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4763865
Latitude E5500 Wireless Switch turned off?
Hello all,
I've used the internal wireless (1397 mini-card) for a couple of years now...All of a sudden the WIFI LED is not lit up above my keyboard....Win 7 reports no problem with the card and the driver appears to be ok...Others have told me to try the FN + F2 key to turn the wireless switch back on, but this combo doesn't change anything...In fact, on my laptop that combo controls whether the AC adapter charges the battery or not while plugged in.
I booted into my XP dual boot real quick...ON this OS the wireless is controlled by the dell application and the dell software says the wireless radio switch is disabled? Everything is enabled in the BIOS under the wireless section...It must be a different key combo to turn my wireless on/off?
I plugged in my wireless dongle from another machine and everything works great...
Any ideas?
Eagle70ss
4 Posts
12
February 7th, 2011 01:00
Okay everyone,
I just solved my own problem....I can't believe I did not know where this switch was and what it does....As soon as I posted I found a site that has the right information for this laptop....On the E5500 the FN key has nothing to do with the wireless switch on/off.I literally burned through 50 sites with everyone saying "just hold down FN and press F2"...I don't know why everybody has the wrong info about this laptop.
There is a toggle switch on the front of the laptop(just on the underside of the keyboard plane)...It's about where your left wrist sits when you are typing on the keypad...It has a wireless Access point symbol on the switch...It looks similar to this:::::
Here is a picture from the site:::
In this diagram, the number 7 is exactly where the toggle switch is to turn wireless radio on/off. Maybe this post was a little overkill, but I was about to tear my hair out trying to figure out why my darn wireless wasn't working. I hope this helps anyone who reads it.
Thanks,
Ron
Expo-Stark
1 Message
0
June 30th, 2014 19:00
Very Good ... thanks !
dochs
2 Posts
0
July 17th, 2014 15:00
Ron, Thanks so much for posting this. I was having the same problem, I knew that I had used the turn off turn on function several times when the machine was new but had not done it in several years and had forgotten. Got your post on my first search "Problem solved, how wonderful, Thanks"
dochs
clydestamos
1 Message
0
March 11th, 2011 14:00
Great post! Thanks.
jjay777
1 Message
0
April 28th, 2012 17:00
this worked! i borrowed a laptop, and i have spent the past two days trying to figure this out.
antrvp
1 Message
0
October 6th, 2012 17:00
Ron,
You saved a life today....mine:) I was on the phone with my internet provider blaming them...hee...hee. Dell really needs to move this button to somewhere more visible. This is a company laptop so it's not like they give me a manual on it.
Thanks!!!!
Bob Pescinski
1 Message
0
December 4th, 2012 07:00
Thanks, Ron. Good very useful post.
helpless56
30 Posts
0
August 19th, 2013 10:00
Thank you for the picture and the specific location ! Been searching for this feature for a while now.
mak_123
1 Message
0
November 1st, 2013 03:00
Hello Ron,
This info was quite useful, as I was trying for last one hour to fix this issue. Then,I came across this post and solved the problem in just one minute.
I recommend Dell to have some sign of wireless switch just above the switch indicated by 7 in picture in your post so that users can easily identify where the switch is.
Your post is highly appreciated.
Thanks,
Makarand
whizzcat
1 Message
0
December 12th, 2013 09:00
thanks i must have been blind ...
jc
shashank123
1 Message
0
April 15th, 2014 20:00
Hi Ron,
I have the same problem,where the Wifi devices are not being listed and wifi light is not lit..I turned the switch as you mentioned,but with this the bluetooth icon is getting lit and not the wifi..Is there something else I can try?
Thanks
GrahamPhotog
1 Message
0
April 14th, 2015 15:00
Thank you so much. I had no idea that this switch was even there.
Johnn06
1 Message
1
May 28th, 2015 19:00
Thanks Ron, I would feel like a real fool for not finding the hard switch sooner myself. However, like you, I went through at least 50 different websites posts about the FN+F2 key on a Dell Latitude E5500... let's just say I don't feel so foolish now.
Again, thanks for the helpful post with a little humor. I, like you, was on the verge of tearing what hair I have left out.
Johnn06
Linalolo
1 Message
0
June 14th, 2015 16:00
You jus help me I've searching a lot nothing work until I find your answer and you pic to solve this issue.thanks
SteveUhOh
1 Message
2
September 1st, 2015 10:00
I loved the post, and the answer, however....
I purchased several new Latitude E5550s in 2015 and I do NOT have any switch at your suggested location.