[SOLVED] Accidentally broke WiFi card

[YourLocalNoobie]

So my friend and I were cleaning a Lenovo Legion Y520 since it was having thermal issues. We successfully got to run it faster and better but we also accidentally broke a pin from the WiFi card while remove the cable. We tried soldering the cable to the card but then realised that’s not how things work. When we turned on the laptop, the Bluetooth was working but couldn’t connect to the internet. Here’s a picture of how the card looks now.

https://imgur.com/a/GuJ8rni

It’s a M.2 type A+E key card

As you can see, the pin is completely broken but it says WiFi/BT on it and I don’t understand how the laptop was able to detect Bluetooth even though technically it’s broken. Is there some way we could fix this without having to buy a new WiFi card?

Or is it possible to make the laptop detect WiFi with the remaining single pin? (Since it also says WiFi on the other pin)

As I understand, only one of the pin is broken and the other seems to be fine. So does that mean swapping the black and white wires be able to temporarily detect WiFi?

Edit: Okay, figured it out. Those pins are just antennas to the card. One of them is 2.4Ghz while the other is 5Ghz. We fried the 2.4Ghz one, I believe. So what we did was connect one of the antennas and reset the network settings on windows. It worked. The laptop can detect WiFi now.

 

[Math Geek]

you'll just have to get a new wifi/bt card. they are not expensive and worth it so you don't turn a broken wifi card into a broken laptop!!

you're playing with fire and will likely end up getting burnt. possible for real when it shorts and starts a real fire.

$18 for wifi 6 and newest bt 5.1

https://www.amazon.com/WiFi-AX200-PCs-802-11AX-Bluetooth-NGW/dp/B07TLBNSZQ/

so not worth messing with when it's super cheap to replace.

 

[YourLocalNoobie]

you'll just have to get a new wifi/bt card. they are not expensive and worth it so you don't turn a broken wifi card into a broken laptop!!

you're playing with fire and will likely end up getting burnt. possible for real when it shorts and starts a real fire.

$18 for wifi 6 and newest bt 5.1

https://www.amazon.com/WiFi-AX200-PCs-802-11AX-Bluetooth-NGW/dp/B07TLBNSZQ/

so not worth messing with when it's super cheap to replace.

Thanks for the reply but we actually managed to bring back the WiFi by just connecting one wire and resetting the Network Settings on Windows. Probably won’t work as good as it did before but I guess it’s doable.

 

[robert600]

Those particular 'pins' go the antenna so ... Are you able to get both 2.4 and 5 channels?

 

[Math Geek]

hope it stays working. i personally wold not risk it, but i know not everyone prefers to deal with problems before they become big ones. a thrill seeker with my pc i am not

 

[YourLocalNoobie]

Those particular 'pins' go the antenna so ... Are you able to get both 2.4 and 5 channels?

Yes, we figured it out. We’re able to connect to the internet now. Tried moving away from the router and we were still able to connect to the internet (but poorly) from around 10meters. So I guess it’s the 2.4GHz channel for the WiFi and BT that we lost. Anyhow, it’s better than nothing.