We can connect to the Internet via cable or from wireless networks. However, the latter has gained great importance in recent years due to the rise of mobile devices with Wi-Fi connectivity that has driven their use. Now, sometimes we can have trouble finding available networks that we know are there. It may be due to a bad configuration, problems with the card, system failures … In this article we will explain what to do if the Wi-Fi networks available in Windows do not appear .
Available Wi-Fi networks do not appear in the Windows icon
If there is no problem, connecting to a wireless network in Windows is very simple. We simply have to go to the icon that appears on the taskbar, next to the clock, click on it and it shows us all the networks that are within our reach. Later we only have to click on the one we are interested in and click to connect, in addition to putting the password in case it has a password.
The problem is that this sometimes is not as simple as we say. There may be some kind of error that causes that clicking on the Wi-Fi icon does not show us any available network. This would not be strange if we hit it in the middle of the field, where we are sure there is no network. But of course, nowadays it is normal that anywhere we look for networks within a city, several will appear.
Without a doubt we are facing a problem that prevents users from connecting normally. We know that we have at least one Wi-Fi network available but we don’t see it and we can’t connect. We will try to explain what we can do to solve it.
How to fix when no networks appear on the Wi-Fi icon
Windows 10 is today the most used operating system on desktop computers. Therefore, when a problem of this type arises, it can affect many users. We have the possibility to carry out some simple steps to solve when available networks do not appear in the Wi-Fi icon on the taskbar.
Restart the system
If we start from the simplest step, the first option is to restart the computer . This on many occasions solves those small problems that may be in the operating system. Some function that has hung, some process that does not work correctly …
Therefore the first point will be to restart Windows. In this way we will see if the Wi-Fi networks appear again in the icon next to the taskbar or the problem needs alternative solutions.
Update the Wi-Fi adapter drivers
It may happen that when updating Windows 10 there are problems with certain adapters that we have. There may be a software conflict because we are using an incompatible or outdated version .
The second piece of advice we want to give to try to fix this bug is to update the Wi-Fi adapter drivers . We already know that we must always keep it updated to avoid problems and achieve maximum performance.
To do this we have to go to Start, we write Device Manager, Network adapters and there we look for the corresponding Wi-Fi adapter. We have to click with the right mouse button and we click Update driver.
Re-enable the Wi-Fi adapter
Another solution may be to disable the Wi-Fi adapter and re-enable it. In this way, all processes are restarted and we can solve some problems such as the fact that available networks do not appear in the Windows Wi-Fi icon.
For this we have to follow steps similar to the previous ones. We go back to Start, Device Manager, Network adapters and this time instead of clicking on update, we have to click on Disable device.
Enable network discovery
It may be that for some reason we have disabled network detection without realizing it or that some problem with the operating system has done it. Therefore, another step to take into account is to make sure that network detection is activated and if it is not, activate it.
We have to go to Start, we enter Settings, we go to Network and Internet, Network and Sharing Center and there check the box to Enable network detection, if it is not.
Control VPNs
VPN services can be very useful at times, but they can also cause connection problems. We must monitor the VPNs and make sure that they are not causing the error that Wi-Fi networks do not appear in the Windows icon.
In case we see that there may be some kind of conflict with the VPN, we must uninstall it, also deleting all the records that it can store in Windows. So we can check if this is really the problem or not.
Unblock possible blocked SSIDs
Have we knowingly or mistakenly blocked any SSIDs at the system level? Perhaps that is why it does not appear in the Wi-Fi icon. What we are going to do is make sure we have no blocked networks.
To do this we go to Start, we write Command Prompt and we open it with administrator permissions. Later we execute the command netsh wlan delete filter permission = denyall networktype = infrastructure.
Once this is done, we have to restart the computer and later check if that network or those networks that it did not show us before.
Try another adapter
A final option is to try another adapter . Maybe our Wi-Fi network card has some physical problem, especially it can happen in those that are external and are connected by USB.
Trying another network adapter allows us to make sure that the problem is not with the system, nor is it due to some bad configuration in it.
In short, if wireless networks do not appear when we click on the Wi-Fi icon that appears in the Windows task bar, we can carry out these simple steps that we have mentioned to try to correct the problem and navigate normally.
