I accidentally unplugged my TP-Link USB Wi-Fi adapter while it was being ejected in Windows 11, and now my PC refuses to connect to the internet. Command Prompt shows no default gateway, and ipconfig reports the adapter as media disconnected. I also tried switching to Ethernet, but I still can't get online. How can I get Windows to recognize the adapter and restore the connection? My system has an Intel i5-12400F, MSI B760M-P DDR4 motherboard, 32GB RAM, RTX 3060, and Windows 11.
3 Answers
The “media disconnected” message usually means Windows sees the network interface but it isn’t detecting an active connection. In Device Manager, check whether the TP-Link adapter is listed at all. If it’s missing or has an error, download the correct driver from TP-Link using another device and copy it over with a USB drive, then reinstall the driver.
Unplug the TP-Link adapter completely, restart the PC, then plug it into a different USB port—preferably a rear motherboard port. Windows may not have reinitialized the device after it was ejected. Check Device Manager under Network adapters and enable hidden devices. If it appears with a warning icon, uninstall the device and restart so Windows can detect it again.
Run ipconfig /all and look specifically for the TP-Link adapter. If it has no IPv4 address or default gateway, the PC isn’t receiving an address from the router. Once the adapter is detected, try disabling and re-enabling it in Network Connections, then run ipconfig /release followed by ipconfig /renew. A network reset won’t help much if the USB adapter or its driver is still disconnected.
That sounds like what happened. I’ll remove it fully and try another USB port after restarting.