Big Problems with Wireless in HP Pavilion Notebooks

by David Risley on Nov 21, 2007 | 276 comments

Several months back, I bought an HP Pavilion DV6000 and reviewed it here on PCMech. I gave it a pretty good review. I was happy with it. But, that review has garnered a LOT of traffic. So much, in fact, that it now finds itself as the ninth most popular article on the website according to the “Most Popular” list on the homepage. Now, why is that? Mainly because of all of the user comments complaining about various things failing on the unit. Most prevalent among them: wireless.

Then a reader by the name of David (not me, I promise) pointed over to the Berlind’s Testbed blog, by ZDNet. He talks about how he has seen a lot of complaints about failing wifi in the Pavilion notebooks and that the HP support forums are being flooded with such complaints. Take a look at this support thread at HP for the wifi problem on the DV6000. I caution you, the thread is PACKED with comments and may take a while to download if you are not on a fast internet connection.

The same blog from ZDNet asked HP about it and eventually got a response where HP admitted to the problem with the wifi on these Pavilion models. Apparently, HP posted a BIOS fix in the support forums to this problem, however it is said not to work very well and doesn’t solve the problem for most users. In fact, most users who have had this fixed ended up getting a motherboard replacement or a replacement system. This is a hardware problem, not something that can be fixed with a mere BIOS update.

Is HP Support Really Supportive?

There has been a lot of expressed disappointment and anger at HP over this. Not only because the problem exists in the first place, but because HP has been completely silent on the issue (up to very recently) even while their customers are flooding the support forums with this issue. The perception has been that HP does not monitor it’s own forum. And, quite frankly, recommending a BIOS update for a wireless card failure is practically laughable.

But, HP’s support is on the verge of laughable anyway. Just yesterday, I had to call HP because of a failing battery in – you guessed it – my DV6000. While the Indian guy I spoke to was quite nice, he ran me through diagnostic steps that were kind of stupid. I have also wrote in the past about my experience dealing with HP support on my laser printer. This is admittedly completely subjective on my part, but it seems as if HP technical support has a habit of grasping at straws and ignoring common sense when it comes to troubleshooting. Perhaps they need to use their heads more than the corporately written flow charts that their technicians no doubt use.

Reality Check

So, while I am writing this article based on other people’s observations, the volume of posts about this problem, both on PC Mechanic as well as on HP’s site, indicate that there is a fairly widespread issue of failing wireless cards in the HP Pavilion notebooks. I hope HP takes proper responsibility for this. If you have the problem, just make sure that you contact HP before your warranty expires. HP is really good at throwing hardware at the problem, so chances are you will get a free replacement.

The harsh truth is this: You can’t buy an all-in-one notebook computer with those kinds of specs for ~$800 and expect it to be the highest quality in the world. The attractive price tag given the specs is why so many people are buying these Pavilion notebooks. But, just buy it knowing that it will have a failure point.

Update May 30, 2010

Comments for this article have been closed. This was done because people were using as a means of getting HP support. This article is not an official HP support channel for problems that may occur with the HP products. If you would like to contact HP for support, please visit HP Customer Care at support.hp.com, thank you.

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STEVE BROWN
In the USA we say…….” 3 strikes, you are out!” After repeated failures of the wireless to receive and 3 repair attempts a HP case manager out of a Midwest central region did indeed replace my DV 9000T with a new HP laptop. The new version with the new INTEL chipset runs cooler which seems to be causing the high failure rates of the older laptops.
Ross
I’m glad I found this site, otherwise I would have carried on blaming my internet provider(s). Here’s my story:
I got my HP (pav. DV6700) about 2 months ago. My wireless has been shot for roughly 1 month and 28 days. I initially blamed my internet provider – I updated all the drivers and everything you would expect, but to no avail – as all I got was a limited connectivity sign and messages saying ‘plug x cable into y’, or ‘problem with DNS server. I phoned up the customer service (indian call center) and (I’m using a mobile internet USB dongle thing) was told to ‘make sure I have plugged the USB modem into the USB port, located on the side of my machine.’ and other such gems. I tried to connect to a friends wireless network, but only got ‘limited connectivity’, or, interestingly, a ‘full’ connection, where no data was being sent, only recieved. I guessed something might be wrong with the driver so I looked it up, and was shocked and downright pissed off to see that this problem is EVERYWHERE. I might try uninstalling the wireless assistant tonight, and if that doesn’t work, phone HP and get it seen to. I really can’t afford to send it off though, I’m a student and have too many essays to type out…

bob bob
I have the same problem with a dv6700 don’t buy one folks.

