I've just opened up an old 2860 which was sitting on a high shelf (I changed to a 2862 when the white top casing of the 2860 had gone yellow, and have been through a 2925 to my current 2926 since then) and can confirm that the wifi module is indeed removable.

It's held in by clips and looks pretty unlikely to fall out, but you never know.

Im now guessing the wifi chip is kerput.
I have the correct firmware and have tried many and via TFTP / GUI upload all other functions appear to work normally though, just wifi.

@Piste - this is a fairly recent 2860N, so what does the chip look like, they all look well soldered down to me? Im guessing the Wifi chip isnt the large (processor?) chip in the middle of the board under the heat sink? -- all the rest look soldered
Rich

Rich - it's the rectangular board next to the large square heatsink. Small aerial leads connect from it to the main board/and or to one or two of the three aerial sockets on the back of the router.

Thanks, but I think I have a different router to yours, my aerial leads connect at each fo the rear corners of the board with one wire joining the other

Having had 3 Drayteks in 5 years, its time for something different, I think. I like them, but they're not resilient sadly.

Mine is a 2860n plus, so I guess it must be different as you say.

Thanks for trying Piste - much appreciated.