Various components are used to make a computer, and the motherboard is the most important one among them. So, while buying a motherboard, one question must cross everyone’s mind: does my motherboard have Wi-Fi?
Most of the computer components such as; GPU, CPU, RAM, Storage, etc., are connected to your motherboard directly. It makes sure that they all can function together to create a working computer. But only a few motherboards have Wi-Fi on them.
So, here we’re guiding you to know whether your computer or laptop motherboard has Wi-Fi or not as follows:
Does My Motherboard Have Wifi?
The quickest and effortless way to learn if a motherboard has built-in Wi-Fi or not is to check back the IO Panel (this is the place where most of your Audio Ports, USB Ports, VGA/DO/HDMI/DVI, etc. are placed) look for the connectors of the antennae.
In a few rare cases, you may find a board with Wi-Fi without antennae. But if you see that happens on your desktop, then you shouldn’t be using its Wi-Fi anyway.
If your motherboard doesn’t have Wi-Fi on it, you should get PCIe adapters or USB adapters to run your computer or laptop properly. The process of using this is quite easy and simple.
You just need to plug those adapters into your computer or laptop, then download the applicable drivers for it (only if they don’t install themselves automatically), and then you’re ready to go.
These adapters are generally quite budget-friendly and affordable. If you’re not looking for some high-end adapters, then you can get them for only a few bucks and make your motherboard have Wi-Fi on it.
This should clear out your doubt about this “should my motherboard have WiFi” question.
Does My Motherboard Support Wifi 6?
Wi-Fi 6 has been having a great amount of momentum at this moment. Though it is still in its early day, most of the products don’t even follow their standard yet. Therefore, we’ll discuss how you can answer, “does my laptop have WiFi 6.”
Wi-Fi 6 is referred to in the media as a high-efficiency wireless connection. All the products such as; computers, laptops, TV, etc., which can support the latest wireless standard 802.11ax, are capable of supporting Wi-Fi 6.
It is a high-end product, and therefore all the new smartphones, computers, and laptops released after 2018/19 support Wi-Fi 6. So, if your motherboard is bought after 2018, then there is a chance that it’ll support Wi-Fi 6.
If your motherboard can support 802.11ax wireless standard, it can also support Wi-Fi 6.
Does My Motherboard Support 5GHz WiFi?
If your computer’s network adapter supports the 802.11ac network mode, then it’ll certainly support 5GHz. It also makes your network capability Dual-Band Compatible.
In a lot of cases, 802.11n adapters can also support 5GHz Wi-Fi. You can check the availability of 5GHz Wi-Fi by right-clicking on the adapter option in Device Manager. Then click the Properties tab first and then switch it to the Advance Tab.
Now, you’ll see a compiled list of properties, and one of them must mention about 5GHz. You can also learn it by searching “cmd” in the start menu tab.
Then go into the Command Prompt tab, type “NETsh WLAN show drivers,” and press the enter button. Finally, look for the section named “Radio types supported” and check for the availability of 5GHz Wi-Fi there.
How to Check if My Laptop Supports 5GHz Wi-Fi?
To check if your laptop supports 5GHz Wi-Fi, go directly on the device manager window and click on the Network Adapters tab. Now, search the name of your wireless adapter there and check if it displays AGN or ABGN. If it shows one of these tags along with the name, then it’ll mean that the computer supports 5GHz Wi-Fi.
You can also learn if your laptop supports 5GHz Wi-Fi or not by following these steps:
- Go to the Notification Panel.
- Press and hold the icon of Wi-Fi till you enter into the settings screen of Wi-Fi.
- Choose the network properties by either taping the menu icon or the gear icon.
- Now read the setting of frequency which will show 2.4 or 5GHz.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Does my motherboard need WiFi?
If you don’t own any Ethernet ports on your computer or laptop, you’ll require Wi-Fi to connect to the internet and to dominate gaming on your PC. A few motherboards do come with built-in Wi-Fi connectivity, but their quality isn’t excellent. So, to bring out the best internet performance of your motherboard, you do need Wi-Fi.
What do I do if my motherboard doesn’t have WiFi?
If your motherboard doesn’t have Wi-Fi, you can connect a PCIe Wi-Fi card or USB Wi-Fi adapter or you can even get your computer or laptop an Ethernet cable of the required length to get connected and wired at the same time.
Does the included WiFi?
Usually, all desktop motherboard doesn’t include Wi-Fi, nor do they come with built-in Wi-Fi. But desktop motherboards will always include at least one built-in port of Ethernet for connecting to your modem or network. A few high-end motherboards may also come with Wi-Fi cards for providing cutting network edge speeds.
How do I know if my PC build has WiFi?
You can know if your PC build has Wi-Fi by following these steps mentioned as follows:
1. Click on the “Start Menu”
2. Select the “Control Panel” option
3. Click on the “Network and Internet” tab
4. Then go to “Network and Sharing Center”
5. “Change Adapter Settings” will pop up into the left pane
If Wireless Connection Network is listed there as an available connection, then you’ll know that your PC build has Wi-Fi otherwise, not.
Conclusion
There is a wide range of motherboards available on the market which come with built-in Wi-Fi, such as; MSI MPG Gaming Motherboard, ASUS ROG Strix Z490-WiFi 6, Gigabyte Z390 Elite Motherboard, etc.
As people of this modern era can’t think of surviving without the internet, it would be great if your motherboard included Wi-Fi.
All your doubts regarding does my motherboard have WiFi should have been cleared properly through this article. Cheers!
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