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The larger of Apple's MacBook Air laptops featuring dual microphones and 802.11ac Wi-Fi connectivity.

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MBA - WiFi range shortened significantly after tightening hinges

The hinges on my Mid-2013 Macbook Air 13" were loose so I followed instructions on how to tighten. Disconnected the display cable, webcam cable and the pair of wifi cables. Hinges are fine now but the Wifi only works when it is very close to the Wifi source.

The wifi cables don't seem to be damaged. I removed the wifi cables altogether and I don't see any networks if I do that obviously. But after reconnecting the cables, I do see the wifi networks but can only join them when I am really close to the router or phone (in case of hotspot).

Its like the wifi's range is drastically gone down. What could be going wrong? There didn't seem to be any visible damage to the wifi ports on the logic board or the cable throughout.

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The antenna wires are coaxial, a center wire which is insulated with a braided shield. From your description it sounds like the wire was crushed somewhere along its path. Review this guide MacBook Air 13" Mid 2013 Display Assembly Replacement Make sure you place the cables back in after the logic board is mounted as in Step 22. You may need to replace the cable.

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Yep seems like there is indeed some damage. Thank you for your answer!

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