Fix Windows could not find a driver for your Network Adapter in Windows 10. Network connectivity issues were very common with Windows 8. Microsoft took the complaints seriously and worked a lot to fix them while launching Windows 8.1 and Windows 10. With every upgrade, the kept bettering the situation, however, still a lot of users face.
How to Update Device Drivers Quickly & Easily
Tech Tip: Updating drivers manually requires some computer skills and patience. A faster and easier option is to use the Driver Update Utility for Microsoft to scan your system for free. The utility tells you which specific drivers are out-of-date for all of your devices.
Step 1 - Download Your Driver
To get the latest driver, including Windows 10 drivers, you can choose from a list of most popular Microsoft downloads. Click the download button next to the matching model name. After you complete your download, move on to Step 2.
If your driver is not listed and you know the model name or number of your Microsoft device, you can use it to search our driver archive for your Microsoft device model. Simply type the model name and/or number into the search box and click the Search button. You may see different versions in the results. Choose the best match for your PC and operating system.
If you don’t know the model name or number, you can start to narrow your search down by choosing which category of Microsoft device you have (such as Printer, Scanner, Video, Network, etc.). Start by selecting the correct category from our list of Microsoft Device Drivers by Category.
Need more help finding the right driver? You can request a driver and we will find it for you. We employ a team from around the world. They add hundreds of new drivers to our site every day.
Tech Tip: If you are having trouble deciding which is the right driver, try the Driver Update Utility for Microsoft. It is a software utility that will find the right driver for you - automatically.
Microsoft updates their drivers regularly. To get the latest Windows 10 driver, you may need to go to Microsoft website to find the driver for to your specific Windows version and device model.
Step 2 - Install Your Driver
After you download your new driver, then you have to install it. To install a driver in Windows, you will need to use a built-in utility called Device Manager. It allows you to see all of the devices recognized by your system, and the drivers associated with them.
How to Open Device Manager
- In Windows 8.1 & Windows 10, right-click the Start menu and select Device Manager
- In Windows 8, swipe up from the bottom, or right-click anywhere on the desktop and choose 'All Apps' -> swipe or scroll right and choose 'Control Panel' (under Windows System section) -> Hardware and Sound -> Device Manager
- In Windows 7, click Start -> Control Panel -> Hardware and Sound -> Device Manager
- In Windows Vista, click Start -> Control Panel -> System and Maintenance -> Device Manager
- In Windows XP, click Start -> Control Panel -> Performance and Maintenance -> System -> Hardware tab -> Device Manager button
How to Install drivers using Device Manager
- Locate the device and model that is having the issue and double-click on it to open the Properties dialog box.
- Select the Driver tab.
- Click the Update Driver button and follow the instructions.
In most cases, you will need to reboot your computer in order for the driver update to take effect.
Tech Tip: Driver downloads and updates come in a variety of file formats with different file extensions. For example, you may have downloaded an EXE, INF, ZIP, or SYS file. Each file type has a slighty different installation procedure to follow.
If you are having trouble installing your driver, you should use the Driver Update Utility for Microsoft. It is a software utility that automatically finds, downloads and installs the right driver for your system. You can even backup your drivers before making any changes, and revert back in case there were any problems.
Try it now to safely update all of your drivers in just a few clicks. Once you download and run the utility, it will scan for out-of-date or missing drivers:
When the scan is complete, the driver update utility will display a results page showing which drivers are missing or out-of-date. You can update individual drivers, or all of the necessary drivers with one click.
For more help, visit our Driver Support Page for step-by-step videos on how to install drivers for every file type.
RECOMMENDED: Click here to fix Windows errors and improve PC performance
Are you having problems with your Wi-Fi on Windows 10? Is your Windows 10 PC unable to connect to Wi-Fi networks? In this guide, we will see how to fix common Wi-Fi issues by reinstalling the Wi-Fi driver.
On your Windows 10 PC, you might encounter issues while connecting to a Wi-Fi network. Your PC might not detect available Wi-Fi networks or fail to connect to a wireless network. At times, the Wi-Fi adapter might refuse to turn on or off.
Most of the Wi-Fi related issues on your PC can be fixed by reinstalling the Wi-Fi driver on your PC. Reinstalling the wireless driver includes downloading a fresh copy of the driver, uninstalling the current driver from your PC and then installing the fresh copy of driver.
Complete the given below directions to reinstall the wireless or Wi-Fi driver on your Windows 10 PC.
IMPORTANT: When you reinstall the Wi-Fi driver, Windows will delete all saved Wi-Fi network passwords. That means, after installing the Wi-Fi driver, you will have to enter the password again to connect to a wireless network. If you have forgotten the Wi-Fi password, please refer to our how to view saved Wi-Fi password in Windows 10 guide to back all Wi-Fi passwords before uninstalling the driver.
Reinstalling the Wi-Fi driver in Windows 10
![Network Adapter Driver Windows 10 Download Microsoft Network Adapter Driver Windows 10 Download Microsoft](/uploads/1/2/5/7/125743267/582928601.png)
Step 1: Open Device Manager. To do so, right-click on the Start button and then click Device Manager.
Step 2: In the Device Manager, expand Network Adapters to see all network adapters, including the wireless adapter. The Wi-Fi adapter usually has the term “wireless” in its entry.
Note down the wireless adapter name and number as you will need to download the adapter driver before uninstalling the present driver. Once you uninstall the present wireless driver, your Wi-Fi adapter will stop working, so you cannot download the new driver unless you have an Ethernet connection.
To check the version number of the driver, right-click on the wireless driver entry in Device Manager > Network adapters, click Properties, click Driver tab.
Step 3: Visit wireless adapter’s official website or your PC manufacturer’s website, and download the right Wi-Fi driver. We repeat, make sure that you have downloaded the right wireless adapter driver.
Step 4: In the Device Manager, right-click on the wireless adapter entry, and click Uninstall device option. In older versions of Windows 10 (build 10240), you will see only Uninstall instead of Uninstall device option.
Step 5: When you see the following confirmation dialog, please click Uninstall button to uninstall the driver as well as the device.
Step 6: Once the driver is uninstalled, save your work, and restart your PC once. Please reboot your PC once to avoid driver issues later.
Step 7: Launch the setup of the new driver that you downloaded previously (as mentioned in Step 3), and follow the on-screen directions to install the driver. That’s it!
If asked, perform a reboot to complete the driver installation.
You can now click on the Wi-Fi or wireless icon on the taskbar to see all available wireless networks. If the icon is missing, please refer to our fix to wireless icon missing from Windows 10 taskbar guide.
Also learn how to delete old drivers in Windows 10.