Your Acer laptop won’t connect to WiFi and you fail to access the Internet? Don’t panic. This post walks you through to fix Acer laptop not connecting to WiFi issue.
Why isn’t my Acer laptop connecting to WiFi? The reasons are various. For example, if WiFi is disabled on your laptop, you’ll no doubt have this issue; or if your network adapter driver is corrupted, Acer won’t connect to WiFi either.
How to fix Acer not connecting to WiFi
Here are fixes for Acer laptop not connecting to WiFi issue. You shouldn’t have to try them all; just work your way down the list until everything’s working again.
- Turn on WLAN feature in your laptop
- Make sure the WLAN AutoConfig service is running
- Update your wireless network adapter driver
- Modify Power Management settings
- Allow WiFi connections in your antivirus program
- Manually connect to a wireless network
Fix 1: Turn on WLAN feature in your laptop
Newer models of laptops enable people to turn on WiFi with a WiFi switch. So if there is a switch on your laptop, try switching it to ON so as to turn on WiFi for your laptop.
If you don’t see the WiFi switch on your laptop, try to turn on the WiFi feature in Settings. Here’s how to do it:
1) Press the Windows logo key and I at the same time on your keyboard, then the Settings app opens.
2) Click Network & Internet.
3) Click WiFi on the left, and toggle the WiFi button to On.
4) Restart your Acer laptop and try to connect to WiFi and see if it works.
Fix 2: Make sure the WLAN AutoConfig service is running
WLAN AutoConfig service (or Wireless Configuration in Windows XP) provides the logic required to configure, discover, connect to, and disconnect from a wireless local area network (WLAN). If this service is disabled, all the WLAN adapters on your computer won’t work properly. So you should make sure the WLAN AutoConfig service is running properly.
To do so, follow these steps:
1) On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time to invoke the Run box.
2) Type services.msc and click OK.
3) Scroll down and double click WLAN AutoConfig (or Wireless Configuration on Windows XP).
4) Make sure to set the Startup type to Automatic, and the Service status is Running. Then click Apply and OK to save the changes.
5) Restart your laptop and connect to WiFi.
Now check if your Acer laptop connects to WiFi or not.
If not, don’t panic. There are other solutions.
Fix 3: Update your wireless network adapter
If your wireless network adapter is missing or corrupted, your Acer laptop can’t connect to WiFi. To rule it out as the cause for your network problem, you should update your wireless network adapter driver to the latest version.
There are two ways to update your wireless network adapter driver: manually and automatically.
- Manually update your driver: You can go to the website of your network adapter, search for the latest version of your wireless network adapter, then download and install it into your laptop.
- Automatically update your driver: If you don’t have the time or patience, you can do it automatically with Driver Easy.
Driver Easy will automatically recognize your system and find the correct drivers for it. You don’t need to know exactly what system your computer is running, you don’t need to risk downloading and installing the wrong driver, and you don’t need to worry about making a mistake when installing.
You can update your drivers automatically with either the FREE or Pro version of Driver Easy. But with the Pro version it takes just 2 clicks (and you get full support and a 30-day money back guarantee):
1) Download and install Driver Easy (you can try Ethernet connection or Offline Scan feature provided by Driver Easy which allows you to update network adapter drivers even when you have no Internet access).
2) Run Driver Easy and click Scan Now. Then Driver Easy will scan your computer and detect any problem drivers.
3) Click the Update button next to the wireless network device to automatically download the driver (you can do this with the FREE version), then install it in your computer.
Or click Update All to automatically download and install the correct version of all the problem drivers (you can do that with Pro version, and you’ll be prompted to upgrade when you click Update All).
4) After updating, restart your computer to take effect.
Now connect your laptop to WiFi and see if it works properly.
Your issue still persists? Don’t worry. Move on to the next method.
Fix 4: Modify Power Management settings
Power Management settings for your wireless network adapter relate your WiFi performance to the battery power situation. When your Acer laptop has less power, it may disable your wireless network adapter in order to save power. So you should check and modify the Power Management settings.
1) On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time to invoke the Run box.
2) Type devmgmt.msc and click OK.
3) In Device Manager, double click Network adapters, right click on your wireless network adapter, and select Properties.
4) Click the Power Management tab, and uncheck the box next to Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power. Then click OK.
5) Restart your laptop.
Now try connecting to WiFi and see if it works.
Fix 5: Allow WiFi connections in your antivirus program
Your antivirus program may stop your laptop from connecting to WiFi, so you can temporarily turn off antivirus program in your computer, then try to connect to your WiFi.
If your Acer laptop succeeds to connect to WiFi, then your antivirus program is the culprit. In this case, you should add your WiFi connection to antivirus exception, and make sure to allow your WiFi connection through antivirus program.
Note: be sure to re-enable antivirus program later on.
Fix 6: Manually connect to a wireless network
If the methods above didn’t resolve your issue, you can try connecting to your WiFi manually in your Acer laptop.
1) Type Control Panel in the search box on your desktop, and click Control Panel in the result.
2) Ensure to choose View by Small icons or View by Large icons, then click Network and Sharing Center.
3) Click Set up a new connection or network.
4) Select Manually connect to a wireless network, then click Next.
5) Enter the required information for your WiFi, including Network name, Security type, and Security Key. Be sure to check the box next to Start this connection automatically, then click Next.
6) Follow the on-screen instructions to finish the process.
Then your Acer laptop should be able to connect to wireless networks.
So there you have it – the six methods to fix Acer laptop not connecting to WiFi.
If you have any questions, feel free to leave us a comment below.