Dell Latitude e6400 wifi help

so my wifi died on my latitude e6400...or at least i thought, but thought i would reload my wifi driver (its an intel wifi 5300), still would not activate...would actually come on (sometimes) when i boot up, then would stop functioning within a few minutes...other times would not come on at all. So i thought maybe the wifi adapter was no good, so got another one...new one, same thing...does not active or computer does not identify...either way not working.

Anyone have any ideas or suggestions to get it back? Much appreciated.

 

Hi Bayman48,


Is the Wireless card getting detected in Device manager? If not please check the wireless settings in BIOS and confirm that the device is enabled. In BIOS there are three wireless options.

• Wi-Fi Catcher - The factory default setting is ‘Enabled’.

• Wireless Switch- Use the check boxes to determine which wireless devices will be controlled by the wireless switch. Select the device accordingly.

• Wireless Devices- Use the check boxes to enable / disable the various wireless devices. The available options are Internal WWAN, Internal WLAN, and Internal Bluetooth.

Please use the below mentioned link to view/download the Service manual for E6400. Refer to the same and confirm the connection of antenna cables.

Documentation

If possible you may get the Wireless card checked on another system and if it is working fine, the issue could be because of the Motherboard.
If the wireless card is detected in device manager you may use the below mentioned link to download and install the latest driver.

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Sea...+Link+5300+and+Intel®+WiFi+Link+5100+products

I hope this helps. Please do write back in case you need any further assistance.

Thanks & Regards
Swapnajan MC
#iworkfordell

 

Thanks Dellswapnajan...checked all those things...it is not detected by the device manager, checked my BIOS settings and are as you mentioned, still not working. Also my device manager does not show the wireless adapter at all...

 

Do you have an unknow device in the device manager. If you don't, then either the adapter is badly seated or there is something that is defective (hopefully the adapter).

EDIT: What second adapter did you order?

 

i dont even see an unknown device...its like its not there...and i used the same wifi...intel 5300.

 

Oh right /facepalm, it was said in your original post. Did you by any chance order a 5300 for a Lenovo or HP laptop, usually it shows up but won't start, but it's at least something to look for. Still, the fact that nothing at all shows up in device manager isn't encouraging.

 

it was made for dell, at least from what i know and the project description. Seems like it could be something serious...but odd that its only the wifi thats affected.

 

You could also have been unlucky and ended up with a defective replacement adapter, unlikely, but not impossible. It could be that the mPCI-e connector is somehow damaged.

 

not sure what that is, but does not sound good....is that an easy fix?

 

If the connector is damaged, you can either solder a new one (delicate operation) or you'll need a new motherboard. It's hard to say what the problem really is,if you know someone with a Dell that has a working wireless adapter, i'd try his first to make sure you just didn't get the worse of luck with both adapters.