Wireless Switch Not working

I have a Dell Inspiron 1526, and I am unable to activate my wireless using the switch or Fn+F2. The BIOS has the switch activated, so I am not sure what else I can check. This issue started to occur when I wiped Vista and reloaded, any ideas?

 

Sounds like you didn't install all of the required laptop drivers. Take a look at the Dell board for detailed Dell assistance.

 

Device Manager is not reporting any issues with the loaded drivers, shows Dell Wireless 1395 WLAN Mini-Card working properly.

 

Make sure that your wireless/bt switch is on and that the wlss applications is loaded with the start up process.

 

If you don't install all of the required Dell notebook software, the hotkeys won't work. Again, check the Dell board.

 

My sisters new Inspiron 1525 had the same issue. In her case we didn't even do a reinstall. Everything worked well for a few weeks then suddenly the wifi and ethernet drivers stopped working.

I was at a loss so I tried installing the previous version of the driver listed on Dell's support site. It has been working so far without issue.

Since you did a reinstall it may be a different issue though. As above said make sure to install the Dell software. I found the software they include not to significantly slow down the machine, so it won't be a performance hit.

 

Hi Gregory I got my Inspiron 1525 yesterday and the exact same problem happened to me, what exact driver to I need to install and how do I do it if I can't get on the internet???? Please help thanks

 

Contact Dell. Your brand new computer should not have any hardware problems (unless, of course, you reformatted and reinstalled Windows).

 

I can't remember which specific driver I used. I downloaded the last 3 releases and kept installing until one worked.

Since posting this, though, I've discovered that the hard drive in the laptop is the issue. So it's going back to Dell for repairs. My experience with installing an old driver was probably just a coincidence, while the HDD was the culprit.

I agree. My sisters 1525 has been a real hassle for me since day one. Dell should take care of this for you, and give you a perfect laptop. That's what the warranty is for .