WiFi keeps dropping on Windows 11 22H2—fix in 2 minutes

You're in the middle of something—maybe a Zoom call, maybe a game—and bam, WiFi drops. Then it comes back. Then drops again. Super annoying. Let's skip the rant and fix it right now.

The fix: disable power saving on your WiFi adapter

1. Press Windows key + X and select Device Manager.
2. Expand Network adapters. You'll see a list of stuff like Realtek, Intel, or Qualcomm wireless cards.
3. Right-click your WiFi adapter (the one with "Wireless" or "WiFi" in the name) and choose Properties.
4. Go to the Power Management tab.
5. Uncheck Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.
6. Click OK. After clicking OK you should see the Properties window close.
7. Restart your PC. Not optional—Windows needs to reinitialize the adapter.

After the restart, test your connection. Open a browser, stream a video, join a call. If the drops stop, you're done. That single checkbox causes 90% of random WiFi disconnects on Windows 11 22H2.

Why this works

Windows has a hidden feature: it tells your WiFi adapter to shut down when it thinks you're not using the network. Problem is, Windows is dumb about this. It sees a lull in traffic—maybe you paused to think for 5 seconds—and decides "Hey, I can save power here." So it kills the adapter. Then you start using the internet again, Windows wakes the adapter, but the reconnection takes 5–15 seconds. During that gap, your connection drops. You see the spinning circle, the "No internet" icon, and you get kicked from whatever you were doing.

Turning off that power-saving permission prevents Windows from ever making that bad decision. The adapter stays awake 100% of the time. Your power bill? Negligible. Your sanity? Saved.

Less common variations of this issue

1. The power plan is overriding your adapter setting

Sometimes you toggle that checkbox and it still drops. That's because your power plan (Balanced, Power Saver, Ultimate Performance) can override device settings. Here's the extra step: go to Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power Options. Click Change plan settings next to your active plan, then Change advanced power settings. Scroll down to Wireless Adapter Settings > Power Saving Mode and set it to Maximum Performance. Click Apply then OK. After clicking Apply you should see the setting change immediately in the list.

2. Driver mismatch after a Windows Update

Windows Update sometimes pushes a newer driver that reintroduces power management bugs. If the steps above didn't fix it, roll back the driver. Go back to Device Manager, right-click your WiFi adapter, choose Properties > Driver, and click Roll Back Driver. If that button is grayed out, go to the manufacturer's website (Intel, Realtek, etc.) and download the driver from 6 months ago—those are usually more stable than the latest ones on 22H2.

3. USB WiFi adapter masquerading as a power-saving device

If you use a USB WiFi dongle, Windows also applies power saving to USB ports. Open Device Manager, expand Universal Serial Bus controllers, right-click each USB Root Hub, go to Power Management, and uncheck that same box for each one. Yes, do all of them. After unchecking each, click OK to close each properties window before moving to the next.

Prevention: lock it down so it never comes back

Do these once and forget about it:

• Run the Network Troubleshooter (Settings > System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters > Network and Internet) and click Run. It often re-enables power saving after a reset—stupid, I know. So run it once, then immediately re-check your settings.
• After any Windows feature update (like 22H2 to 23H2), repeat the Device Manager step. Updates love to reset this checkbox.
• Keep your WiFi driver 6–12 months behind the latest. New drivers for consumer adapters are rarely better for stability—they add features nobody asked for and break things that worked.

That's it. If your WiFi still drops after these steps, you might be dealing with a bad router, interference, or a dying adapter. But for 95% of people on Windows 11 22H2, this checkbox is the culprit. Kill it, restart, move on with your life.