How to Turn the Wireless Devices on a Dell Laptop On and Off

This icon means that you are not connected to a wireless network, and the antenna is turned off or is disabled. For information about setting up and connecting to your wireless network, see the Dell Knowledge Base article Connect Laptop or Desktop to Wi-Fi and Troubleshoot Connection Issues.

Touch or click the Network icon ().

Perform the steps according to the situation that you have.

• When the Wi-Fi panel is blue (upper left corner). Touch or click the Wi-Fi. The panel should turn from blue to gray, as shown in Figure 2.
  NOTE: When you want to turn off all the wireless devices, touch or click Airplane mode. The panel should turn from gray to blue, as shown in Figure 3.

  Figure 2: Wi-Fi Antenna Off	Figure 3: Airplane Mode On

• When the Wi-Fi panel is gray (upper left corner), it means that the Wi-Fi antenna is off.
  NOTE: When you want to turn off all the wireless devices, touch or click Airplane mode. The panel should turn from gray to blue, as shown in Figure 4.

  Figure 4: Airplane Mode On

• When the Wi-Fi panel does not show (Figure 5), it means that the Wi-Fi antenna is disabled.

  Figure 5: Wi-Fi Disabled

  NOTE: When you want to turn off all the wireless devices, touch or click Airplane mode. The panel should turn from gray to blue, as shown in Figure 6.

  Figure 6: Airplane Mode On

This icon means that the computer is in Airplane mode and that all wireless communication devices - including Wi-Fi, Mobile Broadband, Bluetooth, GPS, and near-field communication (NFC) are turned off.

To turn the communication devices and the wireless (Wi-Fi) antenna back on:

1. Touch or click the Network icon ().
2. Touch or click the panel that is labeled Airplane mode. The panel should turn from blue to gray.
   NOTE: When the panel does not turn from blue to gray, it may mean that your computer has a physical wireless switch as well. When your computer does not have a wireless key , your computer does not have a physical wireless switch.
   NOTE: When Airplane mode still cannot be turned off, see the Dell Knowledge Base article How to Turn Off Airplane Mode.
3. When the panel labeled Wi-Fi is still gray, touch or click the Wi-Fi panel, and it should turn from gray to blue, as shown in Figure 2.
   Note: When you need help with connecting to a wireless network, see the Dell Knowledge Base article Connect Laptop or Desktop to Wi-Fi and Troubleshoot Connection Issues.
   
   Figure 2: Wireless Antenna On

This section provides information about how to access the settings for Bluetooth and other wireless and networking functions.

1. Touch or click the Bluetooth icon (), either in the taskbar or in the hidden icons area.
2. Touch or click the Bluetooth tile (Figure 1).
   
   Figure 1: Bluetooth Antenna On
3. When the Bluetooth panel is blue, the Bluetooth antenna is on, when the Bluetooth panel is gray the Bluetooth antenna is off.

This icon means that the wireless (Wi-Fi) antenna is on, but you are not connected to a wireless network. For information about setting up and connecting to your wireless network, see the Dell Knowledge Base article Connect Laptop or Desktop to Wi-Fi and Troubleshoot Connection Issues.

To turn the Wi-Fi antenna off:

1. Touch or click the Network icon ( ).
    
2. Touch or click the panel that is labeled Wi-Fi. The panel should turn from blue to gray as shown in Figure 2.
   Note: When you want to turn off all the wireless devices, touch or click Airplane mode. The panel should turn from gray to blue as shown in Figure 3.

   Figure 2: Wi-Fi Antenna Off	Figure 3: Airplane Mode On

This icon means that the wireless (Wi-Fi) antenna is off.

To turn the Wi-Fi antenna on:

1. Touch or click the Network icon ().
2. Touch or click the panel that is labeled Wi-Fi. The panel should turn from gray to blue as shown in Figure 2.
   NOTE: When the panel does not turn from gray to blue, it may mean that your computer has a physical wireless switch as well. When your computer does not have a wireless key , your computer does not have a physical wireless switch.
   NOTES:

   1. When you need help with connecting to a wireless network, see the Dell Knowledge Base article Connect Laptop or Desktop to Wi-Fi and Troubleshoot Connection Issues.
   2. When you want to turn off all the wireless devices, touch or click Airplane mode. The panel should turn from gray to blue, as shown in Figure 3.

   Figure 2: Wi-Fi Antenna On	Figure 3: Airplane Mode On

This icon means that the computer is in Airplane mode and that all wireless communication devices - including Wi-Fi, Mobile Broadband, Bluetooth, GPS, and near field communication (NFC) -are turned off.

