Intermittent Wi-Fi drops, unexplained slow speeds, or a network adapter that vanishes entirely from your PC are all frustratingly common symptoms of an outdated or corrupted network driver. Because networking hardware sits between two moving targets — your router's firmware and Windows' own updates — drivers here go stale more often than most people realise. This guide covers how to identify your exact network adapter, update its driver safely, and work through the troubleshooting steps if a straightforward update doesn't fix the problem.

Step 1: Identify Your Network Adapter

  1. Right-click the Start button and select Device Manager.
  2. Expand Network adapters.
  3. You'll typically see two or more entries: a Wi-Fi adapter (often Intel, Realtek, Qualcomm, or Broadcom on laptops) and a wired Ethernet adapter (commonly Realtek or Intel), plus sometimes a virtual adapter for Bluetooth tethering or a VPN.
  4. Note the exact model name of whichever adapter is giving you trouble.

Alternatively, open Settings > Network & internet > Wi-Fi (or Ethernet), click your active connection, and scroll down to Hardware properties to see driver details listed alongside connection info.

Pro tip: If Device Manager shows your network adapter with a yellow warning icon, or it's missing entirely and you have no internet access to download a driver, use a different device (phone or another computer) to download the driver, transfer it via USB drive, and install it offline.

Step 2: Try Windows' Built-In Update First

This is the simplest and safest starting point for most people.

  1. In Device Manager, right-click your network adapter and select Update driver.
  2. Choose Search automatically for drivers.
  3. Windows will check locally and via Windows Update for a suitable driver.
  4. Also check Settings > Windows Update > Advanced options > Optional updates > Driver updates, as network drivers are sometimes listed here separately from the main update queue.

Step 3: Get the Driver Directly From the Manufacturer

If Windows doesn't find anything newer, or you're still having problems, going to the source is the next step. Which manufacturer depends on your specific hardware:

  • Laptop manufacturer's site (Dell, HP, Lenovo, ASUS, etc.) — search using your exact model number for a driver customised and tested for that machine. This is generally the best choice for laptops, since manufacturers sometimes tweak drivers for their specific hardware combination.
  • Intel (intel.com/content/www/us/en/support) — for Intel-branded Wi-Fi and Ethernet adapters, particularly common in business laptops.
  • Realtek — for Realtek-branded Ethernet and Wi-Fi chipsets, common on many consumer laptops and desktop motherboards.
  • Motherboard manufacturer's site (ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte, ASRock) — for desktop PCs with onboard networking built into the motherboard.

Warning: As with all driver downloads, only use the manufacturer's official website. Third-party "driver update" tools and sites are a common source of adware and unwanted software bundled alongside a genuine-looking download.

Step 4: Install the Driver

  1. Download the correct driver package for your exact adapter model and Windows version.
  2. Run the installer and follow the prompts — most network driver installers are straightforward with no advanced options needed.
  3. Restart your PC once installation completes, even if not explicitly prompted, since network drivers sometimes need a full restart to initialise correctly.

Step 5: Uninstall and Reinstall for a Clean Fix

If updating hasn't resolved persistent issues like random disconnections or an adapter that periodically disappears, a clean reinstall often works better than an update over the top of a corrupted driver.

  1. In Device Manager, right-click the network adapter and select Uninstall device.
  2. Tick Delete the driver software for this device if offered.
  3. Restart your PC — Windows will typically reinstall a basic driver automatically.
  4. If you need the full-featured version, install the driver package downloaded in Step 3 manually afterwards.

Troubleshooting Beyond the Driver

If updating and reinstalling the driver hasn't fixed the problem, the issue may lie elsewhere. Work through these in order:

  1. Run the Network Troubleshooter: Settings > System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters > Network & Internet.
  2. Reset network settings entirely: Settings > Network & internet > Advanced network settings > Network reset. This removes and reinstalls all network adapters and resets networking components to default — useful for persistent, hard-to-diagnose issues, but note it will remove saved Wi-Fi passwords, so have those to hand.
  3. Check for interference and router issues: if only Wi-Fi (not Ethernet) is affected, try moving closer to the router, switching to the 5GHz band if available, or restarting the router itself — many "driver" problems are actually router or interference issues.
  4. Update your router's firmware: log into your router's admin page (commonly via a browser at 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1) and check for a firmware update, as outdated router firmware causes many of the same symptoms as an outdated adapter driver.
  5. Check for power management settings interfering with Wi-Fi: in Device Manager, right-click your Wi-Fi adapter > Properties > Power Management tab, and untick Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power — this setting is a surprisingly common cause of intermittent Wi-Fi drops on laptops.

Pro tip: That last power management setting catches out a lot of people, because the symptom — Wi-Fi randomly dropping after periods of light use, then reconnecting — looks exactly like a driver fault but is actually Windows aggressively power-saving the adapter.

Wired vs Wireless: A Useful Diagnostic

If you have access to both an Ethernet cable and Wi-Fi, testing both is one of the fastest ways to narrow down whether the problem is your network adapter driver specifically, or something broader like your router or ISP connection.

  • Ethernet works fine, Wi-Fi doesn't: points specifically to the Wi-Fi adapter driver, or interference/router Wi-Fi settings.
  • Both are affected equally: points more toward a router, ISP, or DNS issue rather than a driver problem at all.

Closing Thoughts

Network driver problems are usually quick to fix once you've correctly identified the exact adapter and gone to the right source for an updated driver — the manufacturer's own site rather than Windows Update alone tends to yield the most current and best-tested versions, particularly for laptops. If problems persist after a full driver reinstall, the power management setting and a router firmware check are the two most commonly overlooked fixes worth trying before assuming a hardware fault.

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