The network list opens, and your Wi-Fi name isn't there. Other devices might still be connected without trouble, or everything might have lost it at once.
The difference between those two situations determines where to look — and saves half the troubleshooting time.
One question before anything else
Can other devices still see the network?
| Situation | The problem is in |
|---|---|
| Only one device can't see it | That device |
| No device can see it | The router |
| Neighbours' networks show, yours doesn't | The router |
| No networks show at all | That device's adapter |
The third and fourth rows get confused, though they mean opposite things. If neighbours' networks remain visible, the receiver in your device is healthy — so reinstalling drivers or resetting network settings won't help.
If every device has lost it
That means the router has stopped broadcasting its name. Check in order:
Look at the indicator lights
A Wi-Fi light that's off, or blinking unusually, answers the question straight away. What each light means is in the guide to router indicator lights.
Restart it, and wait fully
Unplug the power, wait thirty seconds, plug it back in. Allow two to three minutes — some routers broadcast Wi-Fi last, after every light has settled.
Check the Wi-Fi button on the router's body
Many routers have a physical button to turn broadcasting off, and it's easily pressed while cleaning or moving the device.
Connect by cable and open the panel
If the panel opens, check whether wireless broadcasting is enabled and whether "hide SSID" has been switched on by accident.
A hidden network can still be used. Add it manually: on Windows through Manage known networks › Add network, on Android through Add network at the bottom of the list. You need to type the name exactly, including capitalisation. Why hiding the name doesn't really protect you is covered in the guide to hiding your Wi-Fi name.
If only the 5 GHz network is missing
A distinctive situation: a name ending in -5G doesn't appear, while the ordinary one looks normal.
Three causes, in order of frequency:
The device doesn't support 5 GHz. Many smart devices, printers, and entry-level phones only support 2.4 GHz. This isn't a fault, and nothing can be fixed. The difference between the bands is covered in the guide to Wi-Fi frequency bands.
The router is using a DFS channel. Some 5 GHz channels are shared with weather and aviation radar. A router using them must scan for one to ten minutes before it may broadcast, and during that time the network is invisible. Older devices often don't recognise those channels even though they support 5 GHz. The fix: lock the router to a non-DFS channel such as 36, 40, 44, or 48.
Its range genuinely is shorter. A single concrete wall can drop 5 GHz off the list while 2.4 GHz stays strong. Move the device closer to the router to confirm.
If only one device is affected
Windows
- Check the physical switch or aeroplane mode key. Many laptops have an Fn key combination that kills the radio, easily pressed unnoticed.
- Disable then re-enable the adapter in Settings › Network & internet › Advanced network settings.
- Run
netsh wlan show networksin Command Prompt. If this shows networks the menu doesn't, the problem is Windows' display rather than the adapter. - Update the driver from your laptop maker's site. This resolves most cases following a Windows update — don't rely on Windows' automatic search, which often restores the problematic version.
- Turn off adapter power saving in Device Manager, Power Management tab. This setting also causes connections to drop on their own — the guide to Wi-Fi problems on a single device.
Android and iPhone
- Turn on aeroplane mode for ten seconds, then off again.
- Forget the network, then search again — a corrupted old entry sometimes gets in the way.
- Restart the device. It sounds trivial, but resolves a fair number of cases.
- If it still fails, reset network settings. Note this erases every saved Wi-Fi password, so record the important ones first — the guide to viewing saved Wi-Fi passwords.
macOS
Hold Option and click the Wi-Fi icon in the menu bar, then choose Wireless Diagnostics. This built-in tool checks channels and surrounding interference, and often points straight at the cause.
Rarer but real causes
These two appear mainly in dense housing and on older devices:
An unsupported channel. If the router uses channel 12 or 13 on the 2.4 GHz band, devices built for other markets won't see it. Set the router to channel 1, 6, or 11 to be sure.
Too many surrounding networks. Some older devices cap how many networks they display. In an apartment with dozens of neighbouring networks, yours can be cut from the list if its signal is weaker. How to check channel congestion is in the guide to Wi-Fi analyzer apps.
The order of checks, summarised
- Check whether other devices can still see the network.
- If none can: check the router's lights, restart it, check its physical buttons.
- If only 5 GHz: confirm the device supports it, then lock to a non-DFS channel.
- If only one device: check aeroplane mode, the adapter, then the driver.
- If no networks appear at all: the problem is that device's adapter.
If the network finally appears but won't connect, that's handled differently and covered in the guide to Wi-Fi that won't connect.
Frequently asked questions
Why do I see my neighbour's Wi-Fi but not my own?
This shows the receiver in your device is working normally, so the problem is at the router — it may have stopped broadcasting, had its name hidden, or moved to a channel your device doesn't support.
Why isn't my 5 GHz network visible when 2.4 GHz shows?
Most often because the device simply doesn't support 5 GHz. The second cause is the router using a DFS channel, which must scan for radar before broadcasting, and some older devices don't recognise those channels at all.
Does hiding the Wi-Fi name make it safer?
Not meaningfully. A hidden name is still visible to ordinary scanning tools, while your own devices have to keep searching for it. What genuinely protects you is a strong password with WPA3 or WPA2-AES encryption.
My Wi-Fi disappeared after a Windows update — why?
Almost always the adapter driver being replaced by Windows' own generic version. The fix is reinstalling the driver from your laptop maker's site, rather than letting Windows find one itself.
