Raspberry PI 3 Model B: onboard WiFi not working anymore

[pichicken]

I've been running a RPi 3 Model B for some years using ArchLinuxARM, and the onboard wifi module has always worked well.
This week I noticed the Pi is unable to connect to wifi networks using the onboard card and, when scanning for networks, it always gets zero results despite the presence of many reachable networks.

This is what I tried:

• existing ArchLinuxARM installation (up to date): cannot connect, no scan results
• fresh and updated ArchLinuxARM installation: cannot connect, no scan results
• fresh Raspbian Lite installation: cannot connect, no scan results

When using a WiFi USB dongle, it connects immediately.

I'm starting to think there may be a problem with the hardware itself. Does anyone have the same issue or some tips?

Thanks.

[RaTTuS]

install a brand new raspbain and see what that shows

[B.Goode]

install a brand new raspbain and see what that shows

OP wrote:

This is what I tried:
existing ArchLinuxARM installation (up to date): cannot connect, no scan results
fresh and updated ArchLinuxARM installation: cannot connect, no scan results
fresh Raspbian Lite installation: cannot connect, no scan results

[RaTTuS]

damn my eyes....!

[B.Goode]

damn my eyes....!

Hands up! I actually wrote the same but spotted it just before hitting Submit!

@pichicken - my only other suggestion would have been that maybe it is your power supply that is starting to fail. The fact that it can run an external dongle probably rules that out, but it might be worth checking? Perhaps the built-in WiFi tries to suck more power than the dongle?

But maybe the internal WiFi has Indeed died...

[DougieLawson]

What happens if you try Raspbian Stretch?
Is your ArchLinux running latest RPF bootcode? What Linux kernel version does it have? Are you able to run rpi-update on ArchLinux?

[pichicken]

Tried Raspbian Stretch with desktop (latest image, no updates): same issue.
Updated all packages via apt and rebooted: same issue.
Updated FW via rpi-update and rebooted: same issue.

I haven't tried rpi-update on ArchLinuxARM, altough at this point I think it would give me the same results.

Still have to try a different power supply, since the one I'm using is the only one I have that can handle more than 2A.

[DougieLawson]

Are you using the official 2.5A power supply?

[pichicken]

No, until now I have been using a 2A power supply, but I have also tried powering from a PC ATX PSU rated for 24A, by attacching the Pi to the +5V rail. Same story.