Dell Inspiron 15 7000(7537) WiFi issue

update...

Saturday the dell tech support told me they'd send the technician with the parts on Tuesday...but just a while back they called me and told me that they cannot send the person till next Friday as they need to change the top cover of the laptop since the antenna wires are connected on it..

So on my brand new laptop they need to replace the network card, the network antenna and the top cover but yet they don't think its faulty enough for a replacement!!

this is getting more and more irritating day by day...

now i need to wait another whole week for the laptop to get fixed...

Having been through all of this myself I feel your pain. It appears that you may be past the return date, if not then I would just return the machine. If you are, and the card replacement does not fix the problem then if I were in your situation I would try a windows 8.1 compliant USB wifi adapter and disable the built in one. The answers you get from Dell support can be very hit and miss depending on what individual you get put through to. They can be very long winded, no such thing as a quick call except the time the one agent hung up on me when I asked him to read my case file before continuing to ask me questions I has answered multiple times before.

hey samsat..

yeah..ive had the same issue.. had to call dell support around 6 to 7 times now...everytime it takes about 1 hour for them to check and to cinfirm that there is an issue with the system...

and about the return date i dont think i'm past the date since ive got this replacement laptop just 5 days back... and moreover even if return the laptop i will be loosing about INR 15,000 which has been paid as taxes..thats about USD 250..

Hi guys,

my wifi is working so far since I downgrade the wireless drivers to 16.5.3.6 version. What I did was uninstalling the drivers through Device Manager - Network Adapters - selecting properties in the card - under Driver I selected uninstall (last option). After the first time I could not uninstall again, so I restarted the laptop, did the same thing, and I kept uninstalling until the driver "name" stopped changing. 

So, this 16.5.3.6 version is working now... The thing is that this laptop is very good and I got it with a good price. If the problem was only the wireless card I would change it myself instead of returning the laptop... But, as I said, it is working well so far, hope it keeps like that!

Hi guys, my wifi is working so far since I downgrade the wireless drivers to 16.5.3.6 version. What I did was uninstalling the drivers through Device Manager - Network Adapters - selecting properties in the card - under Driver I selected uninstall (last option). After the first time I could not uninstall again, so I restarted the laptop, did the same thing, and I kept uninstalling until the driver "name" stopped changing.  So, this 16.5.3.6 version is working now... The thing is that this laptop is very good and I got it with a good price. If the problem was only the wireless card I would change it myself instead of returning the laptop... But, as I said, it is working well so far, hope it keeps like that!

HeyAndreschadeck.. 

I have tried this as well but it didnt work for me.....

Hi IEEE488,

So you think the limited connection is because of installed drivers are not in correct order? If you do i will reinstall the PC again for 3th time 

anytime you change OS, http://www.dell.com/support/troubleshooting/us/en/04/KCS/KcsArticles/ArticleView?c=&l=en&s=bsd&docid=268873

Hi guys,

It is impossible for me to use the computer since wifi is limited all the time, please advise what wifi card is suitable for this laptop and i will change it immediately. I have tried all the possible drivers, i tried also windows 7 but again limited connection only :( 

I can't return the laptop as I'm in another european country already. The laptop arrived just before I leave US and i'll be back in two months 

Hi IEEE488, So you think the limited connection is because of installed drivers are not in correct order? If you do i will reinstall the PC again for 3th time

I cannot say absolutely for certain, but if you did not follow that order, then you need to.

One thing you can try first, is to boot into Safe Mode with No Networking, and install NSS. Reboot into Safe Mode with No Networking again then install chipset driver.

I too have a two day old Dell 1500 (7537) with Wi-Fi issues and many other problems. The Intel Smart Connect doesn't work on my or my boss' computer, both identical Dell 7537s. I spent five hours on the phone with them and they finally told me they had never heard of these problems before. I also have problems with it freezing up, won't boot up, says the BIOS for some embedded software are not installed, says I need to elevated my privileges to have access. I am the Administrator, how high can I go. I would love this computer if any of these problems were resolved, but with all this trouble, this computer sucks.

mriley2xl,

What version of Internet Explorer is installed?

Do you have these two Microsoft Updates installed?

KB2903939 and KB2907595

Rick

Despite knowing about these issues I have still ordered mine on the 18th Dec. It does look like it is an Intel issue (http://www.intel.com/support/wireless/wlan/sb/CS-034535.htm). A reviewer on youtube has had the exact same issue, and it eventually got replaced with an Atheros card. I have looked it up and for 20 quid I would fix it myself.

The dichotomy is, as highlighted by other members, it has its limitations but it still is a good value machine. My alternative would be a HP envy 15, but  graphics and displays on those laptops are a known issue, and that is significantly higher impact than a wireless card which, until it gets fixed, you can easily connect the laptop via Ethernet cable. 

Ignoring the delivery postponement and the imminent WiFi issue I really look forward to receiving my self-funded Christmas gift. We, as consumers, we asked for a diverse offer, and we received it plus some, but this type of third party issues is the obvious trade-off.

Hi Aleq,

I tried the driver mentioned in the Intel article but it made no difference.

There is a lot of talk about how one installs new drivers and in what order that could make a difference. Unfortunately after trying this for 2 weeks (beta testing for Dell!)  including having my 7260 replaced with another 7260 card the problem was not resolved and I was rapidly getting to the end of my return period so I returned the machine.

I look forward to any new developments. As soon as a definite fix is found (as much as I object having to fix a new machine with a known fault straight out of the box)  I will repurchase.

I look forward to your findings once your machine arrives.

I too have a two day old Dell 1500 (7537) with Wi-Fi issues and many other problems. The Intel Smart Connect doesn't work on my or my boss' computer, both identical Dell 7537s. I spent five hours on the phone with them and they finally told me they had never heard of these problems before. I also have problems with it freezing up, won't boot up, says the BIOS for some embedded software are not installed, says I need to elevated my privileges to have access. I am the Administrator, how high can I go. I would love this computer if any of these problems were resolved, but with all this trouble, this computer sucks.

Hey Mriley2xl,

There are so many here with this laptop and the exact same issue but yet even after calling dell repeatedly and reporting this issue, each time i call them, they say they have never heard of such an issue for this model anywhere and try to make it look like i am lying.

It clearly looks like like there's no end to my misery with this laptop. I have had it replaced once. And now i have let them change the network card of it as well, yet the wifi issue is not solved. Now they say they cannot give a replacement but they can just go on trying changing the network card and the antenna over and over again.