Latitude N7110 and cannot get either a Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 or a Intel Wireless-N 7260 to work with Windows 11

Hi

Wot the internet tells me...

• Intel has removed official download pages for many legacy adapters, but the last Windows 10 driver for the Centrino 6205 (15.17.x) still installs and functions on Windows 11 in most cases.​

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The 6205 is usually less painful on older chipsets than the 7260 under Windows 11.​

Steps (outline, assuming you know your way around Device Manager):

1. In Device Manager, uninstall the current Wi‑Fi adapter and tick “Delete the driver software for this device” until Windows falls back to a generic or “Unknown device” entry.​

2. Disconnect Internet so Windows Update cannot auto‑inject its own driver during reboots.​

3. Download the last Win10 driver for “Intel Centrino Advanced‑N 6205” (version 15.17.0.1 or similar) from a reputable mirror or the Microsoft Update Catalog (search “Intel Centrino Advanced‑N 6205”).​

4. Run the installer, or use “Update driver” → “Browse my computer” → point at the extracted folder with the .inf (netwsw01.inf / netwsn01.inf).​

5. Reboot, then re‑enable Internet and test.​

If it refuses to install, use the MS Update Catalog CAB instead:

• Download the CAB for “Intel driver update for Intel(R) Centrino(R) Advanced‑N 6205 – Windows 10 and later”.​

• Extract it, then use Device Manager → “Have Disk” and select the .inf file manually.​

If you insist on the 7260

The Wireless‑N 7260 is EoL, but people have it working on Win11 by using the last 21.10.1 Bluetooth and Wi‑Fi driver set for 7260 (archived copies).​

Basic approach:

1. Clean the existing Intel wireless and Bluetooth drivers as above (multiple uninstall/reboot cycles if necessary, with Wi‑Fi and Internet disabled).​

2. Install the 7260 Bluetooth package first, then the matching 21.10.1 Wireless package.​

3. Reboot, re‑enable Wi‑Fi and test connectivity, especially with newer Wi‑Fi 6 routers, since older packages lacked interoperability fixes.​

Things to watch on the N7110

• BIOS: Make sure the card is properly detected in BIOS and that any wireless switch or hotkey is on; the N7110 uses the same Intel WLAN stack under Win7/8, so basic hardware compatibility is fine.​​

• OS support: Because the N7110 was never validated for Win11, future cumulative updates may occasionally break legacy drivers; keeping a copy of the working driver packages is essential.

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However the above is something you have probably already tried.

I found out what it was. The one I bought (if you dig down under device details) is a Lenovo branded piece of hardware. So even with hacked bios, the machine doesn't know what to do. It HAS to be WiFi card Dell P/N X9JDY, and what I got was Lenovo FRU (Field Replaceable Unit): 60Y3253. So, even though they are both the Intel Advanced-N 6205 wireless card, they are not interchangeable. They are brand specific. So don't do what I do. Do a bit of research and don't assume that any old piece of hardware will work in your computer. Make sure if you change out some piece of hardware in your old computer, make sure its a dell part number. My bad. $20 down the drain. BTW, anyone want to buy a Lenovo 60Y3253 Intel Advanced-N 6205 wireless card?