How to enable again thr wireless wife connection without the Administrator password since we all forgotten about it?

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How to enable again thr wireless wife connection without the Administrator password since we all forgotten about it?

Ellen Aranzaso 0

I need to enable again the wireless wifi connection in my laptop. I want to do it in a way that is recognized as good and other files will not get removed. This laptop is an Asus, with the Windows 7 it's kinda old that's why we forgot the administrator password already.

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Answer 1

Lucus-V 12,525 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi Ellen Aranzaso,

If your ASUS laptop has a physical wireless switch or a keyboard shortcut (typically Fn + a function key with a wireless icon), try using that first, as it may re-enable Wi‑Fi without requiring administrator permissions.

However, if the wireless adapter was disabled through Windows settings, Device Manager, or Network Connections, Windows 7 normally requires administrative privileges to enable it again. Since the administrator password has been forgotten, there is no supported way to bypass those permissions.

If another administrator account is available on the computer, please sign in with that account and re-enable the wireless adapter. Otherwise, you may need to:

Recover access to an existing administrator account.
Back up any important files.
Reinstall Windows if administrator access cannot be restored.

For security reasons, Microsoft does not provide instructions for bypassing or circumventing administrator passwords.

If you can tell us whether the Wi‑Fi is disabled by a hardware switch, in Device Manager, or in Network Connections, we can suggest the appropriate next troubleshooting steps.

Ellen Aranzaso 0 Reputation points

2026-08-26T10:47:11.8733333+00:00

I tried the fn +f2 but it just makes the wifi icon light on and off
Ellen Aranzaso 0 Reputation points

2026-08-26T10:49:38.9866667+00:00

Additionally, I the context for this one is I opened the Windows mobility center and I accidentally clicked to disabled the wireless connection because I thought I can turn it back on without problems. But now whenver I'm clicking the windows mobility center the option for wireless connection is now gone and to enable it again I need the password which unfortunately long forgotten by the first owner, my uncle
Lucus-V 12,525 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-26T18:57:12.6133333+00:00
Hi Ellen Aranzaso,

Thank you for the additional information.

Based on what you described, it sounds like the wireless connection may have been disabled through Windows settings rather than by the ASUS hardware switch. The fact that Fn + F2 only turns the Wi‑Fi indicator light on and off suggests the wireless hardware is still responding, but Windows may still have the wireless adapter disabled.

Since the Wireless Network option has disappeared from Windows Mobility Center and Windows is prompting for an administrator password to make changes, the wireless adapter likely needs to be re-enabled by an account with administrative privileges.

Unfortunately, if the administrator password has been forgotten and there are no other administrator accounts available, there is no supported method to restore administrative access or re-enable the setting without an administrator account.

You may want to try the following:

Check whether there are any other user accounts on the PC that have administrator rights.

Ask your uncle if there might be another administrator account that was used previously.

If access to an administrator account cannot be recovered, back up any important files and consider reinstalling Windows 7.

As a quick check, can you confirm whether you are currently signed in to a Standard User account or an Administrator account? Also, do you receive a password prompt when you try to open Network Connections or Device Manager? That information will help determine whether the wireless adapter is disabled in Windows or if another issue is involved.
Lucus-V 12,525 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-27T16:01:24.7766667+00:00

Hi Ellen Aranzaso,

I hope everything is going well on your end. Just wanted to check in and see how things are going for you lately, anything you'd like to share or discuss?