Dell XPS 13 Wireless Card Replacement

Written By: Jay
  • Comments: 29
Dell XPS 13 Wireless Card Replacement

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

9

Time Required

5 - 10 minutes

Introduction

How to replace the wireless card in your XPS 13. If you’re having trouble connecting to wi-fi, replacing or re-seating the wireless card may fix it.

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    • Remove the eight 4 mm T5 Torx screws from the bottom cover.

    Missing a step about removing the tiny Phillips head screw under the XPS flip up cover in the middle. Also, there are hooks all the way around the cover so it doesn’t simply lift off.

    curtis_p_brown -

    What about step 3???

    Peter Hecht -

    Please dont hurry , take your Time to follow this procedure. It takes 20 min (not 5) and step 4 requires half of this Time. Good luck.

    Peter Hecht -

    +1 Peter Hecht is right - getting the little clips the back is snapped on with is time consuming and a bit fiddly for people not used to “spudging” off covers. Starting from the back is the key those come loose much easier and help with the rest

    Doug Steinschneider -

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    • Use a plastic opening tool to pry open the 'XPS' flap in the middle.

    No flap or screw on the XPS 9370, just a press-fit latch at the centre of the cover. This can be gently prised off.

    Alan Thomas -

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    • Remove the single Phillips screw hidden beneath the flap.

    XPS 13 9370 doesn't have it.

    Kes Bond -

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    • Use opening picks or a plastic pry tool to pry open the case clips, beginning from the back edge.

    It’s not that easy to lift actually, cause there are latches. Had t release them gently all around beforehand.

    Davit Barbakadze -

    Also there’s one additional screw under that plate on the bottom!

    Davit Barbakadze -

    Maybe the later models are different, since it should be from the front: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFIE2SKs...

    shigmas -

    Very difficult step, Proceed very carefull

    Peter Hecht -

    If you are replacing the battery of a 9360 or latter (2016 onward) make sure to do the FRONT first. There are latches on the back that you may break if you try to force it open that way. After prying up the front and the sides, just lift up the front like you would open a hinged box. You shouldn’t feel that much resistance as the back hinges off towards you after you’ve lifted it around 30-40 degrees.

    Giacomo P -

    Very easy with XPS 13 9370 - just used my nails (rather short!)

    Kes Bond -

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    • Remove the bottom cover.

    good evening, is there a site that sells the back part because it's broken

    marios cocka -

    good evening, is there a site that sells the

    back part because it's broken

    marios cocka -

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    • Pull the battery cable connector towards the battery to disconnect it from its socket.

    • If the connector is stubborn, push a little at one side, then the other, to "walk" it out of its socket.

    • If you have trouble walking the connector out of the socket, use the point of a spudger to gently push on the connector indent to slide the connector out.

    • Do not pull up.

    • Open the display and press the power button for five seconds to drain any remaining charge from the system.

    DO NOT OPEN THE DISPLAY!!! When I did, on my Dell XPS 13 9360, I cracked something in the top right corner where the power button is, and the plastic part of the button came out. I can still press it, but there is now a gap there and dust can get it.

    Asher Grossman -

    I opened they display, very carefull. No problem. Open just enough to press they button.

    Peter Hecht -

    Take care on later models. This is not a breakdown for the 9360, I learned that the hard way.

    Giacomo P -

    Agree with Asher Grossman, open at your peril!

    James White -

    First put the bottom cover back, with 4 screws, one at each corner. Then you can safely open the display and press the button. Then close the display and take the bottom cover off again.

    Patrick Bower -

    I did not do the open display and drain the battery because I did not understand this part and I know my battery was essentially dead, hence why I ordered one. Did everything else and voila! Works perfectly!

    Terri DiChito -

    Opening the display worked fine for me, but when I closed it again, something definitely didn’t quite go right – I think it was trying to push against the missing back cover. I managed to carefully close the display by pushing against the metal corner thingy that was meant to push against the cover, and so far the laptop still seems to work, but I concur with Asher and James, be careful at least. Patrick’s suggestion sounds great if I’d seen it in time :)

    Lucas Werkmeister -

    Ich konnte den Stecker schliesslich mit Hilfe einer Plektren sehr gut entfernen. Das Display habe ich nicht geöffnet.

    Ursulina Kölbener -

    Much better to ensure the old battery is fully depleted (unplug from mains & switch on & let it expire) before you begin replacement.

    This allows you to leave the unit face down whilst you work on replacing the battery.

    duncan cresswell -

    NO PROBLEMS with lifting the main body while the laptop is upside down, to reach the power button (XPS 13 9370). Also no problems with closing.

    Kes Bond -

    I confirm Duncan Cresswell's method. Let your old battery discharge completely until your laptop turns off by itself. This does require some patience. It took longer than expected to use up the last procent of the battery but it worked.

    NeoK -

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    • Pry the white and black antenna wire connectors straight up from the wireless card to disconnect them.

    • Pry the connectors gently from the bottom of the metal heads.

    • During reassembly, make sure the white cable connects to the socket marked with the white triangle, and that black goes to black.

    • To reconnect each wire, align the connector carefully over its socket and press down firmly.

    Be very careful about how you “pry” these antenna connectors off or you may pry off the entire socket from the PCB! They should rotate freely in their socket which should help with removal.

    edwardsgreg -

    If the replacement Wifi card‘s Main is a black triangle and Aux is a white triangle, should my antenna connectors still follow the triangles (black cable to Aux, white to Main)? Or follow the wording instead (black cable to Main, white to Aux)?

    Randal -

    My replacement card WISE TIGER AX210NGW had Aux white on right and Main black on left, i.e. the opposite of my original card. I crossed the wires over, and connected black to black and white to white and it works!

    Patrick Bower -

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    • Remove the 3 mm Phillips #0 screw that secures the Wi-Fi card in place.

    • The Wi-Fi card will pop up at a 45-degree angle once the screw is removed.

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    • Pull the wi-fi card straight out of its socket.

Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

Author

Jay

Member since: 16/05/17

261 Reputation

One comment

Thanks for the instructions on swapping out the WiFi module/chip, it looked pretty straightforward from what I could tell when I had the machine open, I just have a simple question for you.

I recently purchased an Intel Dual Band Wireless -AC 8265 Desktop Kit and I do NOT plan on using the external antenna, or mounting bracket that came with it, ONLY the chip in place of the one on the laptop.

So I wanted to know would the chip in that kit be useable in my Dell XPS 13 9343 model laptop? Everything looks to be about the same with this chip and the actual laptop model [except that the laptop one doesn’t come with the external antenna], so if I can use it that would save me shipping it back and then ordering again.

Thanks

Bob Marotta -