It doesn't matter which way you turned on the wireless network, in the end you should see the Wi-Fi icon in the taskbar. When you click on it, you will see the Wi-Fi networks available for connection.

The wireless network has long been a familiar thing for many computer and laptop owners. It is easy and convenient to use. Internet access can be obtained anywhere in the apartment or office, but at the same time, kilometers of wires will not get tangled underfoot. You can access the Internet not only from a laptop, but also from a tablet or smartphone.

However, most of the users do not know how to solve even simple problems related to the router, and do not understand how to enable wireless communication on a laptop. When access to the Network is lost, you do not need to immediately call the technical support of the provider. First you need to figure out what caused the Internet outage: your computer or your service provider.

Some models, such as MSI GT780, have a touchpad above the keyboard, which allows you to turn the wireless network on or off with one touch.

How to enable wireless communication on a laptop through the "Network Center"

There are times when the Wi-Fi receiver is disabled by software and it is impossible to activate it using a button or keyboard shortcut. How to enable wireless connection on a laptop (Lenovo, Asus or Acer - not so important) in such cases?

The user will need to right-click the Network icon on the taskbar. Then select "Network Control Center" from the list. In the window that opens, go to the page where you can change the adapter parameters. Select a wireless network from the list and enable it.

The connection will change color from gray to color, and after a while the connection to the Internet will be established.

Enabling wireless communication via Device Manager

You can also programmatically activate the network adapter through the "Device Manager". As a rule, such shutdowns rarely occur, mainly during operating system failures.

To enable the Wi-Fi adapter through the Device Manager, you must:

  • Open the "Control Panel" tab.
  • Select "Hardware and Sound" from the list.
  • In the "Devices and Printers" group, click on "Device Manager".
  • Expand the list of network adapters.
  • Right click on the one that contains the word Wireless and click Enable.

Thus, you can enable the wireless network by hardware or software.

Not every user knows how to turn on Wi-Fi on a laptop if any unforeseen problems arise. Novice users are lost when they fail to activate Wi-Fi using standard methods.

We will try to consider all possible ways to turn on Wi-Fi and provide solutions to the most common problems that a laptop's wireless network adapter can be exposed to.

The simplest method of activating a wireless network on a Windows laptop is to use the keyboard shortcut provided by the manufacturer.

Here are examples of these combinations for the most common laptop models (in most cases, the keyboard is used, in rare cases - a special switch):

  • HP (HP Probook, Satellite, Pavilion, 4535s and others) - Fn + F12;
  • Acer (Acer Aspire and others) - Fn + F3, similarly for Packard Bell;
  • Asus - Fn + F2;
  • Lenovo (G580, G50, G500, G570 and others), including Ideapad - Fn + F5;
  • Samsung - Fn + F12 or F9;
  • Dell (Dell Inspiron and others) - Fn + F12 or F2;
  • MSI (MSI) - Fn + F10;
  • Toshiba - Fn + F8;
  • DNS - Fn + F2;
  • DEXP - Fn + F12;
  • Sony Vaio - using a mechanical switch.

This method will not always work, so let's move on to considering software methods.

Through the system tray

The second method to enable Wi-Fi is to manually activate the adapter through the system tray.

To use the option, just click on the network icon in the lower right corner of the system and click on the Wi-Fi icon. The wireless module turns on and automatically starts searching for available networks.

It is quite possible that instead of the window presented above, the system will display another one with limited functionality, where the key with which you need to turn on Wi-Fi will simply be absent.

If, for some reason not clear to the user, just such a window appears, then proceed to the next method.

In the control center

The previous method might not work for several reasons - for example, the wireless adapter was disabled in Windows 10 or Windows 7 settings.

To fix this, you need to follow these instructions step by step:

  1. Press the Win + R key combination on the keyboard and in the Run window that opens, enter the phrase “ncpa.cpl” through the command line. Click on Enter or "OK".
  1. We are looking for the “Wireless Network Connection” block in the “Network Connections” window that opens. If it is grayed out and the status bar displays Disabled, then the wireless adapter has indeed been disabled by the system.
  1. To activate, right-click on the highlighted block and click on the "Enable" button.
  1. Successful activation will be accompanied by activation of the adapter and displaying its name in the status bar.
  1. We return to the first method we considered - the wifa activation button should appear in its proper place.

