# Solved: I broke off my wifi switch on my laptop



## machv (May 23, 2009)

I have a Toshiba satellite L350D 01M laptop. My warranty period is over and I wanted to clean out the fans etc... and I have taken apart many laptops in the past but man it was hard to get all the connectors from the keyboard etc hooked up without unplugging another one because of the lack of wiggle room, how the guys at Toshiba put them together i will never know anyway i finally managed to get them all hooked up and the case back together but the wifi radio switch next to the SD slot was not aligned properly and rather than go through the nightmare of hooking it all back up again i forced the switch a little too much well actually a lot too much as i busted the dang thing right off. 

so now i can't switch on the wifi which ain't that bad for home 'cause i have a wired modem but when i am out and about i need the wifi capability. someone suggested bridging the two connections i can see inside (a guy at staples) but that if it did work each time i shut it down i would have to bridge it again, well I tried that and I did something wrong as the whole system shut off like a lightening bolt and i thought i fried the motherboard as i couldn't get it to turn on, but i unhooked the battery unplugged and held down the power button for ten seconds then i plugged it back in minus the battery and luckily it worked, there is no way i am going to try that again and if i don't have to (i can't afford it anyway) is there anyway i can bypass the hardwire switch via software somehow? sorry for the long messages all that for that but i am sure u guys had a good laugh at what i did. so once u pick yourself up off the floor from laughing so hard please let me know if it can be done or if i have to either get a new motherboard for the switch capability or buy a USB wifi card. Thanks and have a great day


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## dannyn (Nov 9, 2007)

Wow, do not do the whole bridging the connector business again. You are lucky to even have a functional laptop at this point. I do see where he is coming from and what he was trying to get at, but it is quite a bad idea. Especially in a laptop, or any other machine for that matter, there is such a high density of solder pads in such a small area that it would be extremely easy to bridge some thing that you surely did not want to. And it looks like you fell victim to that. Glad to hear you were able to resurrect your machine, but none of that business again. Jamming computers back together is never the best idea, as you saw, you could inadvertently bridge a solder connection, or break something that you can't see off. 

Usually in a laptop, the switch is just considered an input, just like a quick launch button, and if it senses a change then it triggers the card to be disabled. I would go to control panel and then network connections and if it is there and turned on, then I would just enable or disable it there. I rarely disable my network card with the switch, I always use software. Some laptops that use a rocker switch to disable or enable the laptop may run the power through that switch and then send it to the network card, and by means of a non-complete circuit the network card is disabled, but I do not think that this is the case. Also sometimes in the quick launch bar there are options for turning the wifi power on or off.

Best of luck, and when you report back I will try and see if I can find more options for you if that does not work, I think I may have an option.


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## machv (May 23, 2009)

Oh, don't worry I won't try that again, my heart sank like a rock when that happened. I wanted to kill the guy that recommended it. Anyway I haven't been able to get around the hardware radio switch by using a software option and Toshiba hasn't gotten back to me yet so I am going to send them another email.
And if anyone knows a way around the hardware radio switch then please let me know. Thanks


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## dannyn (Nov 9, 2007)

Try going to the device manager to turn it on.


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## machv (May 23, 2009)

In device manager everything is OK. It is the physical switch on the front of the computer that is broken and I am trying to find a way to bypass it. So I don't have to go out and buy another wifi card this time an external USB type wifi card. Or pay for a new motherboard or switch if it isn't part of the motherboard.


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## dannyn (Nov 9, 2007)

Which is what I did not make clear. Sorry. I meant for you to use device manager vs. the physical switch. If you right click you can either enable or disable the device.


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## machv (May 23, 2009)

where in device manager? I see an entry for the wifi card (atheros95k) is it in properties?


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## dannyn (Nov 9, 2007)

Yup, should be. One way to check it would disable it, then go to the network connections then see if is still there. If it is not then you know you have found it. If it is then you have disabled something incorrect, but that sounds about right.

If I were you I would always keep the wifi card on, then go to the network connections and either enable or disable it there.


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## machv (May 23, 2009)

Hmmmm Sound advice but when I broke off the switch it was in the off position, which is the problem I am having. Can someone please tell me if it is possible to bypass the physical radio switch the little one that is on most laptops. Then if it is I can keep trying things if not we can all stop wasting our time. I don't mean any of that in a nasty way either if it came off sounding that way. I love u guys here at techguy I don't know what I would do withpout u.


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## dannyn (Nov 9, 2007)

Create a system restore point before you try this... I am not sure if this will work or not so sorry and you do not have to try it either if you don't want. I really am not sure that you can control it without the switch.

I am thinking try the post by edjer http://en.kioskea.net/forum/affich-28820-wireless-switch-problem

Sorry I do not have a definitive answer for you.


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## machv (May 23, 2009)

first off you don't have to be sorry I am glad you are helping me. And second I took a look at the link u gave and then opened up regedit followed it all down to the spot but am too scared to delete things in the registry editor. Oh well I am going to mark this as solved and then just buy a new card or see if a tech can fix the switch by bridging it into the on position permanently. Thanks for all the help.


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## dannyn (Nov 9, 2007)

That's why I said try to do a restore point before you do that 

Sounds good to me, and yeah that is basically what the Staples guy had suggested, but your idea is much more permanent and much safer. It should be very easy to do for the tech.

Your welcome, I like working with people like you.


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