Wifi Taskbar icon - menu doesn't appear

[rumplestiltskin]

Running Windows 10. Until recently, when I left-clicked on the WiFi icon in the taskbar, a menu would appear with all the WiFi access points that were around me. Now, however, that left-click just generates a momentary "pause" spinning circle (maybe a half-second in length, if at all) and no menu appears. The WiFi works fine. If I want to connect to another WiFi access point, however, I need to use the start menu for the PC Settings > Network & Internet > WiFi. I can then see all access points.

So, in summary: WiFi works fine and the alternate method of using PC Settings to select the access point works but clicking the WiFi icon in the taskbar doesn't produce the expected menu.

Would love to get this back. I -think- it was working before I installed SaferVPN (which I subsequently uninstalled and manually looked for any files the uninstaller left behind - which it did - and deleted those and rebooted).

Any assistance would be appreciated. Thanks!

Barry

 

[cappilio]

is it 100% not just hidden, use the arrow icon to check?
if it is 100% missing see if the network icon has changed in Windows 10 when im connected to ethernet i can still see wireless networks by 1 left click no the network icon bottom left?

if neither of them are the answer;
Turn on the Network or wireless icon in Settings
Step 1: Open Start menu, click Settings icon to open the Settings app. The Windows logo + I keyboard shortcut can also be used to open Settings.
Step 2: Click System icon. Click Notifications & actions.
Step 3: Click Turn system icons on or off.
Step 4: Check the status of the Network icon, and turn it on.
Step 5: Click the Back arrow to go back to Notifications & actions. Click Select which icons appear on the taskbar.
Step 6: Check if the Network is turned off, and turn on the same if it’s off.

all of which is documented with screenshots here; http://www.intowindows.com/fix-wireless-icon-missing-from-taskbar-in-windows-10/

 

[rumplestiltskin]

True regarding the documentation; however, that didn't resolve the issue. I backed everything up, lobotomized the hard drive and reinstalled Windows with all updates. This time, however, I avoided that SaferVPN like the plague. The problem has not recurred.

It didn't happen until I installed SaferVPN. It has not happened again since I wiped everything and reinstalled with everything -but- SaferVPN.