Upgrading to a Dualband Wireless Card for my DV6

[Nojamforme]

Product Name: HP Pavilion DV6 Notebook PC

Product Number: LT070AV

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

I recently bought this DV6 from HPs site, and I set criteria that the laptop would have in order for me to approve of it. I really wanted to have a dualband wireless N wireless card, but unfortunately, HP doesn't offer the option.

I'm unsure of where to start, because I've heard that certain cards aren't whitelisted, and I was wondering how I would go about finding a compatability card to upgrade to.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi, you are 100% correct in your assumption.

If you install any wireless card not listed in your service manual for your specific dv6 model series it will not work because the BIOS wil have locked it out.

Whatever card you choose to buy, MUST be the one listed in the service manual and it MUST have that HP part number on it or it will not work.

However, there are many different dv6 versions, so you need to pick the one you have with the closest model number and select the service manual for that one.

Normally, chapter 3 provides the parts list with part numbers.

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/ProdSearch.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&taskId=135&prod=dv6

Paul

[Nojamforme]

Thank you very much Paul!

I've found the service manual for my DV6 and I found a dualband wireless card that is listed in the WLAN list, but I'm unsure of how to check if it is compatible and not whitelisted on my DV6's BIOS.

Is there a way to check if the card is whitelisted/compatible?

EDIT: A better way to phrase the question: If the wireless card is listed in the Service Manual under the WLAN list, as long as I choose a card that is "For use only with computer models equipped with an Intel processor", since I have an Intel processor in my DV6, does that mean that the card will work? Or is there another step to ensuring that the card is compatible?

Thank you in advanced.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

Please post the part # for the wireless card you are looking for.

There was a model PC...I can't remember if it was a G6 or DV6 where the part number referenced and Intel 6250 which is a dual band card but when folks order that part number they get a Railink single band card.

HP is of no help either. They just refund your $$$.

If your PC matches the requirements for the card and the card you purchase has the HP part number listed in the manual, there is nothing else you need to do, except check your notebook's support page, go to the download section. Check the BIOS updates, and read all BIOS versions release notes. If none reference adding support for the card you want, you don't need to do anything else.

But let me see the part # of the card and if you want also post the link to the dv6 service manual you found, and I'll let you know what I think.

Paul

[Nojamforme]

Part: Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6230

Part Number: 631956-001

Manual: http://bizsupport1.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c02842252/c02842252.pdf

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Hardware/5Ghz-Wireless-a-b-g-n-card-for-dv6-6167cl/td-p/837259

This is another thread you participated in Paul, and they needed the same part and kept receiving the single band Railink card.

I would gladly contact HP if I thought it would do any good, and I've checked all of their retailers that they recommend, but none of them carry that part.

As of now, they only option that seems open to me, is to mod my BIOS, which I know is a bit of a risk.

Thanks for your help.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

OK, that's what I was afraid of...

You can call HP, but it doesn't seem like it does any good.

As you saw from that other post, we arrived at a dead end.

Sorry,

Paul

[Nojamforme]

Thanks a lot Paul.

I've called HP 3 times now, hoping for any sort of information and these are my results:

1st Call: I gave the guy the part number for the Intel Centrino 6230 Advanced(631956-001) and he said it was in stock. I asked for the model and brand name and he said he didn't have them and that they department that could give it to me was closed for the weekend.

2nd Call: I asked the representative for a dualband card for my laptop, giving them the part number 631956-001, which is listed in my manual as the Intel Centrino 6230 Advanced, and she said it was in stock and that it was dualband. I asked for the brand name and model name(to avoid getting the Railink card), and she said it was listed as the Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1030. So either she didn't know what she was talking about or she lied, cause the 1030 is not a dualband card, and isn't even listed in my manual as a compatible replacement.

3rd Call: I called and got the parts department. Instead of giving them the part number, I decided to give them my laptops product number so that they could look up the card themselves. After giving them the product number, I was asked to hold, and then transferred to technical support for some reason. Then, after giving them my product number and my serial number, which took quite a while, I got transferred somewhere else which was suppose to be parts. When I told them I was looking for a replacement for my laptop they said they'd transfer me to their parts department. After giving them all the information that they asked for, she said they had the replacement part for my laptop. When I inquired about the specifics of the card, she said she didn't have any information and after that I gave up.

So far this has been a truly horrendous experience, and I'd recommend that anyone in the same boat forget about calling HP for assistance and just mod their BIOS.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

That is a real shame that you can't get any help.

One of two things is wrong. Either they are mistaken about the wireless card being supported and listed that in error instead of the Railink card, or the "real" part number is in a "black hole" somewhere.

The only other thing you can do is a tedious search of other recent HP notebooks that could have come with the Intel advanced N 6230, go to that PC's service manual and see if it gives a different part number for the card.

You can enter it at the link below, and it should give a description.

http://h20141.www2.hp.com/Hpparts/Default.aspx?mscssid=A26E9881B5564613B67C9664E08D0995

Then if you find one with an HP part #, you can elect or not elect to take the risk to buy it.

The only other alternative--if it can be done as you suggested, is to modify the BIOS to accept the card.

Paul