Wi-Fi won't connect

1. Is it just this computer?

Check whether your phone, on the same Wi-Fi, is online.

• Phone also offline → the problem is your internet connection or router, not the computer. Restart the modem and router: unplug both, wait 30 seconds, plug the modem back in first and let it come fully up before the router.
• Phone is fine → it’s the computer. Continue.

2. Is Wi-Fi actually switched on?

Two ways it gets turned off without anyone meaning to:

• Aeroplane mode. Check the icon in the taskbar, bottom right. Easy to hit by accident.
• The hardware switch. Many business laptops have a physical Wi-Fi switch on the side, or a function key (often F2 or F12, with a small aerial symbol) that toggles the radio. Look for a Wi-Fi light that’s off or amber.

3. Forget the network and reconnect

If it connects but won’t work, or won’t accept the password:

1. Settings → Network & Internet → Wi-Fi → Manage known networks.
2. Find your network, select Forget.
3. Reconnect from the taskbar and enter the password fresh.

This clears a stale saved configuration, which is a common cause of “it says connected but nothing loads”.

Passwords are case-sensitive. If yours is on a sticker under the router, watch for the classic confusions: 0/O, 1/l, 5/S.

4. Restart the computer

Properly: Restart, not shut down. This reinitialises the network adapter and resolves a good share of cases on its own.

5. Run the troubleshooter

Settings → System → Troubleshoot → Other troubleshooters → Network and Internet → Run.

Windows’ troubleshooters have a poor reputation but the network one is genuinely decent, and it fixes adapter and IP configuration problems automatically.

6. Are you too far from the router?

Wi-Fi degrades quickly through walls, floors and anything with water or metal in it. If the signal shows one bar, move closer and see whether the problem disappears. That’s not a fault, just physics; the fix is a better router position, a mesh unit, or an Ethernet cable.

7. Test with a cable

If you can, plug the computer into the router with an Ethernet cable.

• Works on Ethernet, not Wi-Fi → narrows it to the Wi-Fi adapter or its driver. Tell us and we’ll take it from there.
• Fails on both → the fault is with the connection or the router, not the computer.

Still not connecting?

Contact us with your order number, what you’ve tried, and whether Ethernet works. If the Wi-Fi adapter is faulty, that’s covered by your 12-month warranty.