Didn't this method help either? This is okay, just move on to the next method.

Enabling via Device Manager

This is very rare, but sometimes the network adapter can be disabled in the system device manager. This usually happens after some kind of failure has occurred that is independent of the user.

It is extremely simple to determine whether the wireless network adapter is actually disabled through the device manager - go to the second method described in this article, open the "Run" window with the Win + R command, enter the appropriate request, click on "OK" and see the network window in front of us connections. If there is no wireless adapter at all in this window, then the problem really lies in the device manager.

If none of the above methods worked, then there is likely a problem with the wireless adapter drivers.

Updating drivers

An outdated or missing driver can be the main reason why there is no access to Wi-Fi or the distribution via Wi-Fi Direct does not work. Installing or reinstalling a suitable driver will not take a lot of time - just go to the manufacturer's website, find the used laptop model and download the required driver from the list of those offered.

conclusions

Do not panic if you cannot turn on Wi-Fi on a laptop - you need to consistently check all possible causes of such a problem, starting from the most probable ones.

Video instruction

We have attached detailed instructions in video format. It clearly reflects the process of applying each of the above methods.

The presence of Wi-Fi makes it possible to use the Internet in various places. But before you can, comfortably sitting in a cafe or on a park bench, plunge into the world of the Internet, you need to deal with your laptop and find how and where to turn on the network on your laptop.

How do I enable wireless on my laptop?

There is nothing complicated about turning on the wireless connection on a laptop. You just need to know the function keys to enable wireless communication on a laptop of your brand, because each manufacturer plays up the key combinations differently. For those who are trying to understand:

  • how to enable wireless communication on an Asus laptop, you just need to press Fn and F2;
  • the wireless button on an HP laptop is a combination of Fn and F12, or a touch button with an antenna pattern in those models where it is available;
  • on Lenovo, press Fn and F5 or a special switch, which is indicated in the instructions;
  • Acer and Packard Bell turn on the network by combining Fn and F3;
  • on different Samsung models it is either Fn and F9 or Fn and F12.

If the standard combinations are not suitable (in new models another may be introduced), then attention should be paid to the instructions from the manufacturer, which must indicate all the necessary information related to the functionality of the laptop. In any case, it should be the Fn button, and in its absence, a special button with an antenna pattern or a switch is pressed.

Turn on wireless on your laptop in other ways

If the switch is not marked on the keyboard, it can be moved to the side panel or the bottom of the laptop. The buttons located on the lower part are made invisible, so you need to take special care to find it there. If neither the combination nor the switch could turn on the wireless network, then most likely, the wi-fi is simply not configured, and it's time to do it.

How do I turn on the wireless adapter?

Any setup begins with checking for the presence of the necessary drivers, which are connected, if any, but not connected, and are first downloaded and installed, and then connected if they are not in the laptop. You can check the drivers through the "Control Panel", menu item "Device Manager". If this subsection is not immediately visible, then perhaps it is in the "Hardware and Sound" section.

From the "Dispatcher" you need to go to "Network adapters" and find the Wireless section there, which is the right one. It may be that there is no inscription, or it is marked with an exclamation mark. This is a direct indication of driver problems that will need to be installed first. They must be present on the disc that comes with the laptop. If the disk is lost or for some reason the installation fails, you can look for them on the manufacturer's website.

If there are drivers, but are marked with an exclamation mark, then you need to right-click on this icon and select the appropriate item in the menu that appears. This is usually the phrase "Engage". You may need to enable it additionally if the adapter is connected to the power saving mode.

You can eliminate the saving factor in the Windows 7 menu in the "Properties" section, where there should be a subsection "Power management". It has a check mark on the item "Allow shutdown to save".

After unchecking the box, the drivers will work, and the connection can be made by standard keystrokes. If the above manipulations did not bring results, the laptop must be shown to a specialist - it may be damaged.