Question from David G.: I have a Dell Inspiron 1545 laptop that my sister accidentally sat on and broke the screen.
The computer still worked fine when it was plugged into an external monitor though, so I removed the lid to get it out of the way so I could use it as a desktop PC.
The problem is ever since the screen was removed I can’t connect to the Internet with the built-in Wi-Fi.
I reinstalled the drivers for the Wi-Fi adapter and checked everything I know to check, but it just won’t connect even though I can see the network in the list of available networks. Can you tell me what I need to do to fix it?
Rick’s answer: David, the antenna for the Inspiron 1545’s Wi-Fi adapter is located inside the lid behind the screen. When you removed the lid, you also removed the antenna.
And without an antenna, the Wi-Fi signal is simply too weak to connect.
You basically have three options:
1 – Re-connect the lid and the associated cables to the laptop, thereby reattaching the antenna.
2 – Plug the laptop directly into your router with an Ethernet cable.
3 – Buy an inexpensive USB Wi-Fi adapter and plug it into an unused USB port on the laptop. They are very affordable these days. In fact, the one I use and recommend is actually quite cheap. Click here (#ad) to check it out.
I hope this helps David. Good luck!
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