Wi-Fi (off) and can't be enabled

Anonymous
2013-03-04T07:16:41+00:00

I have had my laptop for 3 months, and wi-fi just stopped working today.  I cannot turn it back on.  The laptop came pre-installed with Windows 8.  It is a Gateway NV52L15u. 

The wi-fi icon in the tray has a red "x" and says "no connections are available."  In PC Settings, it says "Wi-Fi (Off)" and the option to turn it on is greyed out and cannot be selected.  If  I run the Troubleshooting wizard for the network adapter it tells me to "use the switch on the front or the side of the computer, or the function keys... to enable wireless capability."  The laptop does not have a physical switch, and pressing the wi-fi function key on the keyboard only toggles Airplane Mode on or off.

Laptop re-starts have not fixed the issue.  I have run the laptop with battery and with AC power, but this has made no difference either.  When I open Device Manager, there are no issues.  All the network adapters are "working properly."  I have tried un-installing and re-installing the wireless adapter driver, but this has not changed anything.  I even tried replacing the wi-fi network card with a known-good card from another laptop - the wi-fi issue on the Windows 8 laptop was not fixed and the software behavior did not change (with the minor exception that the network adapter changed to a different make and model). 

I am out of things to try.  I have ruled out faulty hardware being the issue, therefore, it appears to be Windows 8 software related.  Any suggestions would be welcome.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Internet and connectivity

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Anonymous
2013-03-05T00:21:49+00:00

Hi Nathan,

Welcome to Microsoft Community Forums.

Based on the description, it appears that you are facing issues while connecting to Wi-Fi as you are getting an error message "no connections are available". I will definitely help you in fixing this issue.

  1. Have you made any changes on the computer prior to this issue?

Method 1: I would suggest you to follow the steps from the and check if it helps.

Why am I unable to see Wi-Fi networks on my Windows 8 notebook?

When you setup your Windows 8 system for the first time, you may notice that Wi-Fi is off when you view Available Networks. If no wireless networks are listed under Wi-Fi, press the F3 key to attempt to turn the wireless on. If you are still unable to see any wireless networks, use the following steps to resolve this issue.

  1. Completely shut down your computer.
  2. Power on the system. As soon as the first logo screen appears, immediately press the F2 key, or the DEL key if you have a desktop, to enter the BIOS.
  3. Press F9 to load Setup Defaults and press Enter.
  4. Press the F10 key to save changes and restart the system. When Windows loads, your wireless networks should now be available.

For reference:

http://gateway-us.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/27057/kw/no%20connections%20are%20available/session/L3RpbWUvMTM2MjQ0MjQ1MC9zaWQvWHFCUlZsa2w%3D

Method 2: Once the Wireless network is available, I would suggest you to make the connection automatic and check if it helps.

How to Connect to a Network in Windows 8

http://gateway-us.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/26602/kw/connections

Give this a go; I’m confident you will find what you need here. But if you face any further issue please reply to this post and we'll be happy to assist you further.

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  1. Anonymous
    2013-10-25T05:12:09+00:00

    I had same problem and one day Wi-Fi spontaneously got stuck on Wi-Fi (Off). With a little help from gateway support, I found the solution! Supposedly this is a somewhat common problem. He first told me to reset Bios to default which didn't work for me. And then he had me update Bios to latest version. He gave me a link to it that automatically downloaded it (If you don't have a nice support guy to give you a nice download link you can Google "update bios" and click on the first few links and follow instructions), and I moved it onto this computer with a flash drive to perform the update.  (you can use a LAN connection to get internet [or other removable storage devices] to find the latest bios update to download.) After the update, everything worked fine, in fact better than before. I hope this might help someone! :)

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  2. Anonymous
    2013-10-08T02:47:48+00:00

    For the Gateway NV521L hold down the wifi key during the boot up. The boot up will be slowed down, but the Wifi should now be on and the wifi button Adapter Switch will start working. This may work on others, but I have only done it on the Gateway.

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  3. Anonymous
    2013-09-28T19:45:14+00:00

    I had this very same problem and tried multiple things to fix it.  I tried to refresh the system which is what tech support said would fix it but this did not.  The only solution for me was this.  Shut down the pc and while it is shutting down keep pressing the airplane mode key over and over.  Turn the pc on and continue to press the key over and over until it has completely rebooted.  Then go into the device fast lane which is usually located on the task bar on the left.  Toggle the wifi switch to the on position and this should enable it.

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  4. Anonymous
    2013-09-02T01:16:53+00:00

    I just got through with a chat with Gateway.  They resolved my issue with an updated BIOS.  I have the file on hand but I am not sure how to attach it this response.  Chat with Gateway and see if you can get the update.  If not, let me know and I will send the file.

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