Estimated Time to Fix: 5 minutes

Summary

This article guides you through fixing issues where your Windows laptop or desktop constantly drops its Wi-Fi connection, disconnects randomly, or fails to reconnect after waking from sleep.

Symptoms

• Your Wi-Fi connection drops unexpectedly while browsing or during meetings.
• The computer says "No Internet Access" despite being connected to the router.
• Wi-Fi turns off and won't turn back on without a restart.

Before You Start

• None required.

Instructions

1. Stop Windows from Turning Off Your Wi-Fi Adapter

Windows powers down the Wi-Fi adapter to save battery, and that is the most common cause of a connection that keeps dropping.

1. Right-click the Start button and select Device Manager.
2. Click the arrow next to Network adapters to expand the list.
3. Find your Wi-Fi adapter (it will usually have "Wireless", "Wi-Fi", "Intel", or "Realtek" in the name).
4. Right-click the Wi-Fi adapter and select Properties.
5. Click the Power Management tab at the top.
6. Uncheck the box that says Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.
7. Click OK. If the connection still drops while you are working, or drops again the first time the computer wakes from sleep, power management was not the cause. Continue to Step 2.

2. Forget and Reconnect to the Network

Forgetting the network clears saved settings that have gone stale and builds the connection again from scratch.

1. Click the Wi-Fi icon in your taskbar (near the clock).
2. Right-click your current Wi-Fi network and select Forget.
3. Wait a few seconds, then click the network again to reconnect.
4. Enter the Wi-Fi password and check the box to Connect automatically. If the fresh connection drops again, or shows "No Internet Access" as soon as it joins, the saved network profile was not the cause. Continue to Step 3.

3. Run the Network Troubleshooter

Windows can reset the network stack itself, which catches problems the manual steps miss.

1. Click the Start button, type Settings, and press Enter.
2. Go to System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters.
3. Find Network Adapter (or Internet Connections) and click Run.
4. Follow the on-screen prompts to let Windows automatically detect and reset broken network settings. If the troubleshooter reports it found no problems, or the connection drops again within the hour, you now need a record of how often it happens. Continue to Step 4.

4. Verify Success

Restart, then use the connection for a few hours to confirm it holds.

1. Restart your computer and monitor the connection for a few hours. If it drops again during that window, write down the time of each drop and raise a ticket with those times, the name of the Wi-Fi network, and whether your phone stays connected to the same network while the laptop drops.

Troubleshooting

WARNING

If your Wi-Fi drops on all of your devices at the same time (e.g., your phone and your laptop both lose connection), the issue is with your home router or internet service provider, not your Windows computer.

Symptom / Error	Potential Cause	Solution
Wi-Fi drops when moving to a different room	Weak signal	You may be too far from the router. Consider moving closer or using a Wi-Fi extender.
The "Power Management" tab is missing	Modern Standby	Windows 11 hides this tab on some modern laptops. Skip to Method 2.

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