WiFi issues after installing new SSD

[Norg]

I have a v2 ezbook pro and decided to install a Kingspec 128gb (NT-128) SSD. The v2 is the one with the Realtek wireless network card.

After installation my wifi signal strength basically dropped.  It wouldn’t connect to my router unless I was standing next to it. I’ve exhausted my troubleshooting options so I removed the drive and it’s back to normal (posting on it now). Has anyone else experienced this?

Things I’ve tried:

• normal installation using the screw that came with the laptop or the one that came with the drive
• just taping the drive in with electrical tape (no screws)
• At first I thought it might have been driver related so I’ve also removed/reinstalled the drivers

Any help would be appreciated.

[sipart]

I remember reading (on this forum) that someone has sound issues after adding an SSD (I think) and they had to tweak something in the BIOS but I’m struggling to remember if that I am remembering that wholly correct and if it’s relevant!

[Norg]

Thanks for the response.

I couldn’t find the audio setting that which that post talked about let alone one one to do with WiFi.

[George G]

There’s a BIOS setting that affects sound, and I used it when I had problems with my audio driver. It was not a SSD or wifi related problem however.

As far as I know and remember, there is no setting in the BIOS that needs to be changed to fix wifi or any post in this forum where someone had a similar wifi problem when they installed their new SSD.

Three obvious suggestions:

1)  Reboot your router after the SSD installation and laptop reboot. Verify that you are connected.

2) Verify that the new SSD is functional and shows in Windows disk manager.

3) Make sure the antenna plugs are fully snapped on to the wifi card.  You might even try rotating the plugs or putting a small piece of electrical tape over the plugs to make sure they are not loose or shorting out.

Please let us know if and when you solve the problem.

 

 

 

[George G]

A few questions, when you installed the NT-128, did you clone the eMMC over and then boot from the SSD, then discover the wifi died?

Or did you just plug in the SSD and immediately discovered that the wifi died before you did any disk cloning or reinstallation of Windows?

Which did you do, cloning or Windows reinstallation on the SSD?

Does Bluetooth work with the SSD installed? Does it make any difference when you turn it on or off?

Is this too many questions ? 🙂

 

[Norg]

@dendrite

 Thank you for the response and suggestions.

-The SSD shows up fine in device manager and disk management.

-I’m still running Windows from the eMMC, as I didnt see a point in cloning it if the WiFi didn’t work.

– I don’t really use Bluetooth but for sake of testing I tried to pair it with my phone. It seemed to pair ok but then again the phone is next to the computer.

 

As per your suggestions, here is what I’ve tried:

-I’ve tried adding tape to the antenna connection on the board.

-I’ve even tried to add tape under the SSD ribbon which the antenna cable runs under.

-No luck with either.

I’ve been using this as my main computer since it was released, so I dont really want to send it in to get “fixed”. I am leaning towards biting the bullet and returning the harddrive and trying to make due with the eMMC.

[George G]

Ok, let’s try the RF (radio frequency) interference theory. Take some tin foil and coat it completely on both sides with electrical tape. You will have to experiment with the size and position of your home-made shield. This insulated metal shield will be used to block any possible interfering radio waves generated by the SSD that are reaching the antenna or the wifi card.

Second suggestion: try changing the channel (broadcast frequency) on your router. The best N band channels are 1, 6, and 11. Changing the broadcast channel could possibly decrease the interference. The greater the change, the better. For example, if you are using channel 1 switch to channel 11.

You may have received a defective SSD that is creating lots of RF interference. If you decide to try any of these suggestions, please keep us posted.

[George G]

One more suggestion: Download and install WiFi Analyzer. You can use it to check wifi signal strengths before and after SSD installation, and what effect the home-made shield might have.

[Norg]

Thanks again for the suggestions.

I didn’t actually solve the problem. I resorted to sending the SSD back to Kingspec for a refund. I’ll make due with a smaller harddrive. All I really do is use the Office programs along with web browsing so, the current 64gig drive is enough. The performance increases from the SSD drive would have been nice though.

To anyone who stumbles  upon this post, George G’s suggestion of RF interference  might be worth trying as the signal only dropped to an unusable level when the SSD drive was installed. I’ve also noticed the SSD ribbon runs over top the antenna wire so the suggestion is worth trying. I, however, didn’t try it.

[G]

Just to reassure anyone with the V4 laptop, I have installed a 128GB Kingspec drive from AliExpress in my laptop with no probs.

[Author]

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