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Weak WiFi Signal and LCD Screen Replacement - Macbook Pro 2015 15-inch

M

misheruq

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 12, 2021
6
0
Hello!

I bought a new screen to replace the broken LCD screen of my Macbook Pro Mid-2015, 15-inch laptop. The screen was successfully replaced by me, and the camera is also working just fine. However, when I got to the three antennae cables that are connected to the WiFi card, I'm having a tough time sticking them back into their connecting spots. Ultimately 2 of the antennae cables came on easily, but the third one (longest one) that is closest to the heat sink is just not coming to the right angle for it be sticked on. I tried sticking it on and then closed the lid, but I do think it came off again as I'm seeing a weak WiFi signal. When I open up the laptop, I see that I consistently get 4 out of 5 bars for the WiFi signal, when normally (before my screen replacement) I would get 5 out of 5 bars consistently. I'm typing this on the same laptop, but I know this weak signal will create problems for me later.

Edit: I compared my "Tx rate" (after pressing Option and clicking the Wifi icon in the menu bar) to my Macbook Air's "Tx rate", and I see its 41 Mbps for my Macbook Pro (with the antennae cable problem) and it's 216 Mbps for my Macbook Air.

What can I do to get this third antennae cable to get sticked on properly? Do I need to really buy a new screen to fix this problem?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!
 
theMarble said:
Was the third antennae cable working fine before you removed it to replace the screen? Might be a pre-existing issue.
Click to expand...
Yes; the third antennae cable was working perfectly fine before I removed it to replace the screen.
 
theMarble said:
Is there any dust inside the connector and is the contact/pin inside the connector straight up (not bent to the side slightly). Can you get the plug into the connector even if it doesn't work.
Click to expand...
I attached the third antennae cable and the way I could get it to connect thus far is go SLIGHTLY at an angle; it doesn't look bent, it just is slanted slightly. There isn't any dust inside any of the connectors. Should they normally be going in snuggly, or is there normally a struggle that happens when inserting these connectors in?
 
misheruq said:
I attached the third antennae cable and the way I could get it to connect thus far is go SLIGHTLY at an angle; it doesn't look bent, it just is slanted slightly. There isn't any dust inside any of the connectors. Should they normally be going in snuggly, or is there normally a struggle that happens when inserting these connectors in?
Click to expand...
When I did it a few years ago on my 2015 15" the iFixit guide said it is meant to go in directly down. There is not meant to be a slant in the contact.
 
Do you have any suggestions as to how I can make the placement to go directly down; I'm finding the antennae cable to be extremely stubborn, and I am currently writing this message with either 3 or 2 bars of WiFi.
 
Yes I do! Sorry for the delayed response. I haven't opened the back of my Macbook in a while, but here's a photo of where that antennae plugs in. It's the cable that is shown in the red box. That red box will indicate the location of where the antennae plugs in.
 

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Sorry for the double post; I'd like to also mention that I've tested Bluetooth, and I think because of this issue (i.e., antennae cable not sticking on), even my AirPods Pro (connected via Bluetooth on this issue-stricken Macbook Pro) are not connecting or emitting sound properly. There's random connecting and disconnecting that's going on. The same AirPods Pro are connecting perfectly fine on my iPhone 8+.
 
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