My laptop suddenly can't use WiFi anymore. What gives?

Madam_Detective · 2018-10-18T20:17:26+0900

Hello folks, I have another problem with my laptop, again. I sent it in for repair last week, and just got in back today. I was happy to have my laptop again, but then I found an issue. It can't connect to wifi at all. It's not just that I am unable to connect to my home network. I can't even scan for any connections at all. The only network option that shows is Ethernet cable, which I have never used before. I've tried to reset my network setting, uninstall and reinstall network device from control panel, check my firewall settings, etc. I still couldn't find a solution. It's like all of a sudden my laptop loses its wifi capability and can only connect wired. All of my other devices, desktop, phone and tablet, can connect to my home network just fine. I don't know what could have caused this. Spoiler I already sent an email to Eluktronics to inquire them about this. Just have to wait for them to respond back. In the mean time, I just want to make sure I am not doing anything wrong or missing any thing. Why the hell did this happen, anyway? If this is something they did wrong, then I fear it will be another hassle sending it back to them for repair again.

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Started by Madam_Detective Oct 18, 2018, 11:17 AM 28 posts Page 2 of 2 View original ↗

lordosthyvel

#21 Oct 22, 2018, 08:46 AM Source

Mr. Detective said:
The guy I am talking to was wondering the same thing. Well... the bluetooth icon shows up, but whether it really works or not, I can't be sure, either. :rolleyes: At least it's not MIA. The guy also told me to install some kind of Wireless program from Intel, which did nothing either. :frown:
https://downloadcenter.intel.com/downloads/eula/28143/Intel-PROSet-Wireless-Software-and-Drivers-for-Windows-10?httpDown=https://downloadmirror.intel.com/28143/a08/WiFi_20.80.0_PROSet64_Win10.exe
I asked if there's any way to enable or disable wifi in Bios setting, and how to sccess it. Gotta wait for his response again.

Now, here is where I think I made a major mistake. After getting no result from that program, I did something on my own. I went to device manager - view - shows hidden program. I saw a grayed out program under network adapter that says "Intel Wireless" or something like that. I believed it has to be the Wifi card. When I clicked on it, it says "Error 45: hardware not connected." Like a fool, I hastily uninstalled the program, checked for hardware change, and restarted the laptop. I thought it would be reinstalled after the restart and this would fix the problem. :confused:

Nope. Still no wifi. When I checked in device manager again, it was gone. I couldn't restore it, nor do I remember the full name. Tried to check for hardware change and restart the laptop many times, still didn't see it back. :eek: I think there is an option to install additional program to the network adapter, but it's not like I know which is the right one. But it seems like a hardware issue with the card.

I can take another picture but I will have to reopen it again. If you really have to see it, I will post it tomorrow night. Hope they can figure out something by then. o_O

Don't worry about the intel installation thing you did. It probably only installed drivers for the wrong type of card. You installing and uninstalling the drivers shouldn ot have changed anything.

If they think it is a driver issue, have you tried downloading the drivers from here? https://www.eluktronics.com/n8x0hp6-drivers/

The "Wireless LAN" drivers specifically but maybe the others as well?
Madam_Detective

#22 Oct 22, 2018, 10:41 AM Source

Well, I did two different install/uninstallations... I'm worried that I could have made things worse. XD

Uh... I tried to download the network driver from there, and it looked pretty much like that link he gave me. Unsurprisingly, nothing happened after I installed it. :rolleyes:
Darth Equus

#23 Oct 22, 2018, 11:55 PM Source

Don't worry about installing the wrong driver: It won't mess up your devices as the hardware that corresponds to it is simply not there. I'm starting to suspect they put the wrong kind of wi-fi card in it by mistake, which is why I asked for a pic of the card with the model number visible. Hope we can help you fix this soon.
Madam_Detective

#24 Oct 23, 2018, 03:46 AM Source

Darth Equus said:
I'm starting to suspect they put the wrong kind of wi-fi card in it by mistake, which is why I asked for a pic of the card with the model number visible. Hope we can help you fix this soon.

