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
    2015-10-02T18:08:11+00:00

    i'm indonesian, please translate my answered to english :p

    saya juga mengalami hal yang sama setelah mencoba memperbaiki selama berjam-jam, tetapi hasil tetap nihil.

    lalu saya membaca sebuah artikel tentang mencabut baterai laptop ketika posisi menyala untuk solusinya. dan ternyata saya bisa kembali menyalakan wifi di laptop saya. tidak perlu juga melakukan update bios dan software lain karena sistem win 8.1 sudah terintegrasi dengan driver laptop.

    mungkin untuk PC dengan cabut kabel power

    semoga berhasil

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-08-21T07:44:05+00:00

    Having the same damn problem all the sudden. When i upgrade to Win10 from Windows 7 everything was working perfectly. Everything, including Wireless Connection etc. Except from the fact that my Wireless Switch on and Off key on my keyboard was not working anymore, but i didn't really care about it, 'cause i rarelly use the wifi. 

    Just yesterday i realised that the wifi toggle is always Turned Off and i can't turn it on and the Wireless Switch on and Off key is now The Sleep Mode! I have tried many things to repair this but still found no easy solution. What is bothers me is that all happend suddenly and i don't know if there's something i did or what?

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-08-14T17:23:56+00:00

    BIOS update is key in many circumstances.

    If you are using Windows 8 ok then it might not help.

    If you are upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10 then it CAN be a problem, as the BIOS is for Windows 7 and has not been updated to BIOS for Windows 8.

    I would suggest going to your manufacturer web site and putting in that you are running Windows 8 and see if there are any BIOS updates available for Windows 8, if there are then do it. (If you put in directly you are running Windows 10 it will simply direct you to Windows Update which is no use, you want Windows 8 BIOS updates from your manufacturer).

    The problem you will get is that Windows 7 the switch often is used for turning wifi on and off. However for Windows 8 and 10 this is Airplane mode on and off and you cannot turn Wifi on or off.

    So you need a Windows 8 BIOS update to correct this, once you do this the problem should be gone in Windows 10.

    .

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  4. Anonymous
    2015-08-08T14:44:04+00:00

    Have the same problem on windows 10.  Have tried everything including your solution.  Windows 10 does not apply fix: it just says "switch on wi-fi fn+F2 or touch switch" neither work.  So still looking for a solution

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