A network adapter driver in Windows 11 is the software that lets your PC talk to its network hardware, such as the wired Ethernet port. Windows installs recommended drivers on its own, while optional driver updates have to be chosen by hand. This article shows how to get a missing or outdated network adapter driver and how to check the result.
- Install the driver from the optional updates in the update settings of Settings, then restart your PC.
- To check the result, open Settings > Network & internet > Ethernet and look at Ethernet settings.
- Optional drivers are never installed automatically, so you must select them yourself.