Aspire V3-771G Wi-Fi & Bluetooth Fn+F3 switch not working under Windows 8.1

mbinic
mbinic Member Posts: 9 New User

Hello,

 

Has anyone else had trouble switching their Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on/off with the Fn+F3 key under Windows 8.1? Mine just simply does nothing... Other Fn+key combinations work fine, only with different OSDs than in e.g. Windows 7.

 

I've been with this for some time now and it's been very frustrating. I have to boot to Linux just to switch them on/off, because there's no way to do it from Windows 8.1.

 

Is the Dritek LaunchManager responcible for this? Are there any updated drivers for this functionality? It'd be about time, it's not a trivial thing...

Answers

  • Ryanrr
    Ryanrr Member Posts: 831 Practitioner WiFi Icon

    mbinic,

     

    I am sorry to see that your FN + F3 key combination is not disabling the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices. I grabbed one of our Windows 8.1 devices and show that the FN + F3 combination only enables Airplane Mode, which does turn off the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth antenna's.

     

    If this combination does not work properly, you can try updating your Wireless + Bluetooth drivers to see if that fixes the problem. Also, if your system was originally Windows 7, then you upgraded this could be the result of the LaunchManager that controls those keys not working under Windows 8 / 8.1.

     

    Windows 8.1 does have the option to disable the Bluetooth using these steps:

     

    1. Open your Charms bar, then select Settings.
    2. Click Change PC Settings, then select PC and devices, and then Bluetooth.
    3. Here you can tap or click the slider to enable or disable your Bluetooth.

    You should also be able to enable and disable both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices using these steps:

     

    1. Open your Charms bar, then select Settings.
    2. Click Change PC Settings, then Network.
    3. On the left click Airplane mode.
    4. Under Wireless devices you can tap or click the slider to enable or disable the desired wireless device. You should also have the option to turn on Airplane mode using the slider, which will disable both devices automatically.

     

    I hope the above steps help you with enabling and disabling your devices when needed. I understand it does not fix your FN+F3 key combination but it is a working alternative.

     

     

     

     

     

  • mbinic
    mbinic Member Posts: 9 New User

    Hello Ryan, thank you for the workaround.

     

    I am aware of the airplane mode, but honestly never checked the modern (metro) PC Settings of Windows 8.1 for the bluetooth switch. Disabling hot corners, the charms bar and the start screen is the first thing I do when installing Windows 8/8.1...

     

    The Fn+F3 key combination does nothing in my case, and I have a clean Windows 8.1 installation with all the latest drivers and updates.

  • Ryanrr
    Ryanrr Member Posts: 831 Practitioner WiFi Icon

    How did this system come configured from factory? If it was Windows 7, then you did a clean install of your own Windows 8 / 8.1 then that may be the root of your problem. Or like I suggested earlier if you did an upgrade from Windows 7 to 8 / 8.1 the LaunchManager may not be compatible with Windows 8 / 8.1.

     

     

    Either way it sounds like the LaunchManager for the FN + F3 key combination is not working with your Windows installation.

  • mbinic
    mbinic Member Posts: 9 New User

    I bought my V3-771G in December 2012 from an authorized reseller, but it came without an operating system. I installed Windows 7 at the time, later I switched to Windows 8, and then 8.1 (all clean installs, with deleting partitions and formatting).

     

    It isn't working, that's why I posted in the first place. On the driverdownloads page it says it's for Windows 8.1, but it's not working.

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