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February 9th, 2016 04:00

Inspiron 15R SE 7520 - no wifi available when I switch to battery power

When I remove charger all wifi signals lost. I need to plug it back in and restart. Sometimes troubleshooting works and points to a fix in network adapter but only aftter mains power restored. Any suggestions? I tried to do Dell Diagnostics but after downloading program then installing Dell System Detect nothing happens (Windows 10).

March 23rd, 2016 13:00

Hi,

I've had a very helpful reply from a contributor (thanks Regedit32) to a Windows 10 forum. Early days yet but the suggested action appears to have resolved the problem. My laptop has been running on battery for nearly 2 hours and the wifi connection has not dropped out. Previously, wifi would have dropped within 10 secs of going from mains to battery.

Here's what worked for me:

  • In search bar type Power Options then press Enter
  • To the right of Balanced (Recommended) click the link: Change plan settings
  • Click the link: Change advanced power settings
  • Scroll down to Wireless Adapter settings and expand like so:

— Wireless Adapter Settings
— Power Saving Mode
—Setting: A setting will be present here

  • If that setting does not say: Maximum Performance then Left click | Use drop arrow to select this
  • Click Apply

In my case, the setting prior to change was Medium Power Saving. That appears to have been the culprit.

Good luck!

3 Apprentice

 • 

1.8K Posts

February 14th, 2016 09:00

Hi,

Have you tried adjusting the power settings for the wireless adapter itself?  If you search for Device Manager in Windows 10, then open up the Network Adapters category in Device Manager.   Right click on the listing for the wireless adapter and select "Properties".  You should see a tab for Power Management and, depending on the wireless card and driver installed, options to "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power".  Make sure that is unchecked.

You don't mention which wireless card you have in the system, or the driver version that is currently installed, so there may be other options you'll want to test to see if changing them will help.

To better help me troubleshoot this issue please tell me which wireless card you have in the system, the current driver version.   Also, please right click on my Dell Todd username and send me a private message with the Dell Service Tag of your Inspiron 15R 7520.  Please keep all troubleshooting discussions here on this public thread so that others, with the same questions, can see what is done to resolve the problem.

Thank you,

Todd

4 Posts

February 19th, 2016 21:00

Thank you for your advice.
The first solution (uncheck  "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power in Power Management.")  This allowed me to keep the internet active for about 2 minutes before it became unavailable. So maybe you are right about power settings except I do not know what to change.

The card is an Intel(R) Centrino(R) Wireless - N2230. The troubleshooter sometimes fixes the problem sometimes not. The messages either refer to 'default gateway' or 'network adapter'. When the problem does not fix I have to  connect power and restart.

March 22nd, 2016 13:00

Hi Todd,

I also have a Dell Inspiron 7520 15R SE laptop which has the same problem as described by marieam.

The Service Tag is DPPC0X1.

The wireless adapter is an Intel Centrino Wireless-N 2230.

"Allow the computer to turn off this device ..... " is unchecked.

The laptop has been upgraded to Windows 10. I can't be certain but I think the problem has only existed since the upgrade.

Were you able to resolve the problem for marieam? If so, I'd be grateful if you'd let me know the answer.

mondeoman44

4 Posts

March 23rd, 2016 04:00

Hi Mondeoman

Glad you have chimed in. I have heard nothing. We have 3 Dell laptops in our household and the two that have the 10.1 upgrade have misbehaved ever since the upgrade particularly when plugging unplugging from a power supply. We either have to troubleshoot network adapter or if that fails restart the computer. The laptop with Windows 7 has no issues whatsoever so it is not our internet connection. I have uninstalled/reinstalled downloaded drivers etc. etc. but remain convinced it is a Windows 10 issue.

Laptops with issues are

Inspiron 15R SE 7520- wireless adapter Intel(R) Centrino(R) Wireless-N 2230.

Inspiron 3537 - Dell Wireless-N 1705 

Look forward to some assistance.

4 Posts

April 6th, 2016 04:00

Hi Michael Shelton

Sorry for the delay but wanted to test it out at various locations over Easter and have to say THANK YOU. All is well. One Dell laptop that moves around quite a bit has had to do a couple of troubleshootings on Network adapter to repair but other than that all good.

Only information I can add is that we could not find 'Balanced' option first up, but at a closer look this was under 'Show Additional Plans'.

Your help is much appreciated.

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