Laptop not seeing EE Network

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Dell Latitude E7240  cant connect to Smart Hub 2

W10 22H2 build 19045.4561  (all up to date)

Had Full Fibre installed ... and while other devices (2.4 & 5 Ghz) connected OK to new Router

The Dell does not show EE network in the network list - i.e .no SSID

It does show 4 networks of my neighbours 

Connected by Ethernet to make wure W10 and Dell drivers up to date 

Did a repair of Intel WiFi drivers to be sure - no change

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Agree there are a great many devices - that is why we have standards.

IEEE have gone to a lot of effort in the standards for 802.11ax to ensure backwards compatibility with WiF 5  (802.11ac)

The Dell was brand new in 2015, so not that old, it's i5 based and still fully supports W10 & W11 (though I have not upgraded)

You mention f/w upgrades, is there a link to EE site to get these ? ....

I have raised a ticket with EE, unsure if that will get any traction.

Maybe getting a USB  wifi adapter will be a solution, if I can find one that works with EE router in WiFi 6 mode ... appreciate Lapotoip will be at 802.11ac, just need it to be able to connect.

It is strange as the Intel Dual Band -AC 7260  NIC is according to Intel was the most widely adopted NIC in the world.

AS you pointed out above "Your lappy is WiFi-5 compatible & the EE SH+ is WiFi-6 compatible which is backwards compatible to WiFi-5."

I'll have to hope for a f/w update

[JimM11]

@Profile closed And the dell apply there method of control, and i can assure you that your laptop is not capable of windows 11 so you can forget that also, you could try to change the wi-fi module in the laptop if you wish. EE FW is pushed out by them as needed, you cannot do it yourself.

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I just saw when I run Windows 11 compatability tool that it states it is compatible with W11 .... but I have no need to upgrade so not an issue.

You any idea where to get a replacement NIC card for laptop that works with EE ?  changing that is an option.

[JimM11]

@Profile closed You want to speak to dell.

[Profile closed · Accepted solution]

I have a Fix ..... at last

It seems that INTEL knew about the SSID not being visible in WiFi6 and fixed it in driver   v18.33.17.1

However when they discontinued the AC-7260 product support they took driver package off-line  😠

Luckily I found a post on Intel forum, a guy who not only knew the problem the Driver required to fix it, and the package release v21.10.1    and he hosts all of the packages on his personal site.

Downloaded, installed & tested  - working fine (currently) with router set to WiFi 6

In case anybody else comes across the issue the link is here:

https://community.intel.com/t5/Wireless/Intel-Dual-Band-Wireless-AC-7260-Driver-Update/m-p/1571741#M...

[Vincen77o]

I had the same problem as the OP, Dell Inspiron 7537.

My phone and TV both connected easily.

I installed both the Wifi and BT drivers but the Wifi driver still said the driver was the older 18.xx.x version in Device Manager and wouldn't see the laptop.

I then tried reinstalling the driver which gave the option to 'Fix' the driver, which I did.

This worked, so many thanks for your advice.