How do I replace wifi antenna
Weak wireless connection. Can I replace the antenna?
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@andy727 and just in case you want the Apple Wi-Fi antennas, they are available (lower antenna available on here) and the (middle antenna is available right here)
Just in case you want the Top antenna too, which is actually your Bluetooth antenna, you can get that one right here
As you've already heard, it's no fun doing it, but not impossible. Check this out Wi Fi Antenna REmoval and see if you are up to it. Otherwise, the idea by @erelectronics is a lot easier :-)
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@oldturkey03 - Good find! The three sources I looked at didn’t have them.
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While Dan is absolutely right that Apple's commitment to a̶n̶t̶i̶-̶r̶e̶p̶a̶i̶r̶ sleek and elegant design makes it costly and difficult to replace or repair the antennas, consider just a wifi adapter.
You should be able to grab something like a TPLink AC1300 for around $20-$30 at your local best buy or walmart. It just plugs into a USB port on the back and has it's own built in antenna. As long as you can get the drivers installed properly on your iMac it should address your issue. Pictured here for reference as I use it in my shop and it gets around these things for most modern computers.
It's more of a cover up than a fix, but sometimes that is the most efficient and effective solution.
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Thank you, this is a good idea. Since I’ll only be living here for a few months, this seems like a quick and dirty fix. Antenna replacement may not be worth it…. Once I get back home, I will go back to a wired connection.
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While you can replace the antennas, it is both very costly and likely won’t fix your issue.
Can you tell us which wireless connection you are you having issues with: Bluetooth or WiFI?
Also tell us what you are accessing and where it’s located from your system (distance)
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Hi, thank you for your response. It’s the WiFi connection I am having issues with. The access point is about 10-15 feet away in the floor under me. A network architect friend diagnosed it to a bad antenna. I also had it in for service at the Apple Store recently for a hard drive issue and they made note that the antenna had a concern, like it was bent or the connection was loose..don’t remember exactly because I was more concerned w the hdd. I just moved to a temporary house with a nice network and suspect that the antenna is problematic. In my previous house, I had it wired to Ethernet, so never experienced issues. I am going to be living here for 6 months, so would be nice to get this figured out.
What do you think? Is there anything else I should try? I’m thinking I should get the tools to take the screen off and take a look, but wanted to ask here first.
One more point is that my MBP has no issues with its WiFi in the same location.
@andy727 - Sadly, I haven’t found a source for the antenna units. There are two of them for WiFI along the edge of the display. Unless someone damaged them in opening the system they really don’t fail. The leads which go to the AirPort board if mishandled likewise don’t fail.
Review this guides Steps 21 & 22 iMac 27" 2017 Display Replacement there you can see the gold unit at the top and the two on the side are covered by the speaker. The only way I know to replace them is to Gulp! Replace the back shell! iMac 27" Retina 5K Rear Housing Unit - Leg Version in this series.
To be doubly sure I would install a good WiFI sniffer app that can measure your systems signal strength and the band it is trying to connect to of your Access Point.
Sometimes all it takes is adjusting the bands as the 2.4 gets you distance but at a slower connection, whereas the 5.0 is more limited in distance but does give you a higher throughput! Go to the Apple Store to get WiFI Explorer which is the app I use as it offers The useful presentation of the data.
