If you need Wi-Fi connectivity but don’t want cables, the USB Wi-Fi adapter seems to be the best solution for you. However, a lot of users have had a hard time with those, especially the unbranded ones. Namely, it seems that Windows 10 can’t recognize some of them. For that purpose, we prepared a list of possible solutions in order to fix this and make your Wi-Fi adapter recognizable for Windows 10. Make sure to move through the enlisted steps one by one, so we can resolve it together.

What can I do if the USB Wi-Fi adapter is not recognized?

1. Update driver through the system

2. Try an alternative USB port

After thousands of plug-in and unplug cycles, your USB ports must suffer. Over time of extensive use, there’s a good chance that one of the available ports is malfunctioning. So, make sure to try out multiple ports before you discard hardware as the possible issue instigator. USB ports are prone to malfunctions, so this is a common problem. Luckily, every PC comes with multiple USB ports so you’ll at least have a choice. If you have appropriate tools, you can check for the power outage.

4. Check Power settings

A large chunk of power consumption on your PC goes to USB ports and dedicated devices you’ve plugged in. It’s uncertain whether the automatically installed drivers will suffice, so it’s of the utmost importance to install the drivers provided by the OEM. If you’re missing the installation disk, you can find the drivers online. The only thing you’ll need to do is to locate them manually. SPONSORED Keep in mind that updating your drivers is an advanced procedure. If you’re not careful, you can cause permanent damage to your system by manually downloading the wrong driver versions. Since updating drivers manually can be a long process, we recommend the Driverfix tool that will automatically update all your drivers for you. Once installed, this great tool will check your installed driver versions against its cloud database of the latest versions and will download the updates automatically. All you need to do is wait for the scan to complete. ⇒ Get DriverFix In order to reduce the power consumption, Windows has some hidden power-related options that tend to suspend USB in order to preserve battery life.

5. Disable the turn off this device to save power option

This is a crossover of Power settings and drivers. Namely, every USB hub has it’s dedicated power settings. The idea is to disable certain USBs in order to preserve power. However, this can affect the devices connected via USB negatively , which can affect the Wi-Fi adapter performance. Because of that, make sure to disable this option for all USB root hubs. In case you found an alternative solution for USB Wi-Fi adapter issues in Windows 10, make sure to tell us in the comments below. We’ll be grateful for your valuable insights on the subject.

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