My HP Pavilion Power 15-cb0xx laptop suddenly stopped detecting wireless networks, and the Wi-Fi adapter no longer appears in Network Connections. In Device Manager, the adapter is only visible when hidden devices are shown. Disabling and re-enabling it, uninstalling and reinstalling it, and checking for updates with Intel Driver & Support Assistant have not helped. Installing other Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC drivers also fails because Windows cannot load the required drivers. Device Manager reports error code 31. I have already tried the usual Windows network troubleshooting steps. This happened once before and temporarily fixed itself when I connected the laptop through Ethernet, but I am currently away from home and can only use USB tethering through my phone. What should I try next?
2 Answers
After uninstalling the device, restart and check Device Manager again. Windows may rediscover it as an unknown device, allowing you to install the correct driver manually. If the adapter does not reappear at all, the problem may be a loose or failed internal Wi-Fi card, in which case it would need to be reseated or replaced.
Error 31 means Windows cannot load the device drivers. In Device Manager, try uninstalling the wireless adapter and, if available, select the option to remove the driver software as well. Then restart the laptop and install the exact wireless driver for your HP model, preferably downloaded from HP or Intel using your phone connection. Avoid installing unrelated adapter drivers, since they can create additional conflicts.
When I right-click the adapter, I only see options to update, disable, or uninstall the device. There is no checkbox to remove the driver package. Should I uninstall the adapter anyway and restart?