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Article Number: 000123861

Dell Mobile Broadband (WWAN) Module Not Detected on a Re-imaged Dell PC

Summary: The following guide deals with a specific issue with Dell Mobile Broadband (WWAN) Modules after the system is re-imaged. We'll take you through how to identify if this is happening and how to go about solving the issue. ...

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Article Content

Symptoms

Some Dell Mobile Broadband (WWAN) modules have failed to be detected by the operating systems device manager after the system has gone through the re-imaging process. (Such as with Microsoft's SCCM.) There is no version of the Windows operating system that this does not occur on.

Note: Please be aware this is one of the few occasions where a two way swap of a known working Dell WWAN module, does not prove the original module is faulty. (Although swapping in a working module from a system that hasn't been imaged will resolve the issue temporarily.)

  1. If you've re-imaged your PC with any of the Windows Operating Systems and once the system has restarted the Dell WWAN card is not detected, check the following:

    1. If an unknown device shows under Communication Devices or Ports with a yellow bang in Device Manager, carry out the following Solution Steps.

    2. If it does not appear in the Device Manager under Networks after you've followed the Solution Steps, then contact Dell Support for further help in resolving your issue.

Cause

Cause information is not available.

Resolution

The following Solution Steps will take you through identifying the correct driver for your module, re-installing that driver and completing the firmware update that is part of that driver re-install. These steps deal with a module that isn't detected after the system was imaged at any point:

  1. Open the internet browser of your choice and go to the Dell Support Site.

    1. Enter your Service Tag or Express Service Code from the label on your system to bring up information specific to how your system shipped from Dell.

    2. You can also choose your System Type from the products listed, however this will not narrow the possible choices down to those that shipped with your system.

  2. Select Drivers and Downloads from the choices on the product page.

    1. If you've entered your Service Tag it will show you drivers suitable to the hardware that shipped with the system, ensure the correct operating system is selected before going to the Modem and Communications section and selecting the Dell WWAN driver for download.

    2. If you chose a Product Type instead, ensure the correct operating system is chosen and then go to the Modem and Communications section and choose the correct Dell WWAN driver for your system from all of the drivers listed in that section.

  3. At this point you can decide to have the driver install automatically or save it to your hard disk drive (HDD) and extract and run the update from your HDD.

  4. This has been proven to resolve your problem, however if the fault continues please contact Dell Technical Support for further help.

Note: If you are looking to prevent this from happening in the first place, rather than repairing a module that's not detected once it's failed. You should look to insert a pause just after the WWAN installation. This is within the SCCM or imaging software's task sequence scheduler. This will stop the issue from occurring. Part of the driver reinstall is a firmware update that loads after 30secs of starting the driver update and takes about 1min to complete. The system rebooting in the middle of this update is the root cause of why these modules go wrong. Stopping the firmware before it's completed corrupts the modules firmware and means the module can no longer communicate with the Operating System.

Additional Information

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Article Properties

Affected Product

Inspiron, Latitude, Vostro, XPS

Last Published Date

18 Apr 2024

Version

4

Article Type

Solution

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