Laptop WiFi adapter is humming.

September 27, 2005 11:55 AM

My laptop makes an audible, high-pitched hum when the WiFi adapter is turned on. Is there anything I can do to make it shut up?

I have a Dell Latitude X1. It has no fans, and it's silent except for this noise, which makes it very noticeable and very annoying.

Also, the noise seems to stop when there is a high load on the processor, no matter what causes the load.

posted by stopgap to computers & internet (7 comments total)

Is that a mini-PCI card based unit like the D5xx series? If so, tell Dell you want them to send you a replacement part and swap em. On my 500 it's a little thing under a single small screw, easy to get to. I've found Dell very agreeable to such issues; they agreed to replace a drive that was making an unpleasant noise when I emailed them and told them I was worried it was about to go belly up.
posted by phearlez at 12:37 PM on September 27, 2005

My powerbook has a very slight whine when plugged in to the AC power, but not when running on batteries. Does the power state have anything to do with your noise?
posted by odinsdream at 12:40 PM on September 27, 2005

This is a shot in the dark, but whines without fans could be indicative of a power issue. I would recommend reseating the WiFi card if you are comfortable in doing so, and if that does not work contact Dell.
posted by Dean Keaton at 1:03 PM on September 27, 2005

Is it coming out of the speakers? (as in, electronic interference)
posted by knave at 1:32 PM on September 27, 2005

Make sure the mic on your sound card is muted, too. They can pick up interference pretty badly.
posted by angry modem at 6:29 PM on September 27, 2005

Even with the mic muted on the laptop, I've found that some wireless adapters will put weird sounds on the speakers unless you mute the speakers themselves.
posted by cbecker333 at 9:13 PM on September 27, 2005

Well, I doubt anyone is reading down here anymore. I didn't do anything for a couple days because I hadn't noticed the noise for a while, but it doesn't seem to be related to power vs. battery, there's no built-in mic, and the computer still makes noise when the speakers are muted. I'll try reseating the mini-PCI card over the weekend to see if that helps.
posted by stopgap at 9:09 PM on September 30, 2005