Adapter AC7260 "No connections are available"

[MCa]

Hello guys!

I have old Dell Inspiron 1501. Installed Windows 7 Pro 64 bit. I had Intel Wireless-N 7260HMW BN wireless adapter installed on this guy previously. And it was working just fine. No complains.

Now I tried to upgrade wlan adapter to Intel Wireless-AC 7260HMW one. I downloaded all latest drivers for BT part and WiFi. ProSet app also has been installed. No errors at this point.

But when it comes to connection it says "No connections are available".

The laptop is in 2 feet from router (TP-LINK AC1750).

I tried different driver settings in adapter properties - no success.

I even tried following sequence: after system restored from image installed back old adapter, removed all wireless drivers and devices (including ethernet one), installed new adapter, installed bt driver, installed WiFi driver and ProSet app. And everything is the same. ProSet says "no adapters found", Device manager shows no errors, attempt to diagnose adapter gives "there might be a driver problem...". WLAN light on laptop dashboard is on.

Is there a way to make it work? Or I should trash either laptop or adapter?

thanks.

[jbenavides]

Hello Mazut.Ca,

We would like to mention that Intel does not support or recommend custom integrations of Intel® Wireless Adapters. We cannot guarantee that the Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 will work fine if it was not tested and certified by the Computer Manufacturer. Please review the following documents for more information:

http://www.intel.com/support/wireless/wlan/sb/CS-031167.htm Intel® Wi-Fi Products — Why Doesn't My Laptop Recognize My New Intel® Wireless Adapter?

http://www.intel.com/support/wireless/wlan/sb/CS-011644.htm Intel® Wi-Fi Products — Regulatory Information Regarding Hardware Installation or Upgrade

In our best effort, please consider the following:

- Contact the http://www.intel.com/support/oems.htm Computer Manufacturer Support to confirm the list of supported adapters for your system and any additional recommendations they can provide.

- Check if the adapter and the antennas are properly seated.

- Download and install the most recent version of https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25139/Intel-PROSet-Wireless-Software-and-Drivers-for-Windows-7- Intel® PROSet/Wireless Software and Drivers for Windows 7*, as of 7/23/2015 it is 18.11.0. You might want to uninstall Intel PROSet/Wireless Software, and also the old driver from device manager before installing the new one.

- Apply the configuration from the following advisory: http://www.intel.com/support/wireless/sb/CS-030709.htm?wapkw=wifi+recommended+settings Wireless Networking — What are the Recommended Settings for 802.11n Connectivity?

If the issue persists at this point, please contact the Computer Manufacturer for further assistance.

[MCa · Accepted solution]

Problem solved.

As I mentioned in my first message WLAN light on laptop dashboard was on, but wifi icon on taskbar was saying "No connections are available". Except this everything else was indicating there are no problems with wifi.

Finally, I had to press Fn+F2 key combination twice - turn off and then turn on wifi to make wifi adapter receive available networks! And now with my old inspiron 1501 I'm able to communicate with both wifi bands - 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz - and use bluetooth connection with no problem. Although 5Ghz band APs shown in the network list somehow with delay, but it is ok.

What I want to say is after initial adapter and its driver installation hardware indicator is set to state "Wfi On" meanwhile adapter driver flag is set to "Wifi Off". So to set adapter's flag to ON state I had to set hardware to OFF state, and then to ON, and then this two states got synchronized now.

I believe it is adapter's driver bug that sets initial adapter state to Wifi Off.

I guess my experience may be helpful for others.

Thank you.

[jbenavides]

We are glad to know you found a solution for this issue. This should be helpful for other users facing this situation.