Windows 10: Why does my laptop continuously ask me to connect an ethernet cable even though it has...

I use a HP Pavilion g6 Notebook PC running on Windows 10 Home and for the past few months it’s been having connectivity issues. One moment the wifi is fine, the next there is a computer with a X that appears in place of the wifi icon in the task bar and no networks show up to connect to. When I troubleshoot network and connections, it tells me I need to plug in an ethernet cable even though I don't need one.

I've tried rebooting my wifi box, but that doesn't help as no networks show at all, as well as network reset (which fixes it sometimes, but more so doesn't help at all). One of the most helpful things is troubleshooting hardware and devices. In most cases, by doing this, my problem is resolved.

However, after a short while of working wifi, the computer with the X returns again and none of the above methods work anymore.

Uninstalling the adapter then scanning for hardware changes in device manager tends to work too, but there are also times where the adapter does not show up after the scan, even after restarting my laptop and doing the above methods.

All the methods I've done are only short term… Is there a permanent solution to this?

:)

 

Ethernet cable settings

Hi Campbell,

Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

Please reply to the follow questions to get a better understanding on the issue:

• What is the model number of your laptop?
  
• Do you have a yellow exclamation on the network icon after connecting the cat 7 cable?
  

However, you can follow the troubleshooting steps from
Fix network connection issues in Windows.

Also, I suggest you to check the laptop manual or laptop manufacturer to know whether the Ethernet port of your laptop supports cat 7 cable.

Hope it helps.

Nikhar Khare

Microsoft Community – Moderator

 

laptop can't find wifi but connects with ethernet cable

Please try these troubleshooting steps that may help.

1. Make sure the router SSID broadcast is on.
   
2. Change the wifi channel to see if it resolves the problem.
   
3. Enter the SSID and WPA2 password manually and see if the laptop connects.
   
4. Temporarily turn off the encryption.
   
5. We go into device manager & check updates for wifi drivers, we may need to simply update the driver.
   
6. We go to Settings - Network & Internet - Status - Change Adapter Options, then right-clicked 'Ethernet' and disabled it. We do the same with wifi. Then we (with Ethernet still disabled) enabled wifi. It should re-connect to your wifi after a while.
   
7. We have to disconnect our Ethernet cable from our laptop and follow the steps:
   Start>Control Panel>Network and Sharing Center>Manage Wireless Networks and remove all wireless connections by right click on it and select Remove network from the drop down menu. After doing this, close the windows and scan for the wifi networks.
   Click on the available network and select connect. After a while, we will be asked to give a password for our wifi connection. Type the password and click on connect button. And now will be connected to our wifi network via wireless.
   
8. First is to disconnect the internet cable from the laptop then uninstall/reinstall the wifi adapter.
   Go to Device Manager and uninstall the wifi adapter.
   Once uninstalled, reboot the laptop and it should reinstall the driver automatically.
   After the reboot do try connecting to your wireless network again.
   If all these will not work, do also make sure that the wireless adapter is enabled. Depending the model of your laptop there should be key combinations on how to enable/disable it.
   

 

Can an ethernet cable have a virus?


Hey all. So when i used a desktop, obviously i use the laptop wired with ethernet cable. But i no longer use a desktop and thus use a laptop now. The thing is i connect it to external monitor almost always and thus use ethernet cable to use wired internet. Sometimes i use wifi if i bring laptop to somewhere else in apartment.But if you are planning to use it connected and on a desk, you should always use it wired with an ethernet cable right?


I recalled wired is always faster. The thing is i don't have an ethernet cable now and just using it on wifi and it seems okay. But you would always suggest get an ethernet cable for you are using it on a desk where you don't move it right?



Also i know this may sound like a dumb question. But could an ethernet cable carry a virus? Like imagine someone gives you an ethernet cable or you bought a used or or you bought a new one but it was actually returned and used. Is it possible for that to infect your laptop? Im going to buy an ethernet cable at one of these stores like computer shops but i want to know, is it possible an ethernet cable has virus? I would be connecting it from modem to an ethernet adapter connected to a usb port on my laptop. I know this may sound very foolish to ask this but i want to make sure. I ask this because i cannot order an ethernet cable directly from say amazon because of where im located now.