Wifi Toggle switch is greyed out

Anonymous
2012-11-04T04:04:43+00:00

Original Title: How to turn on WiFi Capability on Windows 8

Hello,

I upgraded my Laptop Toshiba L500D from Windows 7 Home Premium (x64) to Windows 8 Pro (x64) a few days ago, then I realized yesterday I could not connect to WiFi connection. I have tried search on the internet how to fix it, but no luck. Here are the following list I have tried so far:

  1. Update to latest Driver by going to "Device Manager", click right "Realtek RTL8187SE Wireless LAN PCIE Network Adapter" then click "Update Driver Software...".
  2. Go to Toshiba Website, download "Realtek Wireless Lan Driver" for Windows 7 (x64) and install it by running in Windows 7 compatibility mode.
  3. Go to BIOS, by pressing F2 before Windows 8 loaded, and enable Wireless Communication.
  4. Troubleshooting "Network Adapter (WiFi)" and it gave this advice:

           "Turn on wireless capability

Use the switch on the front or side of the computer,            or function keys if available,            to enable wireless capability on this computer."

  1. Go to Settings -> Change PC Settings -> Wireless, and I got this:

http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/2959/62721723.png

How am I suppose to switch it on, if the switch is disabled? The airplane is also off, so I suppose the Wireless switch should be enable so I can turn it on and off, but no, the wifi switch is still disabled.

Any advice will be appreciated.

Cheers,

simply.puzzle

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Internet and connectivity

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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Anonymous
2012-11-29T21:38:42+00:00

I had a similar issue.. I used the diagnostics to resolve the issue... here are the steps I took.

  1. Right Click network icon in taskbar and select "open network and sharing center"
  2. highlight wifi connection then at top click "diagnose this connection"

the troubleshooter will discover that the WiFi connection is turned off and offer a "apply fix" option click that and windows will enable the wifi connection...

I had the same issues as the OP and Geecat where the Fn switch just didn't work, so I worked through it as outlined above... Looks like with Win 8 the troubleshooter is even more necessary... Not sure how I feel about that, but it is what it is.

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  1. Anonymous
    2013-11-13T18:33:04+00:00

    On the Dell Inspiron, the wi-fi turns on and off with the Function key and the F2 key.

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  2. Anonymous
    2013-11-09T15:00:25+00:00

    If nothing is working just go to BIOS settings and reset them it will solve every thing :)

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  3. Anonymous
    2013-11-09T14:29:29+00:00

    Had the same problem, this worked for me

    Move mouse to the bottom right corner and left click on settings.

    Left click on networks icon, this will bring up display where wifi on/ off switch is greyed out.

    Turn on wifi on the hard switch on keyboard, not function f8.

    On my toshiba this a group of touch keys to the right of the power on button.

    This group also has several touch controls for sound, +. -  and mute.

    Touching that wifi button, it has the antenna symbol on it, turned the wifi on/off toggle on my screen to active, not greyed out. Then I could turn it on with that toggle switch on my screen.

    Simple but sadly took me an hour to figure out.

    I had never used that hard button before.

    Hope this helps.

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  4. Anonymous
    2013-09-09T15:55:04+00:00

    Hello,

    I have an Acer that runs windows 8. Acer support gave me these directions to turn the wifi back on and they worked! very simple : )

    1. Turn off the computer
    2. Turn on the computer and begin pressing F2 immediately
    3. Press F9 for setup defaults and hit enter
    4. Press F10 to save your changes

    After that, your wireless should work!

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