These dv series models are well discussed and the wifi module does appear to degrade over time. Replace if you must but many move the router closer if the channel changes don't play out. I should have noted the dv series, card discussions before but left it out. I usually don't replace these but relocate the router or use some USB WiFi dongle.
I have an
HP Pavilion dv7-6c50ca Entertainment Notebook PC that I bought June 2012.
Primarily I'm hoping to get an expert opinion on whether I may have damaged the WLAN module, or if static electricity could have reduced its performance.
You see, this last summer the fan started blowing really loud. I was using my laptop quite a lot since I was on break and you can understand that in the summer obviously it's hotter outside. I was hoping to see if I could help the fan along by cleaning it out or seeing if there was anything else wrong with it. So I took apart my laptop as per the HP manual: http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c03099448
unfortunately the fan is basically the last thing to take out when disassembling this model so it was quite the process.
I'm a beginner at taking apart and building computers, so I was extra careful in taking everything apart and cleaning it. When I put it back together though, the network card stopped working when I turned it on. Basically acted as if it wasn't properly inserted. Once I restarted the laptop again though, it worked just fine.
The strange thing is, the WLAN module was basically the easiest thing to remove and put back, and I had carefully set it aside and it wasn't ever dropped. At most, It was difficult to pry off the 2 antenna with my fingers so I used some needle nose pliers to (gently) remove them.
Anyways, this was only the first time I opened up my laptop. Even after cleaning the fan, it quit entirely a month later. I ordered a replacement model fan from HP and replaced it myself without any issues, but when I turned it on, the same problem happened with the WLAN. It acted as if it weren't plugged in. I restarted it twice and still nothing. I opened it back up, removed the card, and put it back in again, THEN turned on my computer. This time it recognized that it was plugged in, but it wasn't working properly. I restarted it 3 times and after that it was working.
Ever since then, my Wifi reception and connection speeds have been terrible. When I initially bought my laptop, the connection was great! A lot better than my phone and a lot better than anyone else's laptops. In places where most people didn't get any connection, my laptop would get at least 2 bars. Now though, the connection often goes into "limited" or drops it entirely, and when I am connected, I need to be right next to the router in order to get the same connection speeds I got before.
Did I mess up the antennas somehow? Is there anything I can do to try to improve the connection?
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