HP Envy DV7-7230us Dual Band Wireless Compatibility

[ATLBrysco]

Hi all -

I have a DV7-7230us that I have upgraded massively since purchasing it at a great prices about three years ago - new display, maxed memory, 500GB SDD, Win10-Pro, etc.

This laptop has all the capability and raw power that I need for a laptop, but one thing that bugs me is the original wireless mini-card in it - it is single-band, 2.4GHz a/b/g.

I would like to replace it with the Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 2x2 Networok/Bluetooth adapter (7260.HMWWB.R), but just want to ensure compatibility before I start down that path - has anyone had any success and/or advice I should consider on this? If not compatible, does someone know a compatible wireless AC dual-band card that will work?

Thanks!

[banhien · Accepted solution]

Hi,

Your machine was built long time before mid 2014 therefore the chance to upgrade the wifi card is from slim to none. There is a list on page 7 of the following document:

             http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c03591253.pdf

Option: USB wireless AC card is the way to go.

Regards.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

Normally an Intel wlan card will not work in a notebook with amd hardware.

The other issue is that HP used BIOS whitelists which locked out any wlan cards not listed in the service manual from working.

However, I read some posts on this forum from a few folks with dv6 and dv7-7xxx models that were able to install wlan cards not listed in the manual.

I can't say if that can be done on your specific model or not, but...

If you want to roll the dice, here are my recommendations for a dual band wireless N and AC card.

N:

Broadcom BCM943228HMB 802.11abgn 2×2 Wi-Fi Adapter, Broadcom Bluetooth 4.0 Adapter   HP Part # 730668-001

AC:

Broadcom BCM4352 802.11ac 2x2 Wi-Fi + Bluetooth 4.0 combo

HP Part # 724935-001

See if you can query by the part numbers on eBay. 

You may be able to get one of the above cards fairly cheaply, thus limiting your losses if the BIOS rejects the card and you can't return it.

[ATLBrysco]

Hi Paul -

Thanks for the clarification - I didn't consider the AMD/Intel incompatibility as an issue since the card itself was (my assumption) independent from the chipset and didn't necessarily have an interaction.

I did find the Broadcom you suggested (interestingly, NewEgg has it) and you were correct - not a great deal of money for it, but with the risk of possibly not working I think the safest route may be the external/USB option.

Thanks for taking the time to research this, though! I appreciate it greatly!

[ATLBrysco]

Hi banhein -

THanks so much for pointing directly to the reference manual. I did download a copy of this many moons ago, but didn't even think about accessing it when looking at options for a solution.

As stated in my reply to Paul, external USB may be the only way to go. Although I try to keep it internal when possible, an external NIC for this issue isn't necessarily a bad thing; I have a universal USB port replicator that I use for almost all connections to the laptop so still have three out the for ports native to the unit itself available.

I appreciate all the help - thanks again!

RBS

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.