How to fix Wi-Fi disabled by Windows Mobility Center

I recall a very funny incident some years back. Its amazing how ‘not-funny’ they could be as at the time of occurrence but how hilarious they get over the years. A fellow student rushed into my room, soaked in his own tears. He said Windows (that is Microsoft ) had locked his Wireless (Wi-Fi) from their office (sounded really awkward) and had thus been unable to surf the internet at the school cafe for weeks. Many people had tried but couldn’t figure out the problem and had unanimously advised him to just format the PC (which wasn’t an option for him at the moment). He’d heard about us (Hovatek) from someone who’d heard from someone.

When trying to turn on Wi-FI, it kept showing Disabled by Windows Mobility Center . After less than 40 seconds on the PC, the error message disappeared and Wi-Fi came on. In this brief tutorial, We’ll be demystifying what happened in those 40 seconds.

What is Windows Mobility Center?

Windows Mobility Center— included on laptops running the Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions of Windows 7 and also Windows 8 —puts commonly used laptop settings in one spot so you can access them easily on the go. This means you can quickly access settings (for example, speaker volume, wireless network connection status, and display brightness) in Windows Mobility Center. All of these settings are in one location, so you save time and don’t need to remember where each setting is located. This is especially helpful when you need to quickly adjust laptop settings in different places—such as traveling from your desk to a meeting, or going from home to the airport.

How do I locate Windows Mobility Center ?

• Click the Start button
• Search for or click Control Panel
• Click Mobile PC
• Click Windows Mobility Center
• A faster method is to press the Windows button or  Start menu and search for Windows Mobility Center

What can I do in Windows Mobility Center?

Here are some of the settings you might find in Mobility Center (remember that not all settings are available on all laptops)

• Brightness: Move the slider to temporarily adjust the brightness of your display. To adjust the display brightness settings for your power plan, click the icon to open Power Options (Avoid setting too high; see https://www.hovatek.com/blog/how-to-resolve-the-problem-of-an-overheating-laptop-pc/  )
• Volume: Move the slider to adjust the speaker volume of your laptop, or select the Mute check box
• Battery Status: View how much charge remains on your battery or select a power plan from the list (see https://www.hovatek.com/blog/how-to-make-a-laptop-pcs-battery-last-longer/ )
• Wireless Network: View the status of your wireless network connection or turn your wireless network adapter on or off (see https://www.hovatek.com/blog/how-to-share-an-internet-connection-data-plan-megabytes-between-android-and-pc/ )
• Screen Rotation: Change the orientation of your Tablet PC screen from portrait to landscape, or vice versa
• External Display: Connect an additional monitor to your laptop, or customize the display settings
• Sync Center: View the status of an in-progress file sync, start a new sync, set up a sync partnership, or change your settings in Sync Center
• Presentation Settings: Connect your laptop to a projector, and then click Turn on to get your computer ready to display a presentation. Your laptop will stay awake, and system notifications will be turned off.

Why did Windows Mobility Center disable my Wi-Fi?

The two common causes of this issue are:

1. Corrupted Wi-Fi drivers / Adapters: The PC’s Adapter / Wireless drivers might have experienced some error(s) due to a recent software installation or hardware error ( https://www.hovatek.com/blog/how-to-fix-a-slow-hanging-or-crashing-pc/ )
2. Power saving settings: A power saving setting / software might have disabled Wi-Fi

How do I fix Wi-Fi disabled by Windows Mobility Center?

When faced with such an issue, apply the following techniques:

• Remove any power saving setting / mode
• Launch Device Manager (press Windows button or Start menu then search for Device Manager )
• Navigate to Network Adapters and click the arrow to expand the list
• Locate your Wi-Fi adapter (e.g Qualcomm Atheros AR9285…)
• Right-click on it and select Uninstall
• Click Action at the top bar
• Select Scan for hardware changes
• Check if the Wi-Fi issue has resolved
• If its still the same thing then repeat the procedure for other items under Network Adapters.

Hovatek….just a button away!