Many users are reporting that their Intel (R) Wi-Fi 6 AX201 160MHz stopped working. When they tried running Network Diagnostic, the following error message was displayed.
The Intel(R) Wi-Fi 6 AX201 160MHz adapter is experiencing driver- or hardware-related problems.
In this article, we will show you what to do if Intel(R) Wi-Fi 6 AX201 160MHz is not working.
Why is my WiFi 6 AX201 not working on Windows 11?
Before troubleshooting the issue, we need to know why this is happening. Most of the time, the Intel Wi-Fi 6AX201 160MHz driver will fail to work if it gets corrupted. There are various reasons that can cause the driver to be corrupted, such as a failed installation or download, which usually occurs when installation is stopped in the middle of the process. The driver files can also become corrupted by malware or viruses. This issue may also be due to a glitch in network protocols or settings. The good news is that it can be resolved easily. You just need to reset the settings or protocols to fix the issue.
Intel(R) Wi-Fi 6 driver not working on Windows 11
if Intel(R) Wi-fi 6 AX201 160MHz is not working, then, first of all update your computer. Updating will do the trick if the adapter isn’t working due to a bug. After that, try the following solutions to resolve the issue.
- Switch to a different driver
- Reinstall your Intel Diver
- Reset Network Settings
- Reset Network Protocols
Let us talk about them in detail.
The Intel(R) Wi-Fi 6 AX201 160MHz adapter is experiencing driver- or hardware-related problems
1] Switch to a different driver
First up, we are going to use a different driver if available and see if that works. We are going to use an old driver from the available ones. Follow the given steps to do the same.
- Open Device Manager.
- Expand Network adapters.
- Right-click on your Intel WiFi 6 driver and select Update driver.
- Select Browse my computer for driver.
- Click Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer.
- Select an older version and click Next.
After switching to a different driver, restart the system, and see if the issue persists.
2] Reinstall your Intel Driver
Maybe your Intel Driver got corrupted. If that is the case, we need to reinstall it. Now, even though after uninstalling the driver, Windows can detect an install automatically by just clicking a button. But, we would recommend you download the latest version of your driver from Intel.com. Since your computer doesn’t have a WiFi driver, it won’t connect to a wireless network. So, you can use an Ethernet cable or download the driver on some other system and use a USB to transfer it to your computer.
To uninstall the Intel driver, follow the prescribed steps.
- Open Device Manager.
- Expand Network adapters.
- Right-click on your Intel WiFi 6 driver and select Uninstall device.
- Click Uninstall to confirm.
After uninstalling the driver, restart your computer. Then open Device Manager, click on Scan for hardware changes, or right-click on Network adapters, and then select Scan for hardware changes.
This will install the driver, at least you will be able to use the Internet afterward. In case the correct driver is not installed, or no driver is installed, install the file that we downloaded earlier. Hopefully, this will do the job for you.
3] Reset Network Settings
Maybe the Network Settings have been configured in a way that prevents the Intel WiFi 6 driver from working. We have to reset the network settings and see if that helps. Follow the given steps to do the same.
Windows 11
- Open Settings.
- Go to Network & internet tab.
- Click on Advanced network settings.
- From More settings, click Network reset.
- Click on the Reset now button.
Windows 10
- Open Settings.
- Click on Network & Internet.
- Go to Status.
- Select Network reset > Reset now.
On both platforms, you need to follow the on-screen instructions to complete resetting.
4] Reset Network Protocols
The issue can be nothing but a glitch. This glitch usually is in the network protocols. We are going to release and renew IP, reset Winsock, and flush DNS and check if it works. To do that, open Command Prompt and run the following commands.
ipconfig /release ipconfig /renew ipconfig /flushdns ipconfig /registerdns netsh winsock reset
Hopefully, this will do the job for you.
That’s it!
How do I fix my Intel WIFI adapter?
To fix the WiFi Adapter, first, make sure that it is enabled. To do that open the Control Panel, change View by to Large icons, click Network & Sharing Center > Change adapter settings. Right-click on WiFi and select Enable if it is disabled.If the driver is enabled, then run the Network troubleshooter from the Command Prompt. If that doesn’t work, try the aforementioned solutions to resolve the issue.
Also check: Fix IPv6 Connectivity, No network access error on Windows 11.
