XPS 15 9510, WiFi failing

Question

The wifi on my Dell XPS 15 9510 fails several times a day. I've tried disabling and enabling the wifi, updating the wifi adapter driver but the system says I have the latest driver, and modifying the driver properties but none of these have fixed the problem. The next thing I believe I should try is replace the wifi adapter but I don't want to send the laptop to Dell and be separated from the computer for days. I have instructions on how to replace the adapter but I'm not sure which one to buy. The adapter that's installed is the Killer WiFi 6 ax1650s and I assume it's the problem.

Saltgrass · Answer

If your system is like the 9520, I believe the Wi-Fi card is soldered in and would need a motherboard replacement.

Do you have any indications as to how it is failing? Is it just the Internet or a local network also.

Have you looked in the Device Manager and selected the properties for the card and the Events tab to see if there is some type of listing which could explain what was happening?

Tesla1856 · Answer

Not sure what you mean by 'failing'. Do you think it might just be your router? Have you tried getting in the same room with it? How about connecting to it's 2.4ghz (instead of 5ghz) Access-Point? If you think it might be the XPS-15_9510, I suggest you download and read the PDF Service Manual. At least you will then know if it's a separate (replaceable) module or not.

laneparker · Answer

I've done everything I can find online and took it to Best Buy for the Geek Squad to work on it. They recommended sending it to Dell. I'm going to see if I can replace the wifi adapter since there are so many complaints about the Killer adapter installed in the dell.

laneparker · Answer

Failing = Wifi stops working. I've tried several things to fix it and took it to Best Buy and the Geek Squad guys recommended sending it to Dell. I bought an Intel 6526 yesterday which should arrive tomorrow. I found a useful Youtube video that shows how to replace the Killer wifi adapter with the Intel adapter. If that doesn't fix it I'll put the Killer back and send it to Dell.

laneparker · Answer

The Longmont Best Buy Geek Squad ran tests on my computer for several hours but the wifi kept dropping after I brought it home. A Dell support person ran tests on the computer for over 30 minutes yesterday but the wifi is still dropping forcing me to Disconnect the wife and Connect to get back online. I'm positive it's the wifi adapter that needs to be replaced. The Killer wifi adapter has been replaced by many others which has resolved their wifi problems.

ejn63 · Answer

If so, and the system is an XPS 9510, the mainboard needs to be replaced, or you will need a USB WiFi adapter - you cannot change the internal wifi chip on this model system.

skiyrround · Answer

@laneparker​ I'm having the same issue you describe on my XPS-15. Did you manage to find a solution?

XPS

XPS 15 9510, WiFi failing

Was this post helpful?