Fix Wi-Fi not working after Windows 11 24H2 update

Your Wi-Fi broke after the big update. Let's get you back online.

You're not alone. After installing Windows 11 24H2 (the 2024 update), tons of users see Wi-Fi drop completely or refuse to connect to any network. The usual signs: the Wi-Fi icon shows a globe with a red X, or it says "Connected, no internet." The fix is simple, and it doesn't involve buying a new adapter or reinstalling Windows.

This works on Windows 11 23H2 and 22H2 too, but it's most common on 24H2 because that update changed how the WLAN AutoConfig service handles saved profiles.

The 2-minute fix: reset the WLAN service and clear saved networks

Open Command Prompt as admin. Click Start, type cmd, right-click "Command Prompt" and pick "Run as administrator." If you get a User Account Control prompt, click Yes.
Stop the WLAN AutoConfig service. Type this and hit Enter:
```
net stop WlanSvc
```
Expected outcome: You'll see "The WLAN AutoConfig service was stopped successfully." If it says "not running," that's fine — move on.
Delete all saved Wi-Fi profiles. This is the real fix. Type:
```
netsh wlan delete profile *
```
Expected outcome: "Profile * was deleted from interface Wi-Fi." The asterisk acts like a wildcard — it nukes every saved network.
Restart the WLAN service. Type:
```
net start WlanSvc
```
Expected outcome: "The WLAN AutoConfig service is starting... The service was started successfully."
Close Command Prompt and reconnect. Click the Wi-Fi icon in the system tray, pick your network, and re-enter the password.

That's it. You should be online within 30 seconds after step 5. If you're still stuck, reboot once — sometimes the network adapter needs a fresh driver state after the service reset.

Why this works

Windows 11 24H2 introduced a quirk with the WLAN AutoConfig service (WlanSvc). During the update, it sometimes corrupts the stored network profiles — especially if you had saved a Wi-Fi network from an older Windows install or a different router. The service tries to load a broken profile, then crashes or hangs. By stopping the service, deleting all profiles, and restarting, you force Windows to build fresh profiles from scratch. That clears out any corrupted data.

I've seen this fix work on Dell XPS 15s, HP Spectres, and even older Lenovo ThinkPads running 24H2. The specific trigger? A network profile that was originally saved on Windows 10 or a 22H2 build. The 24H2 update doesn't migrate those profiles cleanly.

Less common variations of the same issue

Only certain networks fail

If you can connect to a mobile hotspot but not your home or office Wi-Fi, the profile for that specific network is corrupted. Instead of deleting all profiles, run netsh wlan show profiles to list them, then netsh wlan delete profile "name-of-bad-network" to target just that one.

The Wi-Fi adapter disappears from Device Manager

This is rarer, but after 24H2, some Intel AX211 and Realtek RTL8822CE adapters vanish entirely. Open Device Manager (right-click Start > Device Manager). Look under "Network adapters." If your Wi-Fi adapter is missing, click the Action menu and pick "Scan for hardware changes." If it reappears, right-click it and choose "Update driver" > "Search automatically for drivers." If that fails, download the latest driver from your laptop maker's support site — don't use Windows Update for this, it often gives stale versions.

Connected but no internet, and DNS is the culprit

Sometimes the Wi-Fi shows connected, but no apps work. Open Command Prompt as admin and run ipconfig /flushdns. Then set a public DNS like Google's (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4) in your adapter settings. Go to Settings > Network & internet > Wi-Fi > Hardware properties, then click "Edit" next to DNS server assignment. Switch from Automatic to Manual, turn IPv4 on, and enter 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4. Hit Save. The 24H2 update has a known bug where it corrupts the DNS cache after a restart.

How to keep this from happening again

Don't skip Windows updates. Microsoft pushes fixes for the WLAN AutoConfig bug in cumulative updates. Check Settings > Windows Update > Check for updates regularly. I've seen KB5044285 fix this for a lot of people.
Delete old Wi-Fi profiles manually after a feature update. Every time you install a major Windows release (like 23H2 to 24H2), open Command Prompt as admin and run netsh wlan delete profile * before you try to connect to a network. Prevents the corruption from happening in the first place.
Set a static DNS early. If you're prone to DNS corruption, configure Google or Cloudflare DNS in your router's settings instead of on individual PCs. That way, your PC's DNS cache is less likely to get borked by an update.
Driver maintenance. Visit your PC manufacturer's support page once a month and check for updated Wi-Fi drivers. Don't trust Windows Update to give you the latest — it's often weeks behind. A bad driver update from Windows Update is what kicks off the whole mess for some users.

If none of this works — and I mean really none — you might have a hardware failure that coincidentally happened during the update. Run the Windows Network Troubleshooter (Settings > System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters > Network and Internet) just to rule it out. But in my experience, the WLAN service reset fixes 9 out of 10 cases. You're probably good to go.