G531GT Laptop Broke an internal connector/wire does anyone know what it does?

[jasonmbrown]

So I can't figure out what the heck this wire does (Circled in image). It runs behind the battery and seems to go into or behind the Left Speaker (Right in image). Does anyone know what its for, I haven't noticed any issues without it connected. I'm wondering if its a grounding wire to help prevent interference with audio. But if anyone actually knows please tell me.

Also I need to get a replacement for it, where might I be able to acquire a new wire/cable/connector (I will clip the old one and solder a new one if Need be but I would prefer to just get aa replacement)

[xeromist]

I don't know how it's terminated on the other end but it appears on the motherboard end to be the same style of connector as the WiFi. So I'd guess you could use any WiFi antenna connection wire of appropriate length to replace it. You're not going to be able to buy a single wire from ASUS so the only other option if you want to find an OEM wire would be Ebay.

[jasonmbrown]

Ya, Im having trouble finding one of equal length. It does end in an antenna thats hidden behind the speaker, its product code is "14008-03460700_1.1.0_1949 WIFI_4_IP". Since I need one that has MHF4 on one end and other needs to be wires, since its hard soldered on the antenna (Damn you ASUS), Which I dont think is something I can do since it would effect the impedance on the wire ruining its purpose. Theres a couple sites that have it for sale but its like 50$ after shipping which is just stupid.

[xeromist]

On trick I use is searching for a partial part number. Sometimes they have several revisions that are essentially the same part. You might try just the first two blocks of numbers without the minor dot numbers. Or just skip the part number and search for ASUS GT wifi antenna (or something). Sometimes sellers don't list part numbers and use very generic names.

As for soldering, I'm terrible with anything RF so feel free to ignore me, but wouldn't the structure and location of the antenna be the important part, not the length of the connecting wire? It has to be long enough to connect but if there is a slight variance in the length I'm not sure that's going to cause a problem. You said you've barely noticed a difference without it connected at all.

[jasonmbrown]

Been searching for literally anything similiar, found a couple but nothing that are long enough to reach... its the farthest antenna, needs about 7 inches of coaxial. And im not sure if I can solder it safely... Honestly I wish the antenna card had a MHF4 Connector on it so I wouldnt have to worry about soldering anything :\.

[xeromist]

Oh, didn't realize it was coaxial. That's....fun.

[jasonmbrown]

Do you know if these style of sites are legitimate for buying parts? https://www.zandparts.com/en/asus-14008-03460700 (There's a lot of them all have the same layout, different url's)

I'm also trying to contact customer support at asus to find out if they can sell me the individual component since im apparently out of warranty, I swear I registered for a 2 year warranty plan, not that it matters since I voided it when I opened everything and replaced my thermal paste lol.

Apparently Im still in warranty but I have no intention of sending them my laptop for a month while they waste my time and their employees because they wont sent me a damn cable.

[xeromist]

The site doesn't look like an outright scam. They have a photo on the About page that doesn't appear to be a stock photo. Fake sites don't bother posting a unique photo. That said, I have no idea if they are actually good at what they do. Sometimes small sites will list things in stock that they think they can get from a supplier but then cancel your order, or they don't respond to inquiries, etc. If you decide to try I recommend using a virtual credit card number so your real card doesn't go somewhere you don't know if you can trust.

As for buying direct, I doubt it. Many have wanted to buy individual pieces but nobody has ever reported success. ASUS is a big company that runs on standard procedures. If it doesn't sell something normally it doesn't have the procedures in place to do so.

For OEM replacement I think your best bet is RMA. It could take a while if they don't have the part and need to transfer it from elsewhere but it could also be less than a week if everything goes well.

[Alvez_ROG]

Hi Jasonmbrown:
This cable is one of WIFI antenna, however even it is broken , laptop will connect to router with no problem due to multiple antenna desing, but signal may decrease a little bit.
I will suggest to issue RMA when you are in warranty, please contact local service. Thank you.