X220 thinks that the hardware wifi switch is off (help and discussion)

[axur-delmeria]

My dad's X220 just sprung this error this evening. It was OK earlier in the day, as he was checking his email and browsing without any issues. As he had other business to attend to, he turned it off but left the AC adapter plugged in.

Pressing Fn+F5 shows a notification that the hardware wifi switch is off. It isn't.

I manually cycle the switch, no change. I turn it off again and surprisingly receive a notification that the "switch has now been turned off". Wait, what? So it detects the "off position" but not the "on position"? I cycle it a few more times, but the wifi (and bluetooth) never turns on.


Things I've tried that didn't improve the situation:

1. Boot linux from USB --> same issue (so it's not just a Windows problem)
2. Replaced the wifi card with a spare from another X220 --> no change (so it's not the card's fault)
3. Delete the Wifi device in Device Manager.


What did work was taping pin 20 on the wifi card's edge connector.


Now I'm left to wonder as to the cause of the issue.

1. Embedded Controller slowly going bad?
2. Bluetooth card malfunction? I didn't think of removing it at the time.

I don't think the switch itself is broken--it hasn't even been touched in a long while. Then again, I'm open to any possibility.

Has anyone encounter a similar issue? I'm all ears.

[4uk4a]

3. Delete the Wifi device in Device Manager.

Device Manager show a wifi card?
Check BIOS settings

[axur-delmeria]

Device Manager show a wifi card?
Check BIOS settings

It shows up in Device Manager.

[4uk4a]

If you go into the BIOS, there is a WLAN setting?
When the WLAN is disabled in the BIOS, the network will not work, but... wifi card exists in the Device Manager.

And check in the multimeter wifi switch.
http://imgur.com/a/v5V8i

[axur-delmeria]

^
I'll try that when the laptop is free, and that would be well after the ITR filing deadline.

[Adyendre]

Hi, I have the same issue. Switch is on driver installed, device manager detected. And it worked on the previous windows install. Lauching that back doesnt work there either. I replaced the ssd, but I don't get how that would affect the wifi card. Did you find a proper solution in the end? Thanks!

[shawross]

The WIFI switch will probably have dust inside it and will need several wipes back and forward to get a good contact.

This year I have had issues with my X201 doing the same thing because it basically resides permanently in Thailand.

Maybe the location on the front left-hand side also contributes to this. On my X301 the switch is on the back and doesn't suffer as bad.

Air quality seems to be dropping around the world currently which is also affecting oxygen levels.