Helena
I have had my HP Pavilion g60-120us for 3 days. The wireless worked perfect for 1 whole day! The second day I started having problems with it. It would go out, come back on, go out, on, etc… Then by the second night I had it it was completely dead. Not wireless. I’ve spend most of today (day 3) trying to fix the problem. After researching on the internet and dealing with HP tech support, I give. I went out and bought a $15 Linksys wireless USB and it works perfect. It’s sad, but it was a $15 fix….
Cameron
Thanks for every ones posts! They’ve eased my pain in trying to debug the issue. I own an HP Pavillion DV6000 and my wireless adapter just disappear out of thing air too. Orange is the new black clearly ha.
I’m just wondering if anyone has had success sending their laptop back on the extended warranty from Australia? I bought my laptop in the U.S.
Thanks
http://www.zxq9.com zxq9
My job requires that I spend most of my time in the so-called “developing” world. In my situation the tradeoff of getting an AMD 2×64 Turion in a possibly sub-standard laptop for $800 is perfectly worthwhile. While most people do not consider their laptops expendable, many companies, government agencies and individuals in my line of work do. I can’t speak for the wireless problems or other hardware-software interaction issues I’ve heard about, the Ubuntu’s 64-bit release works perfectly on this system for me (but Vista was a let down in many respects and had a freezing problem (!!) prior to upgrading the RAM from 512 to 2gb).
The battery problem was frustrating, but survivable. Never had the wireless problems myself, nor have any of my coworkers who have the same model. The sand eats dv6000′s a little slower than it tends to eat Dell laptops, and this is a point worth noting. The best for overall survivability are still the Panasonic Toughbooks and the ruggedized Toshiba systems, but the functionality doesn’t justify the price in my case.
John
I bough a Dv6000 or dv6324 Laptop to be specific. Do Not download the service packs updates. It ruin my laptop. My laptop is running slow and poor performence. I tried the recovery system and its still the same. Now today my laptop will not start up and i follow Hps instructions regarding this issue but did not work. I dont know if my warranty expire but i DO NOT recommend HP or Windows Vista.
http://none Nicole
My wireless suddenly stopped working in my computer, I am very technologically challenged! If I buy a wireless card for my computer, can I get wireless or will a card not work because my built in wireless has failed?
Joyce
My wireless suddenly stopped working just as I was getting ready to take a final in my online class, so I didn’t have the luxury of sending the laptop back to HP. I took it to my local Staples and they sold me a wireless thing (I’m not techno) by Netgear for about $50 that was very easy to install. I ran the installation wizard off the CD that came with it and plugged it in to a USB port and was back online in minutes. I still want to get my internal card fixed, but this will do for now.
Lee
I have owned a dv6000 laptop for ~ 13 months now without too many difficulties until recently. Then a couple of weeks ago the power-charging indicator stopping lighting up and the battery was no being charged. Next, like everyone else here, my wireless stopped working with the amber indicator on the sliding switch refusing to yield to the steely blue that indicates a functioning wireless apparatus. Hp sucks and I want to make a promise to everyone that this will be the last Hp product that I will ever purchase and I encourage people to share with others of their experience with this inferior company. Perhaps this company would be a good target for someone in the equities market to sell this stock short heavily.
http://WayneSallee.com Wayne Sallee
HP is not taking responsibility for this.
They are only fixing a small fraction of the computers, and of those that they are “fixing”, they are taking the bad mohterboards out, and putting in new bad motherboards.
Customers are feed up.
Now http://www.hplies.com has been formed by the customers because HP keeps censoring the posts on the HP forums, trying to prevent the truth.
Now HP is scared of http://www.hplies.com and an HP employee even posted on the site trying to missinform people, while pretending to be a customer. But he was caught of course.
Wayne Sallee
Wayne@WayneSallee.com
Vikki Brockett
this issue also affects Compaq Presario F500 series notebooks . I have been having this issue with mine for almost 6 months . HP Australia refuse to acknowledge that there is a problem with this series of notebooks . I have given up on them totally and refuse to purchase another HP product .
http://asesorensistemas.com:2088/wordpress/http://asesorensistemas.com:2088/wordpress/2008/11/hp-estafa-a-sus-clientes/ Raul Rojas
The TX Tablet PC Series have the same wireless problem and even worst because the motherboard dies just after the warranty expires.
http://asesorensistemas.com:2088/wordpress/2008/11/hp-estafa-a-sus-clientes/
Vijay Lumba
Posted dec 20, 2008, by Vijay
I bought
Posted dec 20, 2008, by Vijay
I bought an HP Pavilion DV6000 last year and about a month ago i starting having a problem with wifi connection . After trying to fix the problem by updating software etc, i checked on the internet about this issue. It seems there were lots of us have the same issues . I was quite disappointed reading that Hp was not taking any responsibility. Any how ,I contacted them and without any questions they not only offered to fix my laptop at no cost , but also provided prepaid box to ship the laptop back to HP via FEDEX –NEXT DAY. I just got it back in 5 days . It works just fine.
I could not help writing this positive feed back about HP.
I am impressed with their service..
Great job guys at HP. and many thanks.
I am not a HP employee, just a satisfied consumer…
you can call HP at 800-474-6836.

