Wireless disabled by hardware switch

[mrp1nk]

Hello,

It's my first and post, I've just installed linux lite and am having trouble setting up wi-fi connection. OS is installed on PC with Belkin RTL8187B USB WiFi Adapter connected /it's recognised in lsusb/ and in network options I have 'wireless is disabled by hardware switch' info. I've tried rfkill unblock all, reseting bios to default, none of which worked for me. rfkill list shows up Soft blocked: no and hard blocked: yes. Please I'd appreciate any help I just need Linux for Chrome browsing after my XP lost it's support.

[gold_finger]

I'm not familiar with that wifi device, but a hard block indicates that it's blocked at hardware level.  My guess is that there may be some type of switch, slider, or something else on the wifi stick that turns it on or off.  Look up your model's user manual and see if such a thing exists and how to activate/deactivate it.

[N4RPS]

Hello!

Welcome to Linux Lite.

Is the wireless adapter built into a laptop, on a card in a PCI slot, or a USB stick?

Some laptops have a hardware switch on the PC itself and/or a setting in the BIOS to enable/disable wireless. As an example, on a Dell laptop, pressing Fn + F2 toggles wireless on/off.

I look forward to your reply...

73 DE N4RPS
Rob