When devices can’t connect to Wi-Fi or data transfer slows down, it’s often hard to find the cause. The problem might be due to outdated or corrupted drivers, an overloaded or incorrectly configured router, interference from neighboring wireless networks, or the device being too far away from the router.
Windows’ Hidden Diagnostic Tool
To diagnose these issues, Windows has a special tool that provides a detailed overview of your network in seconds. You’ll need the Command Prompt or PowerShell to access it. Type “Command Prompt” or “PowerShell” into the search box on the taskbar, make sure the correct result is highlighted, then click “Run as Administrator” on the right-hand side.
In Command Prompt, type the command netsh wlan show wlanreport and press Enter. Windows will generate the Wi‑Fi report and save it as wlan-report-latest.html in the folder C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WlanReport.
Accessing the Wi‑Fi Report
To access the report, select the path directly in Command Prompt, then copy it to the clipboard using Ctrl+C. Open Windows Search on the taskbar, paste the path using Ctrl+V, and press Enter. Windows will open your default browser and display the HRML report. If that doesn’t work, open the location manually in File Explorer.
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The folder is hidden by default, so you’ll need to make it visible in File Explorer’s settings first. Then double-click the HTML file to open it in your browser. At the top of the report, you’ll see an overview of Wi‑Fi events from the last 48 hours.
Events are marked with colored dots and letters. A black X on a red background indicates an error, while N indicates that the connection to a Wi‑Fi network has been lost. Further down, under Report Info, you’ll find the date the report was generated and the period covered by the report.
Report Details
The General System Info section provides details on the hardware, BIOS, and Windows version. This data can be helpful in the event of compatibility issues. The User Info section contains some basic user data.
It lists the installed network adapters, including both hardware and software adapters—for example, those used for VPN connections, Bluetooth, or virtual adapters. Under Script Output, you’ll find the results from various Windows troubleshooting tools.
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For example, the command ipconfig /all provides details of the current network configuration for all adapters. The command netsh wlan show all shows information about installed network drivers, details of your Wi‑Fi network, and the access points that have been used in the past.
This information can be particularly helpful when troubleshooting network issues. At the end of the report is the Wireless Sessions section. Here, information such as the connection method and the Wi‑Fi network’s SSID is assigned to the Wi‑Fi adapters.
The Wireless Sessions section also contains the event IDs and descriptions of the events that occurred while establishing the connection. This information can help you understand what went wrong and how to fix it.