You may get the annoying “Wireless Capability Is Turned Off” message, which prevents you from joining Wi-Fi networks and using the internet. This issue can be caused by a number of reasons, such as outdated Windows updates, disabled Wi-Fi switches, or wrong BIOS settings.
This guide will provide the fixes for “Wireless Capability is Turned Off” on Windows 10/11:
- What Causes the “Wireless Capability Is Turned Off” on Windows 10/11?]
- How to Fix “Wireless Capability Is Turned Off” on Windows 10/11?
What Causes the “Wireless Capability Is Turned Off” on Windows 10/11?
- Incorrect BIOS Settings: In some cases, the BIOS settings might be configured in a way that affects wireless connectivity.
- Wi-Fi button turns off: If your laptop or device has a physical switch or a designated key for Wi-Fi, it might be switched off, leading to the error.
- Recent Windows update: Windows updates can sometimes interfere with network settings and result in the “Wireless Capability Is Turned Off” error.
How to Fix “Wireless Capability Is Turned Off” on Windows 10/11?
To fix “Wireless Capability Is Turned Off” issue on Windows 10/11 try either of the following methods:
- Turn Wi-Fi on Using the Physical Switch.
- Turn off Airplane Mode.
- Do a Network Reset.
- Disable and Enable the Network Driver.
- Reinstall the Driver.
- Run the Network Troubleshooter.
Method 1: Physical Key to Switch on the Wi-Fi
Many system keyboards come with a Wi-Fi switch key. You can use that key to switch on or off your system Wi-Fi. Your Wi-Fi functionality should be restored if you can find this switch or key and make sure it is turned to the “On” position:
Method 2: Turn Off the Airplane Mode
Some users accidentally enabled the Airplane Mode, which automatically disabled their Wi-Fi. To turn it off, follow these steps:
Step 1: Check the Airplane Mode
To turn off Airplane mode, open the start menu, type Turn airplane mode on or off, and hit enter. In the Airplane mode windows, disable the Airplane mode if it is enabled:
Step 2: Check the Wi-Fi
To check the status of the Wi-Fi, type WiFI in the start menu search and hit Enter to open the Wi-Fi settings. Verify the status of the Wi-Fi:
Method 3: Do a Network Reset
Sometimes users or 3rd party applications make changes in settings which may cause issues in the Wi-Fi adapter. By resetting your network settings, all unwanted actions will be restored. After the Network reset a restart will be required to apply the changes:
Method 4: Restart the Network Driver
A driver is a major part of any hardware component installed in your operating system. The driver is a bridge that is utilized to establish a connection between wireless cards. A corrupted driver may cause this issue. For this to resolve this issue follow the following steps:
Step 1: Open the Device Manager
Use the Windows Start menu to trigger the launch of Device Manager:
Step 2: Expand/Select the Network Adapter Option
After getting into the Device Manager window, find the Network adapters and double-click it:
Step 3: Reset the Network Driver
To restart the driver, first, disable the driver and click OK. After that, enable the driver and hit the OK button:
After rebooting the system, your Network adapter is restarted. Now you can open the Wi-Fi settings.
Method 5: Reinstall the Network Driver
If restarting the network drive will not be helpful in resolving the issue, then reinstall the Network driver. To do that follow the following instructions:
- Open the device manager from the start menu.
- Search the Network adapters and expand them.
- Right-click on the network driver and click on the uninstall button:
Note: Once done, reboot the system.
Method 6: Run the Troubleshooting for the Network
A systematic method of problem-solving is troubleshooting. The purpose of troubleshooting is to identify the source of an issue and provide instructions on how to fix it. To run the network troubleshooting requires a few steps:
Step 1: Open the Internet Troubleshooter
Open the Start Menu, type “Find and fix network problems” in the search bar, and click on the Open Button:
Click NEXT to proceed to troubleshoot the problem:
Step 2: Troubleshoot the Internet
Now in this step, click on “Troubleshoot my connection to the Internet”:
Note: This process takes a couple of seconds to find the problem:
After Finding the problem, it will automatically troubleshoot the Problem:
Step 3: Close the Internet Troubleshooter
At the end, all the detected problems with the network adapter are displayed. Any hardware fix will not be solved by the internet troubleshooter:
Conclusion
To fix the “Wireless Capability is Turned Off” issue on Windows 10/11, you must “Turn Off the Airplane Mode”, “Run the Network Troubleshooter”, “Perform a Network Reset”. Additionally, you can try updating, disabling and enabling the driver via the “Device Manager”. This guide has discussed the methods to fix the “Wireless Capability is Turned Off” on Windows 10/11.