My Dell Inspiron N5050 Won't connect to any Wireless

Question

I have a brand new DELL Inspiron which used to connect to my WiFI. I had the laptop off for about 2 months and when I turned it on it will not connect to my Wireless with WPA2+AES encryption. All of my other devices (iPad, Laptops, XBOX, Roku, etc) are able to connect without a problem. I also tried connecting to other opened WiFIs in my area and was unable to do so. I even tried connecting 2 feet away from the router without luck where the signal is excellent (so is everywhere else around the house).

Machine configuration:

• Windows 7 64-bit
• Adapter is Dell Wireless 1702 802.11b/g/n
• Driver: Atheros Communications Inc, 4/21/2011, Version: 9.2.0.412

I tried:

• Deleting the driver from Device Manager and restarting
• Installing drivers from Dell, but it appears I have the latest version
• Tried to connect to an unsecured Virtual Interface (DD-WRT)
• Changed the Bandwidth on the adapter to 20MHz/40MHz Auto (my router is 40MHz channel width)

What could be causing the problem? What else can I try? What else can I provide to help troubleshoot this?

Thanks,

Solution

Your wifi is probably disabled on the machine.

First off, prove it by trying to connect with an Ethernet cable.

Lots of laptops have a light to show if wifi is on or not (near the keyboard)

Or, your typing the password in wrong. Make sure you have NumLock on. If you look carefully, the keys U,I,O,J,K and L have some numbers in the same color of the Fn key, i.e, 4, 5, 6, 1, 2 and 3. This is your numeric keypad. 3) Hold pressed both the left Alt key and the Fn key, while you write the code with the numeric keypad. Hope this helps.

Comments

[Jonas Stawski]

I am able to connect with an ethernet cable. The WIFI is on because I can see the list of WIFIs

[Jonas Stawski]

Yes, I enter the correct password. It says "connecting" and then it comes up with the message: "Windows was unable to connect to [WIFIName]. Solve Problem." When I click on "Solve Problem" it opens up the "Windows Network Diagnostics Wizard", which doesn't solve the problem

[Dave]

Can you open command prompt (type cmd in the search box) and type ipconfig and see if it says media disconnected or not?

[Jonas Stawski]

Yes, it says "Media Disconnected"

[Jonas Stawski]

That did not do it. I'm now starting on Safe Mode with networking and see if it solves it

[Jonas Stawski]

The command. I'm now trying Safe Mode with Networking and see what happens. If it doesn't work I will try system restore

[Jonas Stawski]

A factory restore did not solve the problem. It seems that there might be an issue with the adapter.

[Jonas Stawski]

Factory Restore from the hidden partition. Installing everything as day 1 and going through Dell's crapware installation process.

[Jonas Stawski]

FN+F2 turns off the wireless antena.

[Jonas Stawski]

Wow, I just plugged in an old G router and it connected without problem. It sounds like a compatibility issue

[Jonas Stawski]

Furthermore, my router was setup to N only. I then switched to N/G mixed and it connects. According Device Manager it is a b/g/n router, so this doesn't make sense. It must be a driver issue!

[Jonas Stawski]

for history sake I say we leave them as a way for people to find possible answers to their problems and add a new answer explaining what the issue was

[Burgi]

Interesting, could you edit your answer with the make and model of the router?