No network adapter

[costysmecher2002]

Hello. So i've been having this problem for a while and after trying to solve it myself without success I thought it was time to seek help.
So my wifi network adapter has some problems. It all started a week ago when the internet modem got plugged out. Since then the wifi adapter has been acting weird like sometimes the laptop does recognize wifi and therefore wifi works and sometimes it doesnt. Ethernet works fine. I tried uninstalling the adapter's driver but when i reboot the laptop it doesnt install itself back as it should. I have a Acer X541UJ and on the site i couldnt find the driver. I tried some drivers from there but nothing works.
So now i'm stuck with no wifi network adapter.
P.S: When i uninstalled the driver i had to check for hidden adapters as the wifi one was not visible.

If any of you have an idea i'd be happy to hear it!

Cheers!

 

[androbourne]

https://www.asus.com/Laptops/X541UJ/HelpDesk_Download/

There is a WiFi driver listed. You can also try to download the utility and have it try to find the drivers for you.

 

[timmoseus]

Going to the manufacturer is always the best bet, as androbourne pointed out. To find the exact driver, you need the hardware ID. In device manager, right click on the WiFi adapter and select properties. Then select the Details tab, then pick the Hardware Ids from the Property drop down menu. The first one is usually what you want. Highlight, copy, paste into a Google search, look for something mentioning your laptop. You might be surprised by what you find. If that does not work, you might have bigger issues. Any BIOS updates recently? And I know it sounds ridiculous, but is there a manual switch anywhere on the side of the laptop, or a touch sensitive/FN key for turning the WiFi on/off? I'm assuming that you have tried that, but it is worth mentioning. I know I have missed it more than once.

 

[costysmecher2002]

Ok so i downloaded a network adapter driver from the asus site and my internet came back for about 3 hours then it started disconnecting randomly and to solve i tried putting it to sleep. When i opened it back i had no wifi and the internet icon had a red X on it meaning it didnt detect any wifi i suppose. Looking in device manager i saw that the driver wasnt there so i checked if it was hidden and it was.
Before i also noticed that sometimes it would work yet sometimes it wouldnt like after restarting or shutting it down.
Any thoughts?

 

[androbourne]

Have you tested the WiFi on other devices? Is WiFi functional?

Aside from testing WiFi I would run some scans on your system, malware, spyware, adaware and AV scans.

If issue remains I would suspect there is an issue with your NIC. Would recommend a replacement NIC.

 

[costysmecher2002]

Wifi works on my phone. Also scanned it and nothing unusual.
So if the wifi card is broken can i use an external one like a usb instead? Or i need to change the card itself.

 

[androbourne]

You could but usb wifi normally have pretty bad performance. I would just replace your WiFi card. They are pretty cheap.