Dell M4800 Precision Laptop Bluetooth - a never ending story

WetGeek

tomscharbach During the installation process, select Windows 10 Pro for installation and the process will take care of itself.

Got it. Since the Latitude doesn't have an SSD that I can swap into the Precision, I appreciate your help with this. Got lots more configuration to take care of, so I'll get back to you later...

WetGeek

Now that the Latitude is my daily driver, I finally figured out what to do with the Precision. I installed Ultramarine Linnux on it today, and have it almost configured the same as the Latitude.

This thus ties together two threads of conversation. I wanted to experience Ultramarine outside of a virtual machine. So far, there hasn't been much diffeence.

WetGeek

tomscharbach Did you take the time to make a Windows USB installation disk while you were still using Windows on the Latitude?

I made a USB installation disk, and installed Windows 10 Pro on an SSD in the Precision, because I needed a Windows computer (not a VM) to contact Garmin to download maps for my GPS. It's been years since I needed to use it, and on Tuesday I'll be driving through Seattle, where lots of things have changed since back in the day. For one example, the Alaskan Way Viaduct is now the Alaskan Way Tunnel.

I have it installed and updated, but I had to do all of that with the Precision plugged into an Ethernet cable. There's no wi-fi available. Strangely, Windows seems to think there is Bluetooth available (I haven't tried to pair anything), but no wi-fi, even though they use the same radio.

I browsed to Dell.com, and expected to be able to download a driver for it. I gave them my service tag, but they didn't seem very impressed with that. Showed me a link to technical service where they wanted me to ship the thing to them for a couple of weeks to get an estimate for fixing it.

Isn't there any way to just get a wi-fi driver for it? Solus is happy to use its wi-fi. So is Ultramarine. Just not Windows 10. In my home situation it's VERY inconvenient to use Ethernet for that laptop. It connects in another part of the house from where I spend my time.

Got any good suggestions?

BTW: Despite all these problems, I did get my Garmin GPS updated (via Ethernet, of course).

tomscharbach

WetGeek Got any good suggestions?

I'm not at all sure how you got into the mess you are in, and I don't know if it is a good suggestion or not, but try the following steps:

(1) Go to Dell Support Home.
(2) In "Identify your Product", type in "Precision M4800".
(3) When the Precision M4800 page opens, click on "Drivers and Downloads".
(4) On the "Downloads and Drivers" for the Precision M4800 page, expand "Manually find a specific driver for your Precision M4800", filter "Keyword" to "wifi" and "Download Type" to "Driver"

(5) Scroll down and select from the list:

My guess is that you should update the "Urgent" driver first and see if that works.

That should do it, because the Precision M4800 is vanilla, unless you changed the wifi/bluetooth adapter at some point. Did you, perhaps? If so, that would explain why Dell is not finding the adapter.

WetGeek

tomscharbach In "Identify your Product", type in "Precision M4800".

Thanks. Where I differed was to enter my Service Tag number (from the bottom of the laptop) instead of Precision M4800. After all, that was one of several things the prompt asked for. As soon as I entered it, that's when things started to go south. I'll try it again, this time entering the model instead.

Perhaps the Service Tag number didn't work because the laptop was refurbished, not bought as new? Or because it's older, and not supported anymore?

tomscharbach

WetGeek Where I differed was to enter my Service Tag number (from the bottom of the laptop) instead of Precision M4800. After all, that was one of several things the prompt asked for. As soon as I entered it, that's when things started to go south. I'll try it again, this time entering the model instead. ... Perhaps the Service Tag number didn't work because the laptop was refurbished, not bought as new? Or because it's older, and not supported anymore?

I have no idea. I've put in service tags from Dell computers years older than yours (circa 2006), including Dell Refurbished computers, without a hitch. I've never had it fail. I suppose that it is possible that whoever refurbished your laptop cocked things up (e.g. changed the motherboard, which would change the service tag, tied as it is to the motherboard's unique ID). It is also possible, of course, that you entered an incorrect service number or missed some other step along the way.

