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Your computer makes a new profile for a new wireless network when it connects to it. This profile has a pre-shared key and an SSID. It also has some important security information that the network needs. When you try to connect to a Wireless network but enter the wrong pre-shared key (PSK) or password, you get the “Incorrect PSK for network SSID” error message. To fix the problem, you must enter the correct passphrase or PSK for the wireless network you are trying to connect to.
If you don’t know the correct PSK, you can ask the person who set up the Wireless network or the person in charge of the network. If you set it up yourself and can’t remember the PSK, reset the access point or router and set up the wireless network again. Resetting the router, on the other hand, should only be done as a last resort. we’ll show you how to try different ways to fix Incorrect PSK provided for network SSID in Windows.
[Fixed]: Incorrect PSK provided for network SSID in Windows
Start the modem and router again
Your first step should be to restart your modem and router. Even though it doesn’t happen often, it is possible that they could get too hot and cause an error because they run for so long. In this case, all that is needed to finish the debugging process is to turn off the modem and router, wait a few minutes for them to cool down, and then turn them back on. By turning off, the internet connection should be reset, which should fix the problem. If this approach isn’t working, move on to the next one.
Upgrade your router’s network driver
As we’ve already said, if Windows is using the default adapter, it may cause an incompatibility by treating the router’s WPA2 encryption as if it were actually WEP. Even if the user enters the right password, this could cause a problem with authentication. This problem could be fixed by manually installing the router’s driver on your PC after downloading it. By doing this, the router will have no choice but to use the right method of encryption.
To get the router driver, go to the official site and look for the driver for that model. Please make sure that the driver update you’re downloading is the most recent one. If you choose to use the Windows driver update option, you should be able to get the latest router driver update (connect with a different router to gain an internet connection).
Eliminate any current wireless network profiles
When your computer connects to a wireless network, it will save the network settings and profile. Even if the password is changed, the profile and settings can sometimes stay the same. This could cause a network SSID error if the wrong PSK is given for the network. You should try deleting your computer’s current wireless network profile to see if that fixes the problem. Follow the steps below to get rid of the network profile from the network manager.
- Right-click the network icon in the alert box and choose Internet and Network Settings. Now, choose Wi-Fi from the panel on the left, and then choose Manage Known Networks. Every network that has ever been linked will be on the list.
- Choose the network you want, and then click the “Forget” button. Your device will get rid of the network profile that you chose. Now, try connecting to the network again to see if it works. If you’re still having trouble, you should move on to the next method.
Manually connect to a wireless network
- When you press Windows + R, a box called “Run” will show up.
- After that, type “control” into the run box and click “OK.”
- After clicking on a small icon on the control panel, you can quickly see all the options by clicking on the network and sharing centre.
- The next step is to choose “set up a new network or connection.”
- Then, choose the option to connect to a wireless network manually.
- In the next window, type in the name and password for your wireless network. Next, you must choose WPA2-Personal as the security type.
- Lastly, you must choose “Use an existing network” to connect to the wireless network. If the connection is made successfully, try to open a web page to see if the problem is still there.
Update Windows
If your operating system is old, it might be hard for it to handle the latest drivers and software updates. This could be a good reason why you get an incorrect PSK error when you try to connect to a router. If the problem is caused by an old version of Windows, try updating it. Working your way down the list makes it easy to update the windows.
- Sign in as the administrator and go to the command window.
- Type sfc/scannow at the command prompt.
- Sfc /scannow checks all of the important system files on your computer, including Windows DLL files. It will replace any of these protected files that are broken.
Scan the files in your operating system
You could try to scan those files with Windows Defender to see if there are any infected files that are stopping you from connecting to the internet network. It’s possible that your operating system files are infected with viruses or malware. If you find infected files, you must get rid of them as soon as possible in order to fix the network. You ccan scan the operating system files using either Windows Defender’s normal scanning method or the SFC command. Follow the steps below to quickly check your computer.
- Start the command window while logged in as the administrator.
- Type sfc/scannow at the command prompt.
- Sfc /scannow checks all of the important system files on your computer, including Windows DLL files. If any of these
- protected files are found to be broken, it will replace them.
What is the PSK of a Network
PSK is an acronym for “Pre-Shared Key.” It is one of the two ways that WPA, WPA2, and WPA3 wireless networks use to prove who they are. The PSK is a method of authentication that makes encryption keys for each wireless client from a passphrase of 8 to 63 ASCII characters or 64 hexadecimal digits. This is how a PSK looks:
In a wireless network, the PSK is a digital asset that can be used to decrypt messages that have been encrypted and sent over the network. MFA, or multi-factor authentication, is becoming the standard for authentication, which means that a simple password system will no longer be enough. PSK is not the default authentication method when setting up a WLAN Service profile with access points, wireless routers, client adapters, and bridges. This is because of options like WPA, WPA2, and WPA3, as well as encryption on wireless networks. Most people use the 802.1X authentication method.
Final Words
So here we conclude our article on How to Fix Incorrect PSK provided for network SSID in Windows. Windows gives the “incorrect PSK provided for network SSID” error when a user tries to connect to a Wi-Fi network but enters the wrong security key (PSK). “Pre-Shared Key” is what “PSK” stands for. A “Pre-Shared Key” is a password used to confirm and secure a Wi-Fi connection. So that people can’t get into the Wi-Fi network without permission, it is important to have a unique and secure PSK. you can visit Microsoft support center for further help.