I'm having trouble connecting my Acer laptop to any network. This issue seemed to start after an update a couple of days ago. I've looked online for solutions but haven't had any luck. In the Device Manager, the network adapters section only shows **Bluetooth device, Realtek Family Controller, and WAN Miniport**. I also noticed that my **Network Controller** has an exclamation mark next to it, which must be related to the problem. I tried updating the device driver, but Windows can't find any drivers for my device. I even searched for my laptop's drivers using my phone (since the laptop can't connect to the internet) but couldn't find anything for networking or Wi-Fi. The closest I found was a LAN driver, which I tried to install, but it didn't help. Any advice would be appreciated!
3 Answers
It sounds like the Realtek Family Controller is your wired connection. If you're trying to set up Wi-Fi, you'll need the Wi-Fi drivers. I suggest uninstalling the Network Controller (the unknown device) and make sure to check the option to delete driver files, then reboot your laptop. After that, try downloading the latest Wi-Fi drivers directly from Acer's support site. If possible, temporarily connect to the router to get the drivers you need.
It's worth checking the hardware first. I've heard that some people fixed their connectivity issues by removing and reseating their Wi-Fi card. But if you're not comfortable dismantling your laptop, that might not be the best option for you.
Do you have an Ethernet port on your laptop? If you can connect to the internet that way, it might help you to update the network controller with the exclamation point. If you're unsure, the Ethernet port is usually a big square one next to the laptop.
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