Substitute for Realtek RTL8852AE Wifi 6 802-11ax PCI Adapter

[LenTRaley]

i have a month-old HP Envy Desktop that can't achieve wireless network connection speeds above 2-3Mbps. I am certain that the Realtek RTL8852AE adapter is the problem. I have tried every recommended Realtek substitute driver in the HP Community to no avail. Working with HP Support, they propose wiping the hard drive and re-installing the operating system. That solution is unacceptable because I have no faith that will actually solve the problem with the Realtek adapter and will require me to re-install scads of software to an otherwise excellent machine. I have worked around the issue by simply using a Cat5 patch cable from my source to the cable connection in the HP tower. So the Realtek PCIe GbE Family Controller works just fine. Since I have no faith in the Realtek Wifi Adapter and it is a relatively inexpensive component, I am looking for a recommendation for a replacement  Wifi 6 adapter of another brand that will actually work. Can anyone make a recommendation or offer another solution??

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

I recommend this model Wi-Fi adapter:

Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 ax 2×2 + Bluetooth 5.0 MU-MIMO M.2 2230 non-vPro    HP part # L35282-005

You should be able to find this model card on eBay.

Search by the HP part number, not the model of the Wi-Fi card.

l35282-005: Search Result | eBay

[LenTRaley]

Thanks for the recommendation Paul. The eBay search revealed virtually all open box or used items. I really don't feel comfortable buying those. I did find a couple that were said to be new and may go with one of those. However, I can't find sellers of new items that are representing compatibility with Windows 11. Is that a potential problem or are you confident that the drivers that will come installed in the chip will be compatible with Windows 11? I realize this is not a major investment, but am just trying to cover all the potential issues.

I am more than a little annoyed at the way HP is handling this issue. Incredible to have this issue over an adapter card that they probably purchase by the thousands/ millions for a couple of dollars. Really dumb customer PR.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

Yes, the card works fine in W11.

I have the same model/part number in my HP notebook.

Agree with you on HP's continuing to use the lousy Realtek wifi cards in any of their PC's and notebooks.

Nothing but trouble.

Now, there is a newer driver for the wifi card your PC has.

FWIW, you can try it and see if it makes any difference.

1.0.0.203

https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp140001-140500/sp140207.exe 

I think you will be fine with one of the cards on eBay.

Most of them come from folks that are upgrading them to something like the AX210 or from PC recyclers that strip non-working PC's for parts.

The price HP wants for a new one (which is out of stock) is crazy.

HP Parts Store - HP Computer Parts - HP Printer Parts - Compaq Parts

Before installing the new card, uninstall both the Realtek wifi and bluetooth adapters in the device manager, and also check the uninstall driver box.

Then shut down the PC and install the Intel card.

[LenTRaley]

Thanks for the additional information. For what is worth I have already tried the sp140207 driver and it produced no permanent change. I think I've tried 6 different drivers now. Some of them produce an improvement, but all of them cause the wi-fi speed to revert to 2-4Mbps after a reboot of the computer.

I have ordered the new Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 ax 2x2 card with assurances from the

vendor that it is compatible with Windows 11 and an acceptable replacement for the Realtek RTL8852AE. Having said that, I have achieved a work-around by connecting a CAT5 patch cable directly from my Orbi95 router to the network cable port on the back of the desktop. Since the network cable work-around solves the problem (maybe permanently, since the desktop will always live next to the router), I'm going to forgo actually installing the new wi-fi adapter card until I am totally satisfied that there are no other issues with this new desktop. I don't want to give HP any possible reason to void my warranty by making component changes to the desktop at this time.

The desktop has an Intel i7-12700 w/air cooler and 32GB of ram and I've already had 1 instance of a report of over-heating in an air conditioned environment despite an 800watt power supply.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

As long as the card you bought has that part number/SPS number or at a minimum is non-vPro, it should work fine.

I agree with you regarding delaying the installation if there could be other issues with that model series in addition to the poorly performing Realtek Wi-Fi adapter.

If you replace the Wi-Fi card, just be very careful when removing and reattaching those very thin and delicate wireless antenna wires.

[LenTRaley]

I followed your instructions exactly and the new card has SPS: L35282-005 printed on it. I found a video on YouTube

which covers the replacement process completely together with your handling admonitions. If anything meaningful comes up, I will report back.

Thanks again for your help 

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Good morning:

There is a newer version of the Realtek driver if you want to try it.  

1.0.0.207

 https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp140501-141000/sp140954.exe 

 

[LenTRaley]

Paul:

I am pleased to tell you that the new driver you found appears to be a keeper and a solution to the problem with

the RealTek RTL8852AE Wifi adapter. I loaded the driver and the improvement was immediate (after I disconnected the patch cable from the router to the desktop). It has now survived about six restarts and two complete shutdowns over the last 8 hours,

with consistent results after each. I'll let you know if anything changes, but I feel confident this is THE solution.

Thanks for your diligent support. Be safe and be well.