How to Replace Your Laptop’s Wi-Fi Adapter
Much of our work, rest, and play now rely on reliable and seamless connections to the internet. Whether you are watching Netflix or using Remote Desktop Services to work from home, there is a good chance that all that traffic flows through one device—your laptop’s Wi-Fi adapter.
But what happens when that adapter fails, and you lose 90% of your laptop’s functionality? One simple choice is to plug in a USB adapter. But this has drawbacks and replacing your internal Wi-Fi adapter might be easier than you think.
This guide looks at how to replace your laptop’s internal Wi-Fi adapter.
Wi-Fi Down? It Could Be Hardware
Not all Wi-Fi problems are a result of hardware failure. So, before your rush out and buy a new adapter, it is necessary to establish just where the problem lies. There are some steps that you’re able to take to check whether your hardware is at fault.
It is worth taking the time to run through severalsteps you can take to troubleshoot your network connection. This will establish if the problem lies somewhere else. However, once you worked through all the necessary troubleshooting and there are still problems there is a very good possibility your Wi-Fi adapter has failed.
Once you have reached this stage it is time to look at your options.
Internal Wi-Fi Adapters vs. USB: Why Internal Wi-Fi Is Best
When your Wi-Fi adapter fails it is easy to opt for the simplest solution and order a USB Wi-Fi adapter. This option is definitely convenient, but it can come at a cost. There are manyproblems you can run into while using USB Wi-Fi adapters. A few of the major limitations are listed below:
Internal Wi-Fi adapters suffer from none of these drawbacks. And depending on the model of your laptop, installation could be achievable armed with nothing more than a screwdriver.
How to Replace Your Internal Wi-Fi Adapter
The first thing to check is whether there is easy access to your internal Wi-Fi adapter. This may not be a deal-breaker. But unless you are comfortable stripping laptops down to the component level, this is not a practical option. This is a scenario that lies beyond the scope of this guide.
The following steps walk you through the process of changing your internal Wi-Fi adapter.
If all has gone well, your laptop should now be back in the land of the connected and restored to fully functional.
Laptop’s Wi-Fi Not Working? An Internal Adapter Is the Best Fix
For a task that will take less than 15 minutes, fitting an internal Wi-Fi adapter is worth that little extra effort. An internal adapter does not suffer from the same drawbacks as USB adapters and is impossible to forget! If you have a laptop that allows easy access to the internal Wi-Fi adapter, then this is the route you should go.
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