Inspiron 3501 - Intel Wireless-AC 9462 Issues

Hey were you able to get your issue fixed? I have encountered the same issue with my laptop.

Nope. In fact, a 2nd laptop purchased at the same time developed the same issue.

Tech support wants to charge me $99 to mail it to them to be fixed. This after I had to explain to them why Support Assist running in Windows won't see the Intel adapter if the driver can't start.

What a rip off. I got an external TP-Link USB wifi adapter for $17.99

A message to the moderators:

Usually a post like this would be followed up by a private message from the moderators asking for the service tag with an offer to help. Sometimes, it's even a little ridiculous. Like when I'm asked for a service tag for an Optiplex 7050 manufactured in 2017, and when I give the service tag I'm told, sorry, it's out of warranty. Well, duh.

But this laptop - now 2 laptops with the same problem - are still in warranty, they're less than a year old, and the wifi has gone out to lunch. And Support wants $99 to fix it.

Why no follow up message?

Or is that just a quiet acknowledgment that the Inspiron laptops are junk and this sort of nonsense is to be expected? 'cause if that's the case, I won't make that mistake again. Seriously looking into Lenovo laptops.

I await your reply.

Sent.

On Tuesday, DELL-Cares sent you this private message =
Hello, I haven't received the Service tag or Express Service Code yet. Could you share any of them in the text format so that I can assist you with your query?

Reply to that private message with one of the Inspiron 3501 Service Tags.

Inspirion used to be entry level and pretty solid. Funny enough I still have a B120 from college that, aside for a few broken keys and a headphone jack, and is slow-as-anything to startup even on the OEM version of WinXP, it still works great, lets me play Diablo and AOE2, and has outlasted every other laptop I've owned in the time that I upgraded from it.

I bought two Vostros last year for coworkers. One had a severe power issue that would cause the machine to reboot when you would just pick it up from one specific corner. Dell replaced the motherboard under warranty without any questions. Then my Precision laptop had a similar power issue and after 2 weeks of diagnosing, they replaced that one's MB under warranty as well. Now the second Vostro is showing signs of this wifi issue. In fact, as I was typing the wifi password, the whole thing reset.

So you ask if Inspirion is junk? Honestly when I see 3/3 failures on laptops that were purchased in 2021, one of which is touted as 'the developer's workhorse model', I'd say Dell as a whole is going downhill pretty fast in the quality department.

That said, the service manuals might exist for your model! Should tell you how to get to the wifi card, which, in my experience, is pretty easy to access once you get the bottom cover off and the battery out. The wifi module is usually a small board with an edge connector that could be easily replaced with some sort of replacement.

Though you already did like my coworker and said, ' the Intel onboard wifi. Just buy a third-party USB antenna, which are not expensive, and run ethernet when you need the USB port for other things.'

Best I can suggest for now, but as I'm currently in process of diagnosing this one of my own, I'll pop back and let you know if I come up with anything that could be of help.

The only thing that surprises me is that the Precision laptop failed.

I've come to expect quality control problems from their downmarket brands. We used to buy Vostro desktops, but had so many problems we now stick with Optiplex.

Now after this debacle I wouldn't touch Vostro or Inspiron with a 10 foot pole. Proving once again, you get what you pay for.

Yeah, same. My brother-in-law has coworkers with the same model of Precision (5550) who reported similar issues. And tbh when I unboxed it to find that it's charging options were "Thunderbolt over USB-C and nothing else" I had to think, "Oh boy. No barrel connector with software switching between 5V and 30V to charge on a tiny USB? A $2500 phone. How long will it take me to break these ports??" Answer: 3 months. Thankfully that warranty saved me on a motherboard and 2 hours of labor on the local repair tech.

Quick followup on my Vostro, though - Windows updates and drivers were about 4 months out of date. Threw it on the ethernet, ran SupportAssist all the way through with about 4 reboots and got everything back up and running.

Hello Everyone,

I worked with many different clients that are experiencing similar issues with their Dell laptops/desktops.

The resolution I have applied is rolling the driver to the previous version, there are multiple ways to do this but the simpler is the following: 

• Open start menu
• Type "Device manager" (make sure you have admin access) 
• Open the dropdown "Network adapters"
• Right-click Intel Wireless -... (it depends on the chip you are using)
• click Properties>driver
• Click "Roll Back Driver"
• Click "ok"

You should have your wifi adapter working again.

If the option "Roll Back Driver" is not available I suggest you to download the previous wifi driver from this website and install it 

https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=17rmr&oscode=wt64a&productcode=inspiron-15-3501-laptop

Hi,

Thanks. But you have to prevent Windows (or SupportAssist) from trying to update the driver. Constant struggle....

I have also the same issue that is with you but here I found some helpful comments, I Tried but nothing happens its the same as it old.                

Any Clue?                                                     

Hello, thanks for the tip. However, any other tips if this does not work? The "roll back driver" option is not active. It's there, but not active. 

TIA

I uninstalled the wifi driver and then reinstalled it several times to get it to work but now that doesn't work anymore. I am not great with computers and this laptop is still under warranty so I think I am going to have to return it. It is defective.