Wireless Network Adapter Drivers Download and Update on Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP

Jun. 24, 2022 / Updated by Bessie Shaw to Windows Driver Solutions

Main Content of this article:

What is a Wireless Network Adapter
Types of Wireless Network Adapters
Methods to Download and Update Wireless Network Adapter Drivers

What is a Wireless Network Adapter

A wireless network adapter, also known as a Wi-Fi adapter, is an electronic device that allows computers, printers, tablet PCs or mobile phones to access to the Internet without using Ethernet cables or wires. A wireless adapter obtains signals from inside the computer, change them into radio waves and send them out via an antenna.

Types of Wireless Network Adapters

There are various types of wireless network adapters and each is made for use with a dedicated computer interface. Generally, there are 6 types of wireless network adapters, as below:

PCI

PCI stands for "Peripheral Component Interconnect," an industry standard for connecting devices to a computer's central processor. Desktop computers with a PCI slot on the motherboard usually adopt PCI interface wireless adapters.

PCMCIA

PCMCIA stands for Personal Computer Memory Card International Association, the group of companies that defined the standard. PCMCIA wireless network adapters are used for notebook computers with at least one PCMCIA slot available.

Mini PCI

Some laptops or notebooks with a Mini PCI slot and a built-in wireless antenna could use the Mini PCI interface wireless network adapters.

USB

The USB wireless network adapters are as easy to use as USB flash drives, which are applied to laptops, notebooks, smartphones and devices with a USB port. The USB network adapters own the plug-and-play feature and ultra-convenient portability. The con is that a USB adapter might not deliver as strong of a connection over as long of a range as a PCI-based wireless adapter can.

Ethernet Port

The Ethernet port wireless adapter is connected to the Ethernet port on a desktop, laptop or game console, such as the Sony PlayStation 4 or XBOX 360. As long as the game console is connected to this type of wireless adapter, it could gain access to the Internet.

Compact Flash

The Compact Flash card wireless adapters are commonly used in handled computers with CF slots, such as Palm, Pocket PCs, notebooks, and so on.

3 Methods to Download and Update Wireless Network Adapter Drivers on Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP

Once the wireless network adapter is installed, you need to download and install the appropriate wireless adapter driver to make it run properly. Taking the USB wireless network adapter driver for example, below are 3 methods for you to download and update the right Wi-Fi adapter drivers on Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7, Windows 7, Windows Vista or Windows XP.

Method 1. Download Wireless Network Adapter Driver via Windows Update

Plugging your USB wireless network adapter into a USB port on a system, try these steps below to open Windows Update to download and update the USB wireless network adapter drivers, as below:

Step 1. Press Windows key + R altogether

Step 2. Type ms-settings:windowsupdate and press Enter

Step 3. Click Check for updates

Step 4. Install the USB wireless adapter driver available

Method 2. Wireless Network Adapter Driver Download through Manufacturer’s Website

You could navigate to your wireless network adapter manufacturer’s Support page to search for and download your required wireless adapter driver, such as Atheros wireless network adapter driver, Toshiba wireless adapter driver, Acer wireless network adapter driver, Dell wireless network adapter driver, Asus wireless adapter driver, etc. But the Wi-Fi drivers for some discontinued adapter models may not be offered for download any more.

See Also:

Method 3. Download and Update Wireless Adapter Driver with Driver Talent

If you can’t find the exact wireless adapter drivers that meet your specifications, or you download a proper driver but can’t successfully install it, you could try a professional and reliable driver update utility like Driver Talent, which could find out your driver issues in seconds, and then download and install the best-matched wireless adapter driver automatically to make you access to the wireless network easily and quickly.

Driver Talent could download and update all brands of wireless network adapter drivers, including ASUS, AVM, Linksys, TP-Link, Buffalo, Trendnet, Belkin, Netgear, D-Link, and a whole lot more.

Click the button below to free download Driver Talent.

Download Now

Below is the step-by-step guide to download and update the exact wireless adapter driver for 2016.

1. Scan Your PC

Launch Driver Talent on your PC. Click “Scan” to make a safe scan of your PC to check for outdated, corrupted, damaged or missing driver issues.

scan your pc

2. Download and Update Wireless Network Adapter Drivers

Click “Peripheral drivers” to enter the “Peripheral Drivers” section to install the wireless network adapter driver. The wireless network adapter driver that fits your need will appear and click “Install” to install the most appropriate wireless network adapter driver.

install wireless adapter drivers

3. Restart Your PC

Restart your computer once the wireless network adapter driver install is finished.

Note: In addition to drivers download and update, Drive Talent comes with other premium features, such as drivers backup, drivers restore, system restore, drivers pre-download for another PC, etc.

Wireless Network Adapter Drivers Download without Internet Connection

After a clean install of Windows, there’s no Internet. To get the right wireless adapter driver, you could see How to Download & Install Network Drivers without Internet Connection for instructions.

The Most Common Wireless Network Adapter Drivers

Below are the most common wireless network adapter drivers that Driver Talent could download.

wireless network adapter driver for Windows 10	wireless network adapter driver for Windows 8.1	wireless network adapter driver for Windows 8
wireless network adapter driver Windows 7	wireless network adapter driver for Windows Vista	wireless network adapter driver for Windows XP
Acer Aspire wireless network adapter driver	Asus wireless network adapter driver	Atheros network adapter driver
Compaq wireless network adapter driver	Dell Inspiron wireless network adapter driver	Gateway network adapter driver
Lenovo G570 wireless network adapter driver	Toshiba network adapter driver	Wireless network adapter driver for HP Pavilion
Cisco wireless network usb adapter driver	Packard Bell wireless network adapter driver	Atheros ar5007eg wireless network adapter driver
Atheros AR9485 wireless network adapter driver	Atheros AR9565 wireless network adapter driver	Broadcom network adapter driver
Broadcom bcm43142 wireless network adapter driver	Belkin USB wireless network adapter driver	D-link network adapter driver
D-link wda-1320 PCI wireless network adapter driver	D-link wua-2340 USB wireless network adapter driver	D-link dwa-510 g desktop wireless network adapter driver
D-link dwa-130 n USB wireless network adapter driver	Linksys b network adapter driver	Tenda network adapter driver
Ralink network adapter driver	AVM network adapter driver	Buffalo wireless network adapter driver

If you have any questions about wireless network adapter drivers download and update, please drop a line in the comments section below.

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