I got a new PC in September 2025 and had an older drive transferred into it so I could keep my art and other important files. While staying at my mom's house before moving back to my apartment, I used her Wi-Fi and occasionally a mobile hotspot from my first carrier. After moving, I used a mobile hotspot for about a month, then switched to Ethernet once I got an internet plan. I changed mobile carriers in March 2026 but never configured the new hotspot because Ethernet worked fine.
Now I'm staying at my mom's house again for a month. Her Wi-Fi network appears in the available connections list with a strong signal, but when I enter the correct password, Windows tries to connect for a while and then reports that it can't connect. Every other device in the house connects normally. My PC connects immediately and works properly through my new mobile hotspot, so the Wi-Fi adapter seems functional.
Some basic troubleshooting has already been attempted without success. Could this be caused by a router compatibility setting, an outdated Wi-Fi driver, or a corrupted network configuration? I'd prefer to avoid major changes since this is temporary and I'll be using Ethernet again when I return to my apartment. The older drive is installed alongside two newer drives, if that matters.
1 Answer
Since the PC connects normally to your mobile hotspot, the Wi-Fi hardware is probably working. A corrupted or incompatible saved network profile is a more likely explanation. In Windows, remove the Wi-Fi network if it appears under saved or known networks, restart the PC, and connect again from scratch. You can also open Command Prompt as administrator and run `netsh wlan delete profile name="YOUR WIFI NAME"`, replacing the placeholder with the exact network name. This command can remove a profile even if it isn’t obvious in the regular settings.
The network doesn’t appear in my list of known networks, so I wasn’t sure whether deleting the profile would apply. I’ll try the command anyway in case Windows still has an old profile stored.