I think we are getting close, hopefully.

Take a look at the pictures of the card.

Spoiler
This is the card. Anything out of the ordinary?

So, this might just be me being a smartass here. I noticed that on the card, it shows two different colored arrows. One is white, and the other one is black. I thought it was strange how the two cables were connected not corresponding to their colors.

I decided to take a big risk and unplugged the cables, then re-plugged them to their corresponding colors.

The customer service guy asked me to open the laptop and reinsert the wifi card again to see if that works. I couldn't unscrew the screw in the middle of the card, so I only tinkered with the cables.

I haven't tested yet. I just want to ask if you or anyone else know if this is how it should be or not. Maybe I should put them back as they were before. Opening and closing the laptop over and over again is a hassle. :stickytongue:

Edit: Yeah, I guess I'm stupid. I checked this guide on the internet and found that the cables were in the right position before. Though they said it makes no difference, but... it was still pointless.
https://www.the-computer-problems-guru.com/replace-wifi-card-inspiron-1525.html

Well? :confused:

Update: OK. This is hopeless. I finally be able to remove the wifi card, and reinserted it back in. I also reattached the two cables back to their original positions. Unfortunately, this did nothing to help. There is still no wifi function. :frown:

Also, when I check in device manager, view - hidden programs, there's this RAS Adapter that sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. Sometimes, it would grey out and give an error code when I click on it. Not sure if this means anything, but just saying. o_O

Update 2: The guy offers to issue a label for me to send it back to them again to check.
I'm ~~probably~~ gonna have to agree. Since no one has responded, I doubt there's anything else we can do.
Darth Equus

#25 Oct 24, 2018, 03:08 PM Source

Apologies for not replying sooner. I hadn't seen your message before having to take care of several errands. Let's hope they can fix it now that you've sent it. Just in case, here's the page with the drivers based on the model number on the card: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/94150/Intel-Dual-Band-Wireless-AC-8265

Again, apologies for not checking this thread earlier.
Madam_Detective

#26 Oct 25, 2018, 11:18 PM Source

Oh, no worries. I appreciate everyone trying to help. :wink: That link looks like the one he sent me, though, lol. XD

The guy said he will send me a new wifi card. I'll replace it myself and see if that fixes the issue. If not, then... we're in deep trouble. :eek: I hope it will arrive by either today or tomorrow. Can't wait to get this done with. Luckily, it won't cost me anything. :biggrin:
Madam_Detective

#27 Oct 31, 2018, 08:52 AM Source

Hey, just giving an update here! :stickytongue:

I received the new Wifi card yesterday, and it worked! :biggrin: Turns out it really was the wifi card, after all. Not sure how the hell did this thing get broken to begin with, but at least we sorted out this issue. I haven't told the customer service guy yet, since I want to make sure it works well and nothing else is acting up. Um... I have had two blue screen of death, once yesterday and another just now. Hope this is just bad timing coincidence and nothing to do with the card, or me opening the laptop and possibly breaking something. :rolleyes:

A month of headache... I don't want to deal with this again. But at least it was a good learning experience, opening and closing the laptop over and over. Might help the next time I build my own gaming PC. o_O

One trivial thing: when they replaced my laptop lid and the outer case, the replacement they used was without any of those fancy HDMI or brand stickers you'd see on a new laptop, and also no brand logo. So now, my laptop looks like a nameless laptop. Is this weird? :confused:
Darth Equus

#28 Oct 31, 2018, 08:30 PM Source

All right, congrats on it being fixed. The BSODs are a bit concerning, but let's hope they don't happen again.

And the lack of stickers can be explained due to the service center not ever having any, so they couldn't put any. It may take some time, but you'll get used to the appearance (They were going to peel and fall off in time anyway).