X61 wifi switch is touchy, how to permanently disable it?

[HelloKitty61]

It happens incredibly often when my wifi switch is even slightly bumped.
What is the easiest way to get it set to "on" always?
I also use an Atheros card which does not respond to the wifi light anyway, so it's not too much lost.

[rkawakami]

Welcome to thinkpads.com! My take on it would be to open up the system, remove the switch from the printed circuit board and force pin 3 (of 5) to system ground. From looking at the schematic diagram, the switch is tied to a signal named GLOBAL_WL_DISABLE. Typically if a signal name does not have a minus sign in front of it, then it is "active high". Grounding it should permanently enable the card.

[axur-delmeria]

An alternative would be to remove the plastic sliding thing from the bottom casing.

[rkawakami]

But if the actual switch contact is dirty or intermittent, that would not permanently solve the problem.

[jaspen-meyer]

But if the actual switch contact is dirty or intermittent, that would not permanently solve the problem.

Would switching it on-off-on-off-on-off a few times be a laymen's solution?

[rkawakami]

It could possibly help but the problem may return. The way I read the first post, OP is/was looking for a stable solution.

[HelloKitty61]

I followed rkawakami's initial suggestion to force it to "always on". It worked well.