WIN 10 sees no wireless devices on dv7t-7000 laptop

[Mad-Eye-Moody]

This laptop came with a Ralink 802.11 b/g/n WiFi adapter.  (It's still there.)  But the F12 button is permanently amber, and Windows 10 says "We can't find wireless devices" on this computer.  Does that mean the wireless card has failed?  Or does it mean I need a driver?  Or is there something else I'm missing?

My model number is: A3F79AV

My firmware version is: F.2E Rev. A Sept. 9, 2016

[GBL84]

Hello Mad-Eye-Moody,

Welcome to FORUM !!

1) Go to device manager and check if you see the Wireless information under network Adapters.

2) Tap F10 at the Start Up. Go to BIOS. Restore BIOS To defaults. Save Changes and Exit.

After Restart see if the Wireless Light turns BLUE/White.

If not try reinstalling drivers and see if that works .

ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp71501-72000/sp71571​.exe

Hope this helps, for any further queries reply to the post and feel free to join us again

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Thank You,

GBL84

I am not an HP Employee

[Mad-Eye-Moody]

Thanks for your quick reply.  I had tried all of those steps previously, but I did them again this morning to be doubly sure.  No change:

In Win10 Device Manager->Network Adapters, the only thing that appears is an entry for a Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller, which I'm pretty sure is the wired ethernet card.  And the firmware (BIOS/UEFI) is reset to the factory defaults. I have reinstalled the sp71571.exe driver (again).  The F12 button is still permanently amber, and I have no wifi.

Of interest is the way the driver installer behaves in Win10: When it gets to the wizard part, it just exits silently with no errors but also without announcing any "completed" or "finished" message.  That my be because it doesn't find the hardware either (?).  Another data point is that Linux does not find any wifi adapter either.  (I am dual booting Win10 and Linux on this machine.)  Linux only finds the Realtek ethernet controller as well.

As long as my firmware (BIOS/UEFI) is the correct version, my best guess is that the hardware wifi adapter card really has failed in my case.  Any suggestions on which card would be the best replacement?  I've read that you have to use an exact match for the HP part number or the replacement unit will be rejected by the firmware...

[Mad-Eye-Moody · Accepted solution]

It was indeed a failed wifi card in my case.  Replaced the card with this: http://www.ftgparts.com/Store/WIRELESS-LAN-CARDS/670691-001-670285-001.html.  It's an exact HP part number replacement (make sure both the SPS and AS numbers match your original), and FTG International shipped it overnight believe it or not.  It appears to be a new part, and it works fine.

There's even a how-to video on replacing the wifi card on a dv7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrPl9Fr4HhM

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