wireless capability is turned off - cannot turn back on

[Stormy47571]

I have a HP Elitebook 8460p. There is a red x through the wireless bars and the network trouble shooting is telling me that the problem is that the wireless capabiltiy is turned off. 

I have done extensive troubleshooting on my own and just cannot get the wireless to work.  Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

If you know the wifi adapter's driver is installed...

Install the HP connection manager software, restart the PC, and see if you can turn on the wireless by using the software.

This package provides the HP Connection Manager for the supported notebook running a supported operating system.

http://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp53001-53500/sp53394.exe

[Ian50]

Hello Paul

Not trying to "hijack" the thread at all, but this issue may not be the actual adapter driver.

As you may remember, we went through this 3-4 weeks ago, pulling hair out trying to understand why the F12 Airplane key wouldn't work in Win7 on a G6 machine (although it worked ok on my G5, just not the G6).

As I finally posted, see MS KB2561821 v2.

Win7 installed under UEFI is completely unaware that F11 and F12 keys exist (not so when installed under legacy MBR). MS acknowledge this in that KB and supply a hotfix. My G5 works ok because HP have this hotfix pre-loaded as factory default.

Although I had the G6 native AC3168 adapter finally working properly using that KB hotfix, I prefer the external USB3 adapter I first installed. Seems faster somehow - this is subjective, of course ...

[Stormy47571]

So I installed the HP Connection Manager and this is what it says:

WiFi         disabled by wireless  button

So I push the wireless button and it then says this:

WiFi         disabled by LAN/WLAN switching

Not sure what to do now.  Please advise.

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

Go into the BIOS and disable LAN/WLAN switching & save the setting, or set the BIOS to its defaults, save the setting and exit.

Or if you are currently connected via ethernet cable, just unplug it, and the wifi will turn on automatically.

LAN/WLAN switching turns off the wireless network adapter if the notebook is connected via an ethernet cable, and it turns off the ethernet, if the notebook is not connected to the network with an ethernet cable.

[Stormy4757]

Sorry it took so long to get back to you.  My logon account was and is hosed up and I am logging in with an older account. What a mess.  So much for password manager software.

Anyway, I went into BIOS and turned off the LAN/WLAN switching and that did the trick.  So thank you for that tip.  I can now move on to other matters that need my attention. 

Stormy4757

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

[dram21]

What if in the BIOS the WLAN/LAN setting was already off. 

[StvO]

If you can open the back of the machine you can check if the bluetooth adaptor is available or connected properly. Found my issue caused by a missing bluetooth adaptor

[IT-Klimt]

Latest hotkey installer for the 8460/8560 which works with the BIOS option enabled:

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Wireless-and-Networking/LAN-WLAN-Switching-in-Windows-10/m-p/...