To turn the communication devices and the wireless (Wi-Fi) antenna back on:

1. Touch or click the Network icon ().
2. Touch or click the panel that is labeled Airplane mode. The panel should turn from blue to gray.
   NOTE: When the panel does not turn from blue to gray, it may mean that your computer has a physical wireless switch as well. When your computer does not have a wireless key , your computer does not have a physical wireless switch.
   NOTE: When Airplane mode still cannot be turned off, see the Dell Knowledge Base article How to Turn Off Airplane Mode.
3. When the panel labeled Wi-Fi is still gray, touch or click the Wi-Fi panel, and it should turn from gray to blue as shown in Figure 2.
   Note: When you need help with connecting to a wireless network, see the Dell Knowledge Base article Connect Laptop or Desktop to Wi-Fi and Troubleshoot Connection Issues.
   
   Figure 2: Wireless Antenna On

This section provides information about how to access the settings for Bluetooth and other wireless and networking functions.

1. Press and hold the Windows key (), and then press the i key.
2. Touch or click Devices.
3. Touch or click Bluetooth.
4. Touch or click the slider under Bluetooth to switch Bluetooth on and off.
5. Touch or click More Bluetooth options to allow other Bluetooth-enabled devices to discover your computer.

1. Press and hold the Windows key (), and then press the i key.
2. Touch or click Network & Internet.
3. Select the appropriate option:
   • Check the status of your Internet connection.
   • Turn the wireless antenna on and off.
   • Turn on Airplane mode on and off.
   • Make your computer a Mobile Hotspot.
   • Change the settings for VPN, Data Usage, and Proxy servers.

This icon means that the wireless antenna is on, but you are not connected to a wireless network. For information about setting up and connecting to your wireless network, see the Dell Knowledge Base article Windows 8(8.1) Wireless Networking Usage and Troubleshooting Guide for the Home.

To turn the wireless (Wi-Fi) antenna off:

1. Touch or click the Network icon ( ).
    
2. Touch or click the slider under Wi-Fi. The slider should move to the left and change Wi-Fi from On to Off, as shown in Figure 2.
   Note: When you want to turn off all wireless devices, touch or click the slider under Airplane mode. The slider should move to the right and change Airplane Mode from Off to On, as shown in Figure 3.

   Figure 2: Wi-Fi Antenna Off	Figure 3: Airplane Mode On

This icon means that the wireless (Wi-Fi) antenna is off.

To turn the wireless (Wi-Fi) antenna on:

1. Touch or click the Network icon ().
2. Touch or click the slider under Wi-Fi. The slider should move to the right and change Wi-Fi from Off to On, as shown in Figure 2.
   NOTE: When the slider does not move to the right and change Wi-Fi from Off to On, it may mean that your computer has a physical wireless switch as well. When your computer does not have a wireless key , your computer does not have a physical wireless switch.
   NOTES:

   1. When you need help with connecting to a wireless network, see the Dell Knowledge Base article Windows 8(8.1) Wireless Networking Usage and Troubleshooting Guide for the Home.
   2. When you want to turn off all wireless devices, touch or click the slider under Airplane mode. The slider should move to the right and change Airplane Mode from Off to On, as shown in Figure 3.

   Figure 2: Wi-Fi Antenna On	Figure 3: Airplane Mode On

This icon means that the computer is in Airplane Mode and that all the wireless communication devices including Wireless (Wi-Fi), Mobile Broadband, Bluetooth, GPS, near field communication (NFC) and any other type of wireless communication are turned off.

To turn the communication devices and the wireless (Wi-Fi) antenna back on:

1. Touch or click the Network icon ( ).
2. Touch or click the slider to the right of Airplane mode, the slider should move to the left and the listing under Airplane mode will change from On to Off, and should look like Figure 2.
   NOTE: When the slider does not move to the left and change Airplane mode from On to Off, it may mean that your computer has a physical wireless switch as well. When your computer does not have a wireless key , your computer does not have a physical wireless switch.
3. When the listing under Wi-Fi is still showing as Off. Touch or click the slider to the right of Wi-Fi, the slider should move to the right and the listing under Wi-Fi will change from Off to On, and should look like Figure 2.
   NOTE: When you need help with connecting to a wireless network, see the Dell Knowledge Base article Windows 8(8.1) Wireless Networking Usage and Troubleshooting Guide for the Home.
   
   Figure 2: Wireless Antenna On

This section provides information about how to access the Bluetooth settings.

• To turn Bluetooth on or off, perform the following steps:
  1. Touch or click the Bluetooth icon ( ).
  2. Touch or click Show Bluetooth Devices.
  3. Touch or click the slider under Bluetooth to switch the Bluetooth radio on and off.

• To make your computer discoverable to other Bluetooth devices, perform the following steps:
  1. Touch or click the Bluetooth icon ( ).
  2. Touch or click Open Settings.
  3. Touch or click to check or clear Allow Bluetooth devices to find this PC.
  4. Touch or click OK.