Is my wlan antenna broken, can I fix it?

Hi,

I have an acer apire V5-572PG. This morning I woke up and my wifi wasnt working. Normally this isnt a big issue as its usually the routers fault and I just have to restart. I did this and the problem wasnt solved.

I soon realised that if I connected via ethernet it worked properly, then I realised that my other devices were connecting normally.

Finally I realised that if I had my laptop in the same room as the router I could connect fine but as I carried it away and into my room it would DC but not actually inform me. The browser would just stop connecting and then eventually the wifi tray icon would return to the "networks available" icon.

I can connect through my iphones personal hotspot, and when in the same room as my router.

I have now plugged in a USB wireless adaptor and its working and connecting fine around the house.

I have tried uninstalling and updating drivers, and installing older drivers.

I have also taken the laptop apart and tightened the screw on the wlan adaptop and made sure nothing is broken or freyed. Everything seems to be connected. But I am not sure how to identify if it is one of the 2 antenna wires that go from the adaptor up beside the screen.

Any help at all would be MUCH appreciated.

Accepted answers

danevanderbaan

I've solved it. I had to swap the main and aux wires on the card. One of them must have been faulty or burnt out I guess. Back to full connectivity.
Thanks for all of your help though! I wouldn't have been able to solve it other wise.

All comments

philetus

Working close to the router and fading as you move away certainly sounds like a antenna wire could be off the wifi card. It's easy enough to check.

Remove the screws in the bottom. Carefully pry loose the bottom. Check for unconnected antenna wire.If you haven't put on a antenna wire before, it just needs to be lined up right and some pressure but not excessive force.

Hi thanks for your quick reply.
I have already taken it apart and it looks to me as though they are both firmly still attached to the card. Is there anyway of checking if there is damage somewhere else on the antennas?

philetus

I doubt if anything is wrong with the wires. Most laptops antenna wires run up into the display case and they are up in the air a bit. Your model has them ending in the bottom case and the antennas are not as effective as the other type. Was this the first time you carried the laptop into another room?

danevanderbaan

No it was definitely not the first time I've moved it. It's always worked fine in my bedroom (the room with the router is downstairs from my room). It's just all of a sudden that the range is absolutely terrible.
All other devices still connect fine from my room too hence why I feel the only explanation is that it has something to do with the antenna or card.

philetus

There could be more networks started up on the channel you are on.Different router brands default to certain channels and it can get crowded. Download this free wifi analyzer for Windows and see how many networks you're sharing with.

https://www.acrylicwifi.com/en/wlan-software/wlan-scanner-acrylic-wifi-free/

Change your router to a less crowded channel.

Your router could also be starting to fail. Get a new router.

danevanderbaan

I used that program you suggested. There are only 2 in the area, mine and someone elses. My wifi is showing excelent quality as well as being on a completely different channel to the other one. Also as I said I can pick up the wifi perfectly using a USB wifi reciever instead of the inbuilt atheros card.

philetus

That only leaves the driver and the wifi card itself. If you think it's a wire, they both end at the circles.

Try rolling back the wifi driver and reinstalling the driver.

2015-10-30_1757.jpg

danevanderbaan

I've solved it. I had to swap the main and aux wires on the card. One of them must have been faulty or burnt out I guess. Back to full connectivity.
Thanks for all of your help though! I wouldn't have been able to solve it other wise.

philetus

You had the white aux wire on the main terminal.

Stingray

Yes, one of your antenna cables are broken, if you switch them and it works again with the WIFI you probably lost the Bluetooth connectivity range instead. This is an Acer design flaw, the antenna cables are worn/damaged by the screen hinges.

Had the same problem, tried to install new WLAN card drivers, changing the power settings etc but with no success.

After doing the easiest thing, swapping the antennas on the WLAN card hoping that the other one was good to go, and it was, I now have a very good receiving range again.

Bad design is the root cause.

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