@Jill Hinckley
Looking at the image on p.44 of the hardware maintenance manual for the laptop, it seems as though the WiFi module is hard mounted on the systemboard and cannot be replaced.
Here's an image of the systemboard that shows it a bit better and I think that it does look hard mounted i.e. non removable. I may be wrong though.
Also there's no mention of it in the parts list for the model. (click on Compatible to see all the parts)
(click on the image and when it opens click on the image again to further magnify it)
Are you sure that the WiFi module is faulty?
First check in BIOS to see if the WLAN has been disabled at all. Not sure with your laptop but try pressing the Del key or F2 key a few times, immediately after turning on the laptop. If it boots to the OS then shut it down in the normal manner and try again.
If it is a case of it just not detecting networks to connect to, try using the laptop as close as possible to the WiFi router (<10cm) and check.
If it works then it may be a loose antenna connection.
If it is a software problem I'm afraid that I can't help you as I don't know how Linux works.
If it is a hardware fault and if it is hard mounted then according to a comment in this link a Realtek RTL8812BU dongle (supplier example only) works with Debian OS
Here's the comment:
"WiFi adapter Realtek RTL8812BU is a good choice for Debian OS.
For driver installation a few steps are necessary:
1. Find out, which Kernel is installed (input “uname -a” in terminal). In following example Kernel 5.10 is considered
2. Open web-browser. URL: https://github.com/
3. Search for “RTL8812BU”
4. You will get app. 30 repository results, for example “https://github.com/fastoe/RTL8812BU”
5. For 5.10 kernel, please clone the v5.6.1 branch:
In a terminal you have to use “su” to change your identity to root with password
clone the new branch:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y dkms git bc
git clone -b v5.6.1 https://github.com/fastoe/RTL8812BU.git
cd RTL8812BU
make
sudo make install
sudo reboot
