9470m notebooks AC band wireless card

[Rameez-elite]

I wanted to upgrade my HP Elitebook Folio 9470m with an AC band wifi card. Which cards does HP support? I have read online that HP has whitelists for these model laptop.

[Huffer]

Yours "probably" does not have a whitelist. The Manual gives a January, 2014 date and that is just about the time HP abandoned the whitelist. 

These are the only 2 cards listed in the manual I would consider installing:

Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 802.11a/b/g/n (2x2)

Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235 802.11a/b/g/n (2x2) + BT Combo 4.0 HS

These are not ac cards but at least 5 ghz capable. If you can find any wireless card of the right form factor you can put it in there and boot up and check if the dreaded "unsupported" message comes up. If not, you have no whitelist and you can install any pci-e half-height 2 antennae wi-fi card on the market. 

[Rameez-elite]

The laptop came with the Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235 802.11a/b/g/n (2x2) + BT Combo 4.0 HS 

I was thinking about using the the new Intel 7269 AC card

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-7260-HMWG-R-Wireless-AC-Bluetooth-Mounting/dp/B00MY9S692/ref=cm_cr_pr_pr...

[PeerOne]

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@Rameez-elite wrote:

The laptop came with the Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235 802.11a/b/g/n (2x2) + BT Combo 4.0 HS 

I was thinking about using the the new Intel 7269 AC card

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-7260-HMWG-R-Wireless-AC-Bluetooth-Mounting/dp/B00MY9S692/ref=cm_cr_pr_pr...

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Unless it is listed at the HP supported AC wifi then this is something you will have to upgrade yourself to find out if it works or not. Also if you can't verify that is wifi for HP laptop then you shouldn't buy it otherwise it might not work.

[Huffer]

That is the one I would pick, too. HP has never provided a definitive list of laptops with and without the whitelist so there is no way for me to tell you 100% that you don't have it. That is why I suggested find a cheap throwaway wifi card and try it in the slot and see if you get the "unsupported" message. If not, you are good to go with the 7260AC

[Rameez-elite]

Tried it. It did not work with the latest BIOS update.

[Huffer]

So you got the "unsupported" message. Then you have a whitelist. Sorry. 

[rgz2 · Accepted solution]

Yes you can upgrade to 802.11ac.

It is now July 2, 2017, long after the original question was asked.

However here goes:

- I bought a used HP Elitebook Folio 9470m refurbished with a genuine Windows 10 license. It came with a 320GB HD and of course an Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235 wireless card.

- I updated the Bios to the latest as of today F.66 Rev A dated April 19,2017

- Since I was there at the software download page, downloaded and updated whatever drivers I could find.  Including the Ethernet gigabit driver, irrelevant to wifi, yes I know

- swapped in an Intel 7260.HMWG.R Revised WiFi Wireless-AC Dual Band with Bluetooth (from Amazon about US$26)

- connected via Ethernet cable

- used Device Manager, updated driver automatically

- re-booted (yes a few reboots here and there in between steps)

- took a look at Bios config, WLAN adapter now identified as Test WLAN instead of a valid ID. I don't know if that was picked up from the card, and I do not know if this is inded a genuine Intel card, but I believe it is

- funny enough the Bluetooth has what looks like a valid ID

- anyway, continue on to Windows 10, connect to the right SSID and it works, connects with AC protocol

- I did not turn on Bluetooth, so I can't tell you if it works or not, and I have not yet tried WiFi Direct, but it does see my other devices like Amazon Fire, Roku, etc. So I'm pretty sure Chromecast should work, and probably Miracast (Windows) too.

 BTW, I also swapped in a Samsung 850 EVO SSD, just followed instructions and used the Samsung Data Migration utility to copy the old drive data to the new. You'll need a SATA to USB cable or an external case to connect the SSD to your USB port. Once copied, then removed the HD, and screwed in the SSD. I used the same cheap plastic bracket from the HD, did not order the separate HP SSD bracket. It works fine.

[MCThompson]

Hello, thanks for the update on this post. I'm going to try the same with a new Intel 3160.HMWG card that I have laying around, if it does not work I will try with the 7260.HMWG that you mentioned. 

[MCThompson]

Just confirming this worked for me.

Update BIOS from Windows based flash utility

-F.66 Rev A dated April 19,2017

Reboot (single)

Shutdown 

Installed Intel 3160.HMWG - got this on Amazon last year.

Powered on, worked immediately, actually before I logged in the icon went from no device to ethernet, to Wi-Fi in a few seconds. When I logged in I was able to connect to band sensing SSID and it registered to 5GHZ(136) immediately. 

I checked and the driver it pulled is - Intel - Dual Band wireless AC 7265

I'll post again if it breaks.

Cheers.