my wifi is not showing but neighbors are as well as hotspots

Question

after reloading laptop from scratch my wifi network is not listed, however neighbors are listed and I can connect through cell phone hot spot

Answer 1

If your Wi-Fi network is not showing up after reloading your laptop, but you can see your neighbors' networks and connect to a cell phone hotspot, there are a few troubleshooting steps you can take:

1. Check Wi-Fi Adapter: Ensure that your Wi-Fi adapter is enabled. You can do this by going to the Device Manager and checking under "Network adapters" to see if the Wi-Fi adapter is listed and enabled.
2. Network Configuration: Make sure that the network configuration is correct. If you have changed any settings, you may need to reload the configuration. You can do this by using the command line to execute the command netsh wlan show interfaces to see if your Wi-Fi adapter is functioning correctly.
3. Update Drivers: Ensure that your Wi-Fi drivers are up to date. You can check for updates through the Device Manager or the manufacturer's website.
4. Use Network Diagnostics: You can gather diagnostic information about the Wi-Fi network by using the WifiConfig_GetNetworkDiagnostics API or the command az sphere device network show-diagnostics if applicable. This can help identify any underlying issues.
5. Check for Windows Updates: Sometimes, connectivity issues can be resolved by installing the latest Windows updates. Make sure your system is fully updated.
6. Reset Network Settings: If the issue persists, consider resetting your network settings. This can often resolve connectivity problems by restoring default settings.

If these steps do not resolve the issue, further investigation may be needed to determine if there are hardware issues or specific configuration problems affecting your Wi-Fi connection.

Answer 2

Hello, thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A.

1. Does your router broadcast only the 5GHz band, or is it a dual-band router that transmits both 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies?
2. Were you able to connect this same laptop to the same router and Wi Fi network before reinstalling Windows?
3. Can you check if your laptop supports the 5GHz Wi Fi frequency?

Based on what you said in the description, it is possible that your router is currently broadcasting only the 5GHz Wi-Fi band. If your laptop supports only 2.4 GHz, it will not detect a 5 GHz network, which is why it may not appear in the list. Since the same Wi-Fi network is visible to your mobile phone and other devices, the router is working, so the most likely cause is a frequency compatibility issue between the laptop and the router.

You can run the command below to check the supported radio types. This will help us confirm if the device supports the 5GHz frequency. You can also share a screenshot of the output here for our reference.

netsh wlan show drivers