Evan
Excellent posting Vijay. I phoned the number you provided and they are going to hook me up. They’re sending me a box to ship my laptop to them and apply the fix.
Even though my laptop is 180 days out of warranty they will address this issue.
Thanks!

hanijan
hi all so is there any solution to the problem, i mean the WIRELESS no more HP for me
Neveragain
I have the same problem with my HP laptop. I am sure you have the same silver and black one with the shiney “apple” appearence. My wireless is disappearing too. I have tried all the ins and outs and am not going for the drivers/bios s…t. It is a bad design. I can almost guess correct that whether it be a large size model or the small size model-they have the same components shared durring assembly at HP. They just differ a bit. “Broadcom” running away and coming back? What are they using,,-”"Horse Hair”" for connections or something..LOL. and another thing. people say you get what you pay for.. Well I paid about a grand for mine and am I just supposed to get over it like its an “inexpensive” computer? I believe not. A thousand dollars is ONE thousand Dollars man..! I am not someone who can just buy one every year. I think Hewlittt Pakarddd promoted me to the apple nextime. Besides I am tired of the instability of windows and would rather pay a little more for something that is going to last my educational years in college. There is no way they can fix the problem with this wireless thing unless they offer all of us a different model completely. And I mean complete different one.
Ryan
Hello, I realize that I am a little late to the show but I have an issue and I am wondering if it is related to this problem.
I have an HP Pavilion dv6000 purchased about 1.5 years ago running Windows Vista SP 1.
My issue has to do with internet speeds running through my Linksys router which is a WRT54G connected to Time Warner Road Runner High Speed Cable Internet which should run around the 5 mbps range.
I initally ran into the issue using Netflix online movie watching. What seems to be happening is the wireless connection is getting the internet connection at about half if not a quarter of the speed of the wired connection to the router.
I have another desktop computer running a PCI wireless card made by Linksys on the network as well, which is much older, but it has no problems with speeds for online movie watching.
As you can imagine this is very annoying when you sit down to watch 15 mins of a movie only to have it stop and load for who knows how long.
Through trouble shooting I have reset the router and modem a number of times with no results. I also have changed my passphrase for the WEP with no results. The fact that the wired connection to the laptop and the desktop connections are so much faster leads me to beleave that this has to do with the laptop’s wireless.
Am I on the right track?
Thank!
http://techmata.blogspot.com TechMata
I have experienced a NO DISPLAY problem with my HP Pavilion dv9000 laptop and I have found fixes or workarounds. I tried doing these fixes.
http://techmata.blogspot.com/2008/12/problems-fixes-and-workarounds-with-my.html
It worked for me. It might work for you. ^_^ Good luck! ^_^
Eric
WOW. I can’t imagine how HP has the audacity to continue to sell this piece of garbage product, after reading all these posts, as well as 7 other googled pages of comments. My friend’s mother’s DV6000 wifi just died, started to research on how to fix it and I get all this. My brother in law also owns a DV6000, and my mother owns an newer model. NOT looking forward to all the repairs.
Hey has anyone tried to just simply buying an external wireless card (ex. Linksys) and screw the built-in wireless??

