I recently faced issues with my laptop's Wi-Fi and could only connect via Ethernet. My built-in Wi-Fi was missing from Device Manager, although Bluetooth and Ethernet showed up fine. I tried various fixes, including checking airplane mode and resetting my computer, but nothing worked. Eventually, I bought a TP-Link USB Wi-Fi adapter, installed its software, and finally got connected. Interestingly, even after removing the adapter and uninstalling the software, my laptop still has Internet access, and Device Manager still lists the TP-Link adapter. Is this normal, or did something get fixed permanently? Has anyone else dealt with a situation like this?
1 Answer
You likely had missing Network Interface Card (NIC) drivers before using the USB adapter. Once you connected it, Windows probably installed the necessary drivers for your built-in Realtek Wi-Fi adapter too. It’s kind of like a reset for your Wi-Fi capabilities. Based on my experience, after a system update, drivers can sometimes get lost, and using a different adapter can restore those settings.
I faced something similar after updating to Windows 11. It randomly removed my Realtek Wi-Fi adapter too, but connecting a USB adapter helped to restore it with new drivers, even when I unplugged it afterward.