Question Problem with WiFi (may be a driver issue ?)

[Paltze]

I have had a WiFi card connected to my PC for some past 4 years, and suddenly, some weeks ago, it stopped recognizing my Mobile Hotspot, though it recognizes other networks and my router on both Windows and Linux. The peculiar thing is that it does connect to my Hotspot when used inside a VM. I suspect it might have something to do with the drivers so I have already uninstalled and reinstalled them, but no help. What can be the possible reasons and how can I fix it? Thanks.
EDIT - System Specs:
CPU: Intel Pentium G2020
RAM: 6GB DDR3
Motherboard: Gigabyte H61M-S
(No external graphics card)
OS: Windows 10 & EndeavourOS [Arch Linux and Linux Mint on VM]

 

[Ralston18]

Update your post to include full system hardware specs and OS information.

Mobile: Phone - make and model?

What specific error message or pop-up screen appears when the PC fails to recognize the Mobile hotspot.

Capture a screenshot or take a photograph and post the image here via imgur (www.imgur.com).

 

[bill001g]

This I suspect is more a bug in windows or maybe multiple variations of bugs. Many people post this issue here and there seems to be no consistent way to fix it.
Uninstalling and reinstalling the driver sometimes fixes it for some people but not in your case. Since it works in a vm and on linux it is not one things like the router changed wifi channels to something you nic does not support.

Try netsh wlan show networks
Sometimes the command will display networks the gui will not.
Although it is a long shot try to use the option to manually connect to a wifi system. You would do this when you say wanted to preconfigure a connection before you got in range. Be very careful of typo. Sometimes this will force a connection or you might get a error message that gives you a clue.

The method that seems to always fix it but nobody can say why is to reinstall windows 🙁

 

[Paltze]

Update your post to include full system hardware specs and OS information.

Mobile: Phone - make and model?

What specific error message or pop-up screen appears when the PC fails to recognize the Mobile hotspot.

Capture a screenshot or take a photograph and post the image here via imgur (www.imgur.com).

Sorry, but by 'not recognizing' I meant that it does not list my network altogether.

 

[Ralston18]

Try the suggestions provided by @bill001g in Post #3.

If necessary then take and post some screenshots of any errors or pop-up windows that may appear. Post the screenshots here via imgur (www.imgur.com). Before taking the screenshot arrange the windows to show as much as possible of what proceeded the windows that appeared.

As the next thing to try:

Copy and paste the results of both "netsh wlan show networks" and "ipconfig /all" via the Command Prompt (without quotes).

 

[JohnMGotts]

I'm a little confused. Are you saying that when you click on the network icon on the taskbar and select "Mobile Hotspot" that you're
not seeing it as a connection on your phone under the WiFi devices?
If you activate and right click "Mobile Hotspot" and go to settings, does the "Share My Connection With Other Devices" turn on?
Are you sharing on WiFi and not Bluetooth?
Have you attempted updating the drivers for your WAN Minports? The virtual adapter uses a different port BTW.

 

[Paltze]

This I suspect is more a bug in windows or maybe multiple variations of bugs. Many people post this issue here and there seems to be no consistent way to fix it.
Uninstalling and reinstalling the driver sometimes fixes it for some people but not in your case. Since it works in a vm and on linux it is not one things like the router changed wifi channels to something you nic does not support.

Try netsh wlan show networks
Sometimes the command will display networks the gui will not.
Although it is a long shot try to use the option to manually connect to a wifi system. You would do this when you say wanted to preconfigure a connection before you got in range. Be very careful of typo. Sometimes this will force a connection or you might get a error message that gives you a clue.

The method that seems to always fix it but nobody can say why is to reinstall windows 🙁

No, Linux is not able to connect as well, only the VM installations can connect. Yes that command indeed lists my network, how do I connect to it?

I'm a little confused. Are you saying that when you click on the network icon on the taskbar and select "Mobile Hotspot" that you're
not seeing it as a connection on your phone under the WiFi devices?
If you activate and right click "Mobile Hotspot" and go to settings, does the "Share My Connection With Other Devices" turn on?
Are you sharing on WiFi and not Bluetooth?
Have you attempted updating the drivers for your WAN Minports? The virtual adapter uses a different port BTW.

No, what I am trying to say is, when I click on on the network icon on the taskbar it does not list my network and I am quite certain that I am sharing on WiFi. I have not tried updating drivers for WAN miniport, I will try it thanks.

 

[JohnMGotts]

No, Linux is not able to connect as well, only the VM installations can connect. Yes that command indeed lists my network, how do I connect to it?



No, what I am trying to say is, when I click on on the network icon on the taskbar it does not list my network and I am quite certain that I am sharing on WiFi. I have not tried updating drivers for WAN miniport, I will try it thanks.

When you click the taskbar network icon (without automatic wifi connection) it should list the current connection, default wifi connection as “off” and a VPN (if you have one.)
When you click on the Wifi option (which turns blue) it should list any Wifi network in range regardless of ownership. If outside networks or any range extenders show and your wifi network does not, your router/WiFi is not broadcasting its SSID. It would have to be enabled in the router GUI. If you haven’t already, power cycle the router and check that SSID broadcast is on in the Wifi section of the router GUI.
If everything is as it should be and it isn’t resolved, I would roll back the driver for the network adapter. There may be a clue there if the date of the current driver install coincides with your failure timeframe. Additionally, make sure in your network advanced sharing options settings that network discovery is turned on.