Low Wi-fi signal (Dell Inspiron 15 3521)

sakle17

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Nov 18, 2014
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Hi ,
I have Dell Inspiron 15 3521 laptop.

MAIN ISSUE: I have a bad Wi-Fi signal strength.

- I have other laptops and the problem only appears on mines.
- I have installed Windwos 7(one time Ultimate and one time Professional) and Windows 8.1 (both time Pro), and after 4 different installations i concluded that the OS is not a problem.

* IMPORTANT: When i use it in Safe Mode the Wi-Fi signal is much better(maybe as it should be, but MAYBE).


- The DRIVERS: i downloaded them from the official site of dell.com and installed them (there is no yellow question mark on any of them)
* IMPORTANT: i doubt that the chipset driver is problem because on the official site it says that the chipset driver is Intel HM77 , when i install it in device manager it says that is installed Intel(R) HM76 Express Chipset LPC Controller - 1E59.
When i try to update it manualy it says that the best version is already installed.
Also i have problem with the Intel Managment Engine Interface driver . On the official site dell.com when i make System Scan it says that the Intel Managment Engine Interface driver needs to be updated. I try to update it manualy but still same problem , it says that the best version is already installed.

- The other settings: I have already tried with Short and Long , and Only Long ( the advanced settings for the Wifi adapter) but when i put it from Long and Short > Long , the signal only increases a bit but still is not what needs to be.
- ALso i have disabled the setting (to save power, by turning off the Wifi or sth. and other details) but still i can't fix it.

Can anyone help me ?
 
Solution
My suggestion is what it was originally, check the antenna leads or take it to store you purchased it from.

In normal mode your laptop is trying to use both channels to combine 2x150mbps connections to make it 300mbps, for some reason this makes it go slower on your laptop.
In safe mode it is only doing the single channel connection at 150mbps which is faster but not what it should be, which still leads me to think it is an issue with the antenna or the chip.

sakle17

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Nov 18, 2014
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Hi, thanks for the response, here is a picture of the inSSIDER statistics when i'm in the next room and aproximetly 7 meters from the router : http://postimg.org/image/tfc9l7fsf/

- I haven't opened the laptop to see if the wifi antenna lead came off, because i still have garantion from the store where i bought it but the store is not in the same town , so i wanted to see if someone will help me.

 
Either the antenna lead came loose or the wifi chip needs replaced.
The only other issue could be drivers but you said you replaced it already.

If the laptop has an easy access panel then just check it, if it requires the whole bottom to be taken off then you will have to take it back to the store.
 

sakle17

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Nov 18, 2014
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So , i have a low signal wifi as the picture i posted before, but you think the problem could still be hardware (altough i have a little bit of signal , and good signal in safe mode ? )
 

sakle17

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Nov 18, 2014
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Hi,
I can't open inssider in safe mode /w networking.
But i saw the wifi signal was 3 lines from five (in the right bottom corner) and played a youtube video , and the signal was okay . I think not as should be but okay.
 

sakle17

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Nov 18, 2014
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I'm not verry familiar with wifi channels and how to use them, so what is your suggestion for me ?

 
My suggestion is what it was originally, check the antenna leads or take it to store you purchased it from.

In normal mode your laptop is trying to use both channels to combine 2x150mbps connections to make it 300mbps, for some reason this makes it go slower on your laptop.
In safe mode it is only doing the single channel connection at 150mbps which is faster but not what it should be, which still leads me to think it is an issue with the antenna or the chip.
 
Solution

sakle17

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Nov 18, 2014
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Okay , thanks for the help, i'll be going in the store in Thursday and than report you about what was the issue /
 

sakle17

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Nov 18, 2014
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4,510
I've went to the store and they changed my wifi-card and also the drivers were by Microsoft (which they shouldnt be) and they changed them to Intel. So thanks