WetGeek

Thanks again for your help. I started out with "Precision M4800" and had an entirely different experience. The Service Tag has been correct -- after Dell examined my computer, it displayed the same thing I'd entered.

It automatically updated 8 drivers, plus the BIOS firmware. Still no wi-fi. So I took the manual route, and installed the two that were designated as "Urgent," plus others that seemed harmless (assumed they would replace Microsoft drivers with Dell versions) and two specifically labeled for "Network" or "Wi-Fi." Still no wifi available. (And I did chck the wi-fi switch on the side.)

The only interest I had in Windows was updating that Garmin GPS, as they support only Windows and Mac. If I ever have to do that again, I can plug in an Ethernet cable again. I swapped out the Windows SSD, replaced it with the Ultramarine Linux SSD, and wi-fi is once again working just fine.

I'm now cheerful once again, having gotten rid of Windows once more.

tomscharbach

WetGeek Still no wifi available. (And I did chck the wi-fi switch on the side.)

Too late to check now, but I wonder if wifi was turned off in Windows 10. Settings has a switch for this. I turn my wifi off (saves battery) on the 3180 that I use for playing Red Alert, turning it on only for monthly Windows Updates the day after Patch Tuesday. That setting probably overrides the computer's switch, which is hardware-side. That's the only condition I can think of that would explain a situation where (1) wifi doesn't work but bluetooth does, (2) Dell recognizes the wifi adapter for driver update purposes, and (3) wifi works in Linux but not Windows.

WetGeek

tomscharbach I wonder if wifi was turned off in Windows 10.

Good idea, but no help there. I checked the Network/WiFi settings in Windows, and wi-fi didn't even show up there. Just on the Settings menu page. Like I wrote, I'm cheerful now that I've gotten rid of Windows again -- maybe for good.

The only thing spoiling my happiness now is that my lawn mower won't turn on, despite having a fully-charged battery. I'm writing that off, too, and just ordered a much simpler model from Amazon.

It'll be here Thursday. It's corded, so no 20# battery, and very light, so no self-propelling needed. And it won't outrun me at its lowest speed setting. Probably loads more reliable, too.

My life is becoming a lot simpler.

tomscharbach

WetGeek Good idea, but no help there. I checked the Network/WiFi settings in Windows, and wi-fi didn't even show up there. Just on the Settings menu page. Like I wrote, I'm cheerful now that I've gotten rid of Windows again -- maybe for good.

I think that avoiding Windows in the future is a good choice in your case.

For anyone who stumbles into this thread and wants to turn wifi on or off in Windows 10 or Windows 11, you have a choice of tools/methods. The methods are slightly different for the two versions of Windows.

WetGeek

tomscharbach For anyone who stumbles into this thread and wants to turn wifi on or off in Windows 10 oe Windows 11, you have a choice of tools. The methods are slightly different for the two versions of Windows.

Please keep in mind that I've been a Windows software engineer from Windows 95 to Windows 10. I'm pretty much aware of how to turn things on and off in Windows. This problem simply exceeded my interest in getting Windows working on that machine after the Garmin was updated. Particularly when Linux already works perfectly on it.

It's been an adventure, and that doesn't bother me. I'm just glad it's over. Thanks again for your help with it. I know a lot more about Dell now than I did before, and considering I have four Dell computers, that's certainly a good thing.

tomscharbach

WetGeek Please keep in mind that I've been a Windows software engineer from Windows 95 to Windows 10. I'm pretty much aware of how to turn things on and off in Windows. This problem simply exceeded my interest in getting Windows working on that machine after the Garmin was updated.

I posted the links for anyone stumbling on to this page who might not know how to turn wifi on or off and get the impression from comments in this thread that it was difficult to do.

Was wifi turned on or off when wifi did not work under Windows? For the reasons I've stated, my guess is that it was turned off. There's no other logical explanation for the factual situation you described.

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