Windows 10: Why my wifi shows it's connected to a network even if the the wifi is off

Even after turning off the wifi in taskbar it shows wifi is connected to some network but it's not even turned on. My system is running of 24h2. i'm using lenovo ideapad slim 5 with intel ultra 5 125h.

:)

 

Wifi Networks not showing

On my Laptop if I wanted to change the wifi connection I would always see a list of the available networks when I selected the Wifi icon on the task bar.
Since the last major update to Windows 10 I find that when I select the wifi icon I only see the current connection





To see other networks within range I have to open the 'Network settings' and choose 'Show available networks' - then they show up.





Does anyone have any explanation for this - or possibly a 'fix' to show them all from the taskbar again.

 

How to connect to an existing wifi network?

As you suggested, I tried disabling the ethernet adapter and that caused wi-fi to connect, so the desktop wifi does work. Also, I accessed the router and changed the wireless network name (to wfCHS). Thanks!

However many problems are still unresolved:

My laptop behaves just as I want it to. Assuming the router has wifi turned on and the laptop has an ethernet connection, connection to the internet is by ethernet (no private network name), and the wi-fi connection is to my private network "wfCHS", but with no connection to the internet. (If I disconnect the ethernet cable, then wfCHS becomes connected to the internet and stays that way even if I reconnect the cable.) A directory listing shows both laptop and desktop under "Network". Great!

Things are rather different with the desktop. With Ethernet disabled, the desktop shows a wi-fi connection to the internet. Under Settings > Status it's called "wfCHS" but under Network Connections it's called wfCHS2. If I then re-enable the ethernet connection, the wifi connection stays enabled for a minute or two, then disconnects. Further, the ethernet connection is given the name wfCHS2 under both Status and Network Connections.

Why does the desktop give an (unwanted) name to the ethernet connection while the laptop doesn't?

Why does the desktop disconnect its wi-fi connection a minute or so after the ethernet connection is enabled, while the laptop doesn't?

Why does the desktop give two different names to the wifi connection, depending on whether it's viewed under Status or Network Connections, while the laptop doesn't?

Why does the laptop show the desktop under Network, while the desktop shows only itself?

Things are so convoluted that I'd be happy to start over. I've had the desktop "forget" the wi-fi connection as you suggested, then re-established it, but this hasn't helped. Can the ethernet connection also be "forgotten"?

Really appreciate the help you've given so far!

 

WiFi appears in Manage Known Networks, not in Show Available Networks

The list of WiFi connections shown when you click the WiFi icon in the taskbar is a list of all the signals that can currently be seen by the WiFi adapter. The list in Manage Known Networks is a list of all those you have previously successfully connected to, whether or not they are currently available.

The only plausible explanation is that for a while that WiFi signal had been turned off.