M17x R4 wireless mini-card failure + replacement

[whitewhale]

Hey guys

I have a M17x R4 with a failure in the wireless mini-card. I tried to replace it with a Dell Wireless-N WLAN 1501 Half Mini-Card (Dell P/N: 05KY6D) that I salvaged from an old M17x R3, but It is not detected by the BIOS either. I tried to run a BIOS disgnostics and the wireless LAN and WAN appears as not detected.

At this point I'm trying to rule out a motherboard failure. Do you know if the R3 card should be compatible with the R4 motherboard?

[deadsmiley]

Did you figure this out?   I have nothing to add other than I think all of these cards should work.

[StripeySnake]

I experienced a very strange phenomenon when I swapped my R4 Display assembly with another R4 display from a dead laptop. The WIFI card I had stopped working properly, and when I put in the card from the same machine as the display, it all started working again. That said, that card died some time later, and now I'm using the Intel Dual-band wireless-N 7260, which works great. I got it on ebay for less than 10 bucks so you should be able to find one cheap as well. The only way I know to ensure it's not a board issue is to use a definitely compatible wifi card. If that dosen't work, you might want to look into USB wifi adapters.

[whitewhale2]

Hi guys,

 

Sorry for the late answer but I had problems with my login and I had to open another account.

 

I got an Intel Dual-Band 7260-AC to continue testing, but after installing it something weird is going on. Since this card has a Bluetooth 4.0 module integrated, I have removed the old R4 Bluetooth 2.0 module (I think it is model Dell 380 Bluetooth) to avoid conflicts.

 

After installing the card and removing the old bluetooth module I reboot the system in BIOS diagnostic mode, bluetooth appears as DETECTED but Wireless WAN is still NOT DETECTED. Strange, it seems the bluetooth part of the 7250-AC is working whereas the WiFi part is not?

 

Then I start Windows and bluetooth appears in device manager, but no WiFi adapters are shown. My host OS is Windows 7 Ultimate. Since Intel does not provide 7260-AC drivers for Windows 7, I have downloaded drivers for the M17x R5 page here: https://www.dell.com/support/home/es-es/product-support/product/alienware-17/drivers

 

I installed bluetooth driver and tested buetooth with wireless headphones, it is working fine. On the other hand, WiFi driver does not finish installation, I think it is because the card is not being detected. Also, I tested also in Windows 10 using Intel official drivers and same result: bluetooth works fine whereas WiFi adapter is not even shown in device manager.

 

I think I have seen people in this forum with an Intel 7260-AC installed and working in their R4, so I am almost sure they are compatible. I think the fact bluetooth works rules out a motherboard failure; however, it is very strange only bluetooth is working and wifi not. Maybe settings in BIOS have to be modified? I have A11 unlocked. Maybe something related to antenna connections? I have used the same connections as with old wifi module. Howerver, BT works in the 2.4 GHz band so in principle RF section should be ok.

 

Any ideas welcome.

 

On 2/23/2022 at 6:27 PM, StripeySnake said:

I experienced a very strange phenomenon when I swapped my R4 Display assembly with another R4 display from a dead laptop. The WIFI card I had stopped working properly, and when I put in the card from the same machine as the display, it all started working again. That said, that card died some time later, and now I'm using the Intel Dual-band wireless-N 7260, which works great. I got it on ebay for less than 10 bucks so you should be able to find one cheap as well. The only way I know to ensure it's not a board issue is to use a definitely compatible wifi card. If that dosen't work, you might want to look into USB wifi adapters.

 

My understanding  is your problem was related to the 2.4 GHz antennas since they are located at the top of the display. Maybe this is the reason why it didn't worked when you changed display assembly.

Edited March 1, 2022 by whitewhale2
typos and adding additional information