Your wifi adapter is

What Is a Wi-Fi Adapter?

Ryan Dube is a freelance contributor to Lifewire and former Managing Editor of MakeUseOf, senior IT Analyst, and an automation engineer.

Michael Heine is a CompTIA-certified writer, editor, and Network Engineer with 25+ years’ experience working in the television, defense, ISP, telecommunications, and education industries.

• Wi-Fi & Wireless
• The Wireless Connection
• Routers & Firewalls
• Network Hubs
• ISP
• Broadband
• Ethernet
• Installing & Upgrading

A Wi-Fi adapter lets you convert a desktop computer or a laptop into a wireless-capable device. Once installed, it enables you to use the internet without the need for a network cable.

There are several kinds of Wi-Fi adapters, both internal and external. The one you choose depends on the type of computer you have, available ports, and how much you’re willing to spend.

What Does a Wi-Fi Adapter Do?

A Wi-Fi adapter allows you to connect your desktop or laptop computer to your wireless router so that you can access your home network and the internet.

Without a Wi-Fi adapter, you would need to run an ethernet cable from the router to your computer and plug it into your computer’s ethernet port.

These days, most newer computers come with Wi-Fi capability built-in (as an internal Wi-Fi adapter card). However, if you still have an older computer that only has an ethernet port and no Wi-Fi capability, you’ll need to use a Wi-Fi adapter to connect to your router wirelessly.

Does a Wi-Fi Adapter Give You Wi-Fi?

There are two things you’ll need for a Wi-Fi adapter to work correctly. Just installing a Wi-Fi adapter on your computer won’t give you a Wi-Fi network. You’ll also need:

• A working internet connection to your home (typically from an Internet Service Provider or ISP)
• Modem (usually provided by the ISP) to connect to the live internet cable or DSL wire
• A router that handles wireless communication between your devices, the network, and the internet

Many ISPs provide one device that serves as both the modem and router. But in either case, you’ll need a router capable of providing a Wi-Fi network. You’ll connect the Wi-Fi adapter to the network provided by the router.

Types of Wi-Fi Adapters

There is a wide variety of Wi-Fi adapters available, depending on your needs. Choose the adapter that’s best suited for your computer setup and how you want to use your wireless network.

A PCI adapter is a card you’ll need to slide into one of the PCI slots inside your desktop computer. Before you buy one of these, open your computer case and ensure that an empty PCI slot is available. These are long, narrow slots near one side of the case where you can remove a metal covering to open up an external hole where the external antenna usually screws into the card.

A PCMCIA adapter fits into the PCMCIA slot on the side of laptops that support it. It may also include an antenna. The adapter looks like a thick credit card. It’s convenient because you can easily remove it and use it on any other laptop that supports PCMCIA adapters.

A MiniPCI or MiniPCI express adapter inserts into a PCI slot inside your notebook. You’ll need to open your notebook case and ensure you have an available PCI slot to install the adapter. The adapter is all internal and will enable wireless functionality for your notebook without having to use one of your PCMCIA slots.

A USB Wireless adapter is one of the most convenient Wi-Fi adapters because it works with both desktop and laptop computers, so long as you have an available USB slot. It’s the best option if you don’t want to open up your computer case and want a plug-and-play solution. However, you may need to install driver software that comes with the USB adapter when you buy it.

An ethernet port adapter either plugs directly into your computer’s ethernet port or comes as a box with an ethernet port and antenna. If you buy the box version, you’ll also need an ethernet cable to connect your computer’s ethernet port to the box. This solution is best for older computers that have an ethernet port but no wireless functionality.

If you choose a Wi-Fi adapter that requires internal installation, remember to follow proper grounding practices, such as wearing a grounding strap, which will protect from damaging any internal components due to static charge.

Do I Need a Wi-Fi Adapter?

If your computer is close enough to your router that a network cable will reach it, use the cable as this is usually the best option. Using a wired connection like this eliminates Wi-Fi range and interference issues and, as a bonus, allows faster transmission of data.

However, if you’re too far from the router, a Wi-Fi adapter is the best option. It lets you use your computer or laptop at any location, as long as you’re within range of the wireless router.

As mentioned earlier, most computers sold today have Wi-Fi capabilities built-in, so make sure to turn on your Wi-Fi before you decide to buy a Wi-Fi adapter.

