Windows 10 cannot connect to ONE specific Wi-Fi network

This is the second time I encounter this issue: Windows 10 suddenly cannot connect to ONE specific WiFi network (which is my home network).

(Update: I remembered that the first time I encountered the issue is after I restored Windows 10 with Lenovo Onekey Recovery,which may modified the configuration of WiFi adapters' region and/or drivers(which I think it does not))

Other devices (Android smartphones and MacBook Pros) can connect to the WiFi network without any problem, so it should not be the problem of the router. I also tried to boot into a Ubuntu live session, and the computer connects to the WiFi network without any problem, which means the problem is not at the WiFi adapter.To conclude, the problem is caused by Windows.

Last time, I changed the WiFi channel used by the router, it worked fine until I change the WiFi channel again(update: it seems the choice of WiFi channels are limited to 1-11, before the issue, channel 1-13 can be used).

I tried to Google for the solution, but most of them are just Windows 10 troubleshooting guide, and the rest of them are not effective or does not suitable in my case.

How can I solve this issue, or at least, which part of Windows should I look at?


As @Appleoddity suggested, you can use netsh wlan commands to delete your profile. Do keep in mind you will likely need to have your SSID password handy to reconnect.

Maybe easier and faster, you likely could also just disconnect from that SSID, and before you reconnect, say: forget PW or network, and then reconnect to that SSID using your old password. This should force creating a new profile, (assuming you don't have multiple SUB-profiles--see below).

Another alternative is to visit your registry here and delete PART of a profile sometimes, (if your profile name for that SSID has 1, 2, 3, etc. that was added by Windows): HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\NetworkList\Profiles

It seems to list all your profiles in general order of use or when created. In my case, I have FIVE DIFFERENT "profiles" showing for the same SSID, likely each with different settings. I've deleted individual profiles here before and it will recreate it. It is possible your PW might be stored elsewhere and would be preserved. In my case, right now I'm connected to: MySSID 5 even though the "5" is NOT part of the SSID name. I would bet that if I delete the first/top profile, which is MySSID 5, it would then reconnect using to older profile: MySSID 4. In this case, I know the older password would be saved and used, assuming it is part of that key.

Another alternative is to visit the other link given by @HarryMC, although most comments say the solutions are somewhat spotty, and are not very definitive:

Possible duplicate of Windows 10 wifi issue: "Windows 10 wifi issue: "Can't connect to this network"" – @harrymc

I'd like to revise this answer and add a UNIVERSAL, FAST, and EASY FIX for this problem, vs. anything that I, or the others have suggested so far.