If you are using Windows 8 or have recently updated, you may be facing some annoying Wi-Fi issues. Windows 8 is inherently different from previous versions of Windows and presents a new set of problems. I have never experienced many wireless problems in Windows 7, but I have encountered some of them in Windows 8.
In this article, we’ll go over a couple of the most common Wi-Fi connection problems in Windows 8 and how to fix them. Most of the problems occur on computers that have been upgraded from Windows XP or Windows 7 to Windows 8. Either the driver is out of date, or the adapter is disabled, or something like that. Let’s get started.
Limited contact message
If you get this annoying limited connection message on the taskbar in Windows 8, it is very difficult to determine what the problem is. Basically, you just have to try a couple of things and hope one of them works. This can be anything from a network adapter to a wireless router to a faulty network cable. I’m going to mention just a few main reasons here, but scroll down to the Other Troubleshooting Tips section if none of them solve your problem.
Method 1 – Troubleshooter
Method 1 – Troubleshooter
The first thing you can try is to run a couple of network troubleshooters built into Windows 8. In most cases, they can fix your wireless or internet problem for you. To open the troubleshooter, open the search charm and enter search and troubleshoot. Then click on Troubleshoot, the first option.
Now you want to click on Network & Internet.
Finally, you will see various troubleshooters available to resolve wireless and internet problems. You will need to launch “Internet Connection” and “Network Adapter”.
Method 2 – Reset TCP / IP in Windows 8
Method 2 – Reset TCP / IP in Windows 8
You may also receive a similar message when running the troubleshooter:
WiFi does not have a valid IP configuration
In this case, you can reset the TCP / IP and Winsock stack and see if that works. To do this, reopen the search charm and enter command prompt. In the first list, right-click and select “Run as administrator”.
At the command prompt, enter the following two commands one at a time, and be sure to press Enter after each one:
netsh winsock reset catalog netsh int ip reset c: resetlog.txt
Hope your wireless connection is working at this point. If not, skip to the bottom section for more troubleshooting tips.
WiFi is disabled or grayed out
In one weird case, I had a Surface tablet where the wireless was turned off and I couldn’t even turn it on. For some strange reason, the wireless on / off toggle switch was inactive as shown below:
The first thing you can do is try to diagnose the connection. To do this, open the Network and Sharing Center. You can simply right-click the network icon in the taskbar and select it, or open the search charm and type it there.
Now find your wireless connection at the top and click on the blue link:
A new dialog box will appear in which you will see the Diagnostics button. Go ahead and click on that and let Windows try to fix it for you.
The next thing you can try is restarting in safe mode with network on and trying to turn wireless on there. For some reason, on some computers, this setting is not greyed out in safe mode, so you can enable it here and then restart normally. Read my previous post on how to boot Windows 8 in Safe Mode.
You can also try disabling and then re-enabling your wireless adapter. Open Network and Sharing Center again, and then click the Change adapter settings link on the left. You can see this in the second screenshot above this paragraph.
Right click on the wireless adapter (not the Ethernet adapter as shown above) and select Disable. When it’s disabled, right-click again and select Enable. Now try going to “Wireless” again in PC settings and see if you can turn on Wi-Fi.
If that doesn’t work, skip back to the last section for more Wi-Fi troubleshooting tips.
WiFi not connecting from sleep or hibernation
If your Windows 8 computer gets disconnected from the wireless network every time you wake up from sleep, hibernation, or any other standby mode, then your problem is likely related to the power saving setting on the network card. To fix this, you need to open the search charm and enter your power options.
Here click on the selected plan and then click on “Change plan settings”.
Then click the Change advanced power settings link.
Now scroll down to the wireless adapter settings and make sure the power saving mode is set to “Maximum performance”.
Other troubleshooting tips
Check your network card in the Compatibility Center
Check your network card in Compatibility Center
You can check if your wireless network card is compatible with Windows 8 by visiting the Opportunity Center. Go ahead and enter the name of your wireless card and you should get a little report like this:
It will have a small blue logo on it if compatible or not. You can also check Windows RT in addition to Windows 8. So this is a good site to check if you have problems with your Wi-Fi network, especially if it doesn’t show up at all in Windows 8 or has a yellow exclamation mark. in device manager.
Check the network adapter settings
Check your network adapter settings
Open Network and Sharing Center, click “Change adapter settings”, then right-click the next wireless network adapter and select “Properties.”
Now scroll down the list until you see Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP / IPv4) and then click the Properties button.
Finally, make sure the Obtain an IP address automatically and Obtain DNS server address automatically check boxes are selected.
Check the wireless switch
Check wireless switch
Most laptops have a wireless switch or button that you can toggle between on and off. Make sure this button is enabled, or press FN + F8 to enable the wireless card. The switch can be anywhere (side, front, back, etc.), but there is usually an indicator light so you can tell when it is on.
Uninstall in Device Manager
Uninstall in Device Manager
Another quick tip is to go to Device Manager, right-click on your wireless network card and select Uninstall. Then restart your computer and it will be automatically detected and reinstalled. If it still doesn’t work after trying this, read the next driver update tip.
Update BIOS and drivers
Update BIOS and drivers
As always, it is recommended that you download and install the latest drivers for your network card. This is especially important if you are using Windows 8. On the BIOS side, I have always suggested not updating the BIOS unless you really need to. However, if you’ve upgraded your Windows XP or Windows 7 PC to Windows 8, tried all of the above, and updated your driver, updating the BIOS might be worth it. In 99% of cases, updating the BIOS is fine, but there are times when it fails and then the computer is left that won’t boot. Try this only as a last resort and back up your computer first just in case.
Reset router
Reset the router
If you get a restricted connection message, try resetting your router. You can restart it by simply unplugging it, waiting about a minute, and then plugging it back in. If that doesn’t work and you’ve tried all of the above, restart your router. This will reset it to its default settings and wipe out any security or configuration settings you made earlier, so be careful and be prepared to do it again. This is a last resort, but it may solve your problem.
Read my previous post on how to reset your router
Uninstall antivirus or internet security packages
Remove antivirus programs or Internet security groups
If you have something like AVG Internet Security, Avast or similar software installed on your computer or tablet, uninstall that program and see if your internet connection starts working. Many times, Internet Security software has been the culprit and you might have been pulling out your hair while trying to figure out what’s causing the problem, so it’s worth a try.
So there are many things to try and pretty much anything you can try. If none of this worked, then you may be having hardware issues with your wireless card. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to leave comments. Enjoy!
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