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[SOLVED] Windows 10 wireless adapter missing

Your wireless network adapter is missing on your Windows 10 PC? Don’t worry! Although it is frustrating, you’re not the only one to experience this issue. Many Windows 10 users have recently reported the very same issue. More importantly, you should be able to fix it pretty easily…

Try these fixes

Here’s a list of fixes that have fixed this issue for other Windows 10 users. You don’t have to try them all. Just work your way through the list until you find the one that does the trick for you.

1. Show the hidden devices in Device Manager
2. Run the network troubleshooter
3. Update the driver for your wireless network adapter
4. Reset the Winsock settings
5. Replace your network interface controller card

Fix 1: Show the hidden devices in Device Manager

Your wireless network adapter may be hidden in Device Manager. If you’re not sure, follow the instruction below to show the hidden devices in Device Manager:

1. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and X at the same time. Then select Device Manager. You’ll be prompted for permission. Click Yes to open Device Manager.
   
2. In Device Manager, click View and select Show hidden devices.
   
3. Click Network adapters to select it. Click Action and click Scan for hardware changes.
   
4. Double-click Network adapters to expand the list. See if your wireless network adapter (usually the adapter whose name contains the word “wireless”) appears among the list.
   

If your adapter appears shows up on the list, double-click on it to open its properties window. See if the adapter is working properly.

If your wireless network adapter doesn’t appear among the list, or if the adapter is not working as expected, don’t worry! Try the next fix, below.

Fix 2: Run the network troubleshooter

The built-in network troubleshooter in Windows 10 is a useful tool to resolve network issues. You can follow the instruction below to run the network troubleshooter:

1. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and type network troubleshooter . Then select Identify and repair network problems in the list of search results to run the network troubleshooter.
2. The network troubleshooter will automatically detect the network problems on your PC. You just need to follow the steps in the network troubleshooter and see if this issue can get fixed.

See if your wireless network adapter appears. If not, try the next fix, below.

Fix 3: Update the driver for your wireless network adapter

A missing or corrupted driver may be the root of this issue. Try updating the driver for your wireless network adapter to see if you can resolve it.

There are two ways to update the driver for your wireless network adapter: manually and automatically.

Manually update the driver for your wireless network adapter – You can update it manually by going to the manufacturer’s website, and searching for the latest driver for your wireless network adapter.

Be sure to choose the driver that’s compatible with your exact wireless network adapter model and your version of Windows.

Update the driver for your wireless network adapter automatically – If you don’t have the time, patience or computer skills to update your network driver manually, you can, instead, do it automatically with Driver Easy. 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. Driver Easy handles it all.

All the drivers in Driver Easy come straight from the manufacturer. They‘re all certified safe and secure.

1. Downloadand install Driver Easy.
2. Run Driver Easy and click the Scan Now button. Driver Easy will then scan your computer and detect any problem drivers.
   
3. Click Update next to your wireless network adapter to automatically download the correct version of its driver, then you can install it manually. Or click Update All to automatically download and install the correct version of all the drivers that are missing or out of date on your system (This requires the Pro version– you’ll be prompted to upgrade when you click Update All. You get full support and a 30-day money back guarantee ).
   

The Pro version of Driver Easy comes with full technical support. If you need assistance, please contact Driver Easy’s support team at support@drivereasy.com.

Fix 4: Reset the Winsock settings

Winsock is a programming interface and supporting program in Windows operating system. It defines how Windows network software should access network services. If its data went wrong, this issue may occur.

In this case, r esetting Winsock data may resolve this issue, because resetting Winsock data is helpful for dealing with some network connection issues. Here is how to do it:

1. On your keyboard, press the Windows Logo Key and R at the same time to open the Run dialog. Type cmd and press Ctrl, Shift and Enter at the same time to runCommand Promptas administrator. You will be prompted for permission. Click Yes to run Command Prompt.
   
2. In the Command Prompt, type netsh winsock reset and press Enter .
   
3. Restart your PC to complete the reset.

See if your wireless network adapter appears in Device Managers.

Fix 5: Replace your network interface controller card

If your wireless network adapter doesn’t appear in Device Manager after you tried all the fixes above, it’s time to consult the manufacturer of your PC for further support, since the worst case of this issue could be the problem of your NIC (network interface controller) card.

Hopefully one of the fixes above resolved this issue for you. Feel free to leave us a comment if you have any questions or suggestion.

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