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Dell Inspiron 14R - Wi-Fi Adapter Not Functioning
Hi there! Desperately hoping someone can help me with this. I'm using a Dell Inspiron 14R laptop running Windows 10 Home, with a Dell Wireless 1705 802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz adapter.
On Wednesday of this week, Comcast sent a tech out to install a new router, as we had just upgraded to a new package that includes Voice. I don't have information on the old router, but the new one is an Arris Model TG1682G. Using this router, and the new wi-fi network name & password it came with, my wife and I have thus far been able to connect the following devices to the wi-fi network: my Samsung Galaxy S6 mobile, my iPad 2, her iPhone 5c, and her 2007 MacBook.
However, when I try to connect my Dell laptop, it doesn't recognize *any* wi-fi networks, including my upstairs and next door neighbors' (which it used to always recognize). When I go to Control Panel -> Network and Internet -> Network Connections, right-click the adapter and click Diagnose, it runs the little diagnostic tool and then tells me, "You have not chosen to connect to any of the available networks." Okay... so I click the option "Show me a list of available networks." When I do this, no available networks pop up - it just offers again to show me available networks. I click "Check to see if the problem is fixed" (which it obviously isn't). It then tries to resolve the problem, ultimately showing me a window that says "Troubleshooting has completed," with a box labeled "Problems found" and one problem listed: "You have no preferred wireless networks." It says "Not fixed," but doesn't give me the option to fix it.
I called Comcast, thinking that the problem might be with the new router they just installed, given that every other electronic device I have has connected properly. But they were no help, insisting that the problem must be with my laptop. I'm thinking the issue is with my wireless adapter, and it not being compatible with this new router. Any thoughts from the community? Thanks so much in advance for your help!
DELL-Todd S
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October 12th, 2015 15:00
Hi,
I'm working under the assumption that your Inspiron 14R connected with your previous router. If that isn't correct, please let me know. Have you tried taking the system to a public wifi spot, such as a coffee shop, etc., and see if it will connect there, where it isn't near your home network?
It may be that you simply need to clear out the current settings on your laptop and allow Windows to then rebuild your list of wireless networks. Something in the original attempt to connect (or a setting from your previous router connection) may be corrupted. You can check out the following link about Windows 10 Wireless networking to see if it helps at all.
Resolving Connection Issues on Your Wi-Fi Network for Windows 10
Hopefully the steps listed in that article will help you out, and allow you to "see" and connect to your network. I would also recommend logging into your new router (Comcast should have provided you with information on how to do that), and then see if the router has any new firmware updates available for download. Perhaps updating the firmware on the router will help. (Comcast support should have tried this when you contacted them).
Let me know if that article I linked above helps, or if Comcast has helped you update the firmware on the new router. If none of that helps we'll see about other steps we can try to resolve this problem.
Todd