In this article, you will find the steps to fix the annoying problem of Windows 10 Computer not connecting to WiFi network automatically, forcing you to re-enter the WiFi password every time you restart the computer and try to connect to your home WiFi network.
Windows 10 Not Connecting to WiFi Automatically
In general, a Windows computer is designed to store the password for your home WiFi network and use this saved password to automatically connect to the internet.
However, due to some glitches your computer may decide not to store or save the WiFi Network Password. This can be really frustrating as your computer will make you enter the WiFi Network Password, every time you try to connect to the internet.
There are multiple ways to fix this problem, for your convenience the solutions as listed below are arranged in the order of simple solutions first.
Make Windows 10 Forget WiFi Password
Although this sounds contrary to what we are trying to achieve, making Windows 10 Computer forget the WiFi network actually helps in clearing minor bugs or glitches that could be causing the WiFi problem on your computer.
1. Click on the Windows 10 Start button located at the bottom left corner of your screen and click on Settings.
2. On the Network & Internet Screen, click on Manage WiFi settings
3. On the next screen, scroll down to a section called Manage known networks and click on the name of Your WiFi network and then click on Forget.
4. Now, restart your computer.
5. After the computer restarts, click on the WiFi icon in the taskbar of your computer and then click on the WiFi Network name that you want to connect to (See image below)
6. Next, make sure that the option to “connect automatically” is checked and click on Connect.
7. Next Enter your WiFi Password to connect to the WiFi network
This should fix the problem on your computer and it should be able to connect to the WiFi network automatically, the next time you restart the computer.
Stop Computer From Turning OFF WiFi Adapter
Your Windows 10 computer has a power saving feature that turns off the WiFi adapter in order to conserve power. In certain cases, stopping the computer from turning OFF WiFi adapter is known to fix WiFi Connectivity problems.
1. Right Click on Windows 10 Start button and click on Device Manager from the Menu that pops up.
2. On the device Manger Screen, click on Network Adapters to expand the entry. You will be able to see all the network adapters that were installed on your computer. (See image in Step 3 below)
3. From the expanded list, right click on the Network Adapter for your computer and click on Properties (See image below).
Tip: In case you see too many entries, look for something that says Network or 802.11b or has WiFi in it.
4. On the Network Properties Window, click on the Power Management Tab and remove the tick mark next to “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power”.
Your computer should now remember the WiFi network password and won’t be asking for a password, the next time you try to connect to the internet.
Uninstall Network Adapter Driver
In most cases, the first 2 methods as listed above should fix the problem. In case you are unable to fix the problem on your computer even after trying the two methods above, you can try this third method after making sure that you have created a Manual Restore Point on your computer.
In case anything goes wrong, you will be able to Restore your computer using the restore point and get it back to the same condition that it was in before.
This method is based on the fact that a Windows computer is designed to look for missing device drivers and install them automatically in case they are missing.
As mentioned above, it is strongly recommended that you create a System Restore Point, before proceeding with the steps below.
1. Right Click on Windows 10 Start button and click on Device Manager from the Menu that pops up.
2. On the device Manger Screen, click on Network Adapters to expand the entry. This will list all the network adapters that were installed on your computer.
3. From the expanded list, right click on the network adapter driver for your computer and click on Uninstall (See image above)
Tip: In case you see too many entries, look for something that says Network or 802.11b or has WiFi in it.
4. You will see a popup warning saying “You are about to Uninstall this device from your computer”, click on OK to Uninstall.
5. Now, you can either restart the computer or click on the Screen icon (Scan for hardware changes). This will make your computer search for the right driver and reinstall it back on your computer.
6. In case your computer is able to install the right driver, you will see it back under the “Network Adapters” drop-down (See image above)
As mentioned above, in certain cases Windows 10 computer may not be able to find the right driver and may end up not installing the driver on your computer.
In such cases, you can easily get back to where you were by restoring your Windows 10 Computer, using the Manual System Restore Point that you had specifically created before going ahead with these steps.