Zarina
Hi Eric, I have ordered a wireless network adaptor card and tonight I shall find out if works; fingers crossed. If it doesn’t fix the problem then I will have to pay to have it repaired. My problem is I can’t connect to the router itself when I click on connect to the available wireless connections. Never buying HP again!

Vikki Brockett
I had the whole dead wireless issue with my Compaq Presario F551AU notebook, After countless hours spent with HP support ( what a joke that is ) , they finally said it would cost me $1000 to get the repairs done . No way was i paying $1000 to repair and 18 month old notebook which cost $1400 to start with .I basically told em to shove it then went and bought a usb wireless adapter which cost $30 , solved my wireless issues .
natasia
im having the same problems with my hp, but mine is a persario v6000. I always had a wired connection, but wanted a wireless. So i got a wireless router. My wireless internet worked off and on for about a week or so and then quit completely. I called hp and they did some troubleshooting but nothing worked and i was one the phone for over an hour and a half. my warranty was out so basically i am screwed. i have tried everything to fix it. thats how i found this site. i was searching for ways to fix my internet.
Justin D
I had the same problem with my wireless on my HP Pavilion dv6436nr. It only took 15 min of online chat with tech support and they agreed to mail me a box to send in for repairs. We’ll see how fast and if it works.
KK
I was told by HP that they do not have international warranty on their product. Since I bought my laptop overseas then moved to USA they could not help me. It looks like the motherboard is dead. I get power to the keyboard, CD rom works but no HDD activity or power, no display on the screen. The best laptop in my opinion is ASUS. Unfortunately it is really expensive and rare in USA. I just ordered a DV5 custom build I hope that would be better. Just to make sure I bought 2 year accidental damage coverage as well. I hope HP will improve their customer service, experience if not they are not going to last that long in business. People are becoming more aware about where their money is going and watching bad businesses.
brwnbagginit
I purchased HP dv9000 series May 2008. I had to send it to HP once already for another issue (display went out). Last week my wireless card went completely. I’m a tech and went through every possible troubleshooting step with the exception of replacing hardware. I conceded and called HP support. They had me repeat everything I had already done. My only solution was restoring to factory settings. I’m not happy about it and feel that it will probably fail in the future again.
ambhci
I purchased a TX1120 about 1.5 years ago. I liked it so much I bought 2 more for my kids @$1,800 Each. At 1 year 1 week, my wifi card failed. Within 2 weeks both my kids wifi failed. I had to pay almost $400 to have my mother board replaced and 3 weeks later it failed again. I went out and spent $75 for 3 usb wifi, plugged them in and they work fine. HP says that there are no problems with the computer and I seem to be the only customer with a problem… 3 out of 3 failed. And based on all the feedback that I have seen it sounds like an epidemic…

Leslie
My DV9000 is 1 year 4 weeks old and is not recognizing my wi-fi card. I have done every upgrade possible and restored to factory setting only to have it fail again. After researching on web this seems to be a common problem with HP computers.

diego canizares
Hi
My computer is a TX 1420us, with the same wireless problem.
The computer is still under warranty so I am going to ask for a replacement. Hope HP make an anouncement about this or the problem could hit a lot of good customers.