My ASUS TUF A15 suddenly stopped connecting to Wi‑Fi. The wireless adapter appears without any obvious error, but every connection attempt gets stuck on "checking network requirements" and then fails. I've already reinstalled the Wi‑Fi drivers and even performed a clean Windows installation from a USB drive, followed by another driver installation, but the problem remains. How can I determine whether the issue is software, the internal antenna, or the Wi‑Fi card itself? Would replacing the card be the best next step?
3 Answers
A USB Wi‑Fi adapter is often the easiest and cheapest solution, especially if opening the laptop or replacing the antenna is inconvenient. It can also confirm that the rest of the network stack is working before you spend money on an internal card.
Before replacing anything, test whether the problem exists outside Windows. Boot a Linux live USB or another diagnostic environment and try connecting there. If Wi‑Fi fails in that system too, it points strongly toward a hardware or antenna problem. If it works, the issue is probably related to Windows, drivers, or settings.
Try connecting the laptop to your phone’s hotspot. That gives you a completely different wireless network to test. If it cannot connect to the hotspot either, use a USB Wi‑Fi adapter as a temporary workaround and diagnostic test. If the USB adapter works normally, the built-in card or its antenna is likely at fault.
That makes sense. I’ll test with my phone’s hotspot and a USB adapter before buying an internal replacement.