How to turn on Wi-Fi on your Dell laptop

Struggling to connect your Dell® laptop to Wi-Fi? Whether you’re setting up a new laptop or troubleshooting a connection issue, knowing how to activate Wi-Fi is important. We’ll walk you through the different ways you can turn on Wi-Fi on your Dell laptop.

At Asurion, our experts have the know-how to help with most tech—including your Dell laptop. Here’s how to enable Wi-Fi on a Dell laptop.

How to turn on Wi-Fi on a Dell laptop

Turning on Wi-Fi on a Dell laptop is pretty simple, once you know where to look. We’ll show you a few ways to get connected.

Using Windows settings to turn on Wi-Fi

1. Press the Windows key on your keyboard.
2. Click Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi. Now, set the Wi-Fi option to "On" to turn on the wireless network connection.

Using the Network icon to turn on Wi-Fi

1. To open the action center, click the W-Fi icon at the bottom right of your taskbar, which typically looks like a series of horizontal bars.
2. A menu will appear, depicting the W-Fi and airplane icons. Make sure the Wi-Fi icon is turned on and the airplane mode icon is turned off.
3. Click the arrow to the right of the W-Fi icon to reveal a list of available network connections.
4. Select your network and connect.

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Locating the Wi-Fi button on a Dell laptop

Some Dell laptops come equipped with a dedicated Wi-Fi button or a keyboard shortcut. To find it:

1. Look for a button with the Wi-Fi icon (three vertical or horizontal lines) on the sides of your laptop. Press it to turn your Wi-Fi on or off.
2. If there isn't a dedicated button, check your keyboard. The key is usually one of the function keys (like F2) with the W-Fi icon on it. Use this key with the Fn key to turn Wi-Fi on or off.

Troubleshooting common Wi-Fi issues

If you've tried the other methods but still can't connect to Wi-Fi, here are some quick troubleshooting tips:

1. Restart your Dell laptop and router/modem—this can often resolve connection issues.
2. Make sure your laptop’s airplane mode is off—this disconnects the Wi-Fi connection.
3. Run Windows Network Diagnostics by right-clicking the Wi-Fi icon in the taskbar, then clicking Diagnose network problems.

Updating or reinstalling Wi-Fi drivers

Wi-Fi drivers are software that helps your computer communicate with its wireless hardware, creating a stable connection to Wi-Fi networks. Outdated or missing drivers can often cause Wi-Fi connectivity issues.

Your Dell laptop automatically updates its drivers when it updates its software. You can also update or reinstall the drivers manually. You'll need an internet connection to do both, so be sure to connect your laptop using an Ethernet cable. Some Dell laptops come with an expandable Ethernet port on the right side of the computer (denoted by an icon that looks like three squares connected by a line). If yours doesn’t come with a port, you can use a docking station to connect to the Ethernet.

Update software on a Dell laptop

1. Connect your laptop to Wi-Fi via Ethernet cable or docking station.
2. Open the Start menu.
3. Click Settings.
4. Go to Update & Security, select Windows Update, and click Check for updates.

Update or reinstall drivers manually

1. Connect your laptop to Wi-Fi via Ethernet cable.
2. Right-click the Start menu, and select Device Manager.
3. Locate "Network adapters," and expand this section.
4. Find your W-Fi network adapter, right-click it, and select Update driver. You can search automatically for updated driver software or reinstall the driver by selecting Uninstall device.
5. Restart your PC. Windows will reinstall the driver during start up.

Still having trouble connecting to Wi-Fi? We’ve got that covered too.