How can I enable the wireless access in Lenovo?

Solution 1:

[Solution to Fn+F5 not working]

I faced the issue of Wi-Fi not being enabled in May 2016 (suddenly Fn+F5 stopped working and I could not reenable the Wi-Fi on my Lenovo Y580) after many of the forum posts had been written. None of the proposed solutions I came across solved my problem.

Now I found a solution and am here to share it:

  1. Go to Lenovo support page http://support.lenovo.com/br/en/ and select your laptop (mine was IdeaPad Y series (ideapad) Y580 model bought back in 2012)

  2. select your operating system (mine is Windows 7 (64-bit))

  3. download and install the BIOS update

I don't know why, but flashing (updating) the BIOS worked, once computer restarted Fn+F5 worked again, as well as the "A" symbol on the screen when Caps Lock was pressed started appearing again as well.

Below I will list all the things I tried from forum and Lenovo pages to solve the problem that did not solve it (but may solve your problem in case updating the BIOS won't do):

  • Going on Control Panel/Network and Internet/Change adapter Settings and enabling the Intel wireless connection: Windows cannot enable it, it actually recommends you use a physical switch or use function keys when you use the "diagnosys" function.
  • Going on Win+R \msconfig\startup and enabling all "Startup Item"s named "Lenovo ...". (Strangely, my "startup" list does not contain "Lenovo Utility" item as I have seen on the internet, not even now when all is working well.)
  • Going on BIOS (restarting computer and pressing F2 when Lenovo icon appears) and disabling the Wireless connection, then restarting, going on BIOS again and enabling the Wireless connection.
  • Uninstaling and installing again the other software for download at the support page for my laptop model, "Lenovo Onekey Recovery" and "Power Management", or installing the "HotFix" listed there.
  • Plugging my computer to a monitor, using "extended option" to extend desktop to both screens (laptop and monitor) and trying Fn+F5.  (I thought the dialog box was opening on a hidden area of the desktop as I sometimes use a monitor.)