HP Pavilion Gaming 15 ak112nl wifi card upgrade compatibility AX210NGW

[MassiN]

Hi

I've a laptop HP pavilion gaming 15 ak112nl with a wifi card RTL8723BE.

Actually it seems that this card drivers are causing troubles to the windows 10 system, as it appears a BSOD every time I try to connect to my WIFI network.

It has been working fine till few days ago. (I've been trying with every possible driver for this wifi card, hp's one included but the problem is still there)

However I noticed that this card is getting old, since it doesn't support wifi 5, wifi 6 and bluethooth 5.2. So I'd like to change this card and install a new one, the best possible one.

I've found on the web the AX210NGW and it seems to fit, but in the seller description often appears that the card doesn't support HP laptops.

Can you help me find the right wifi card for my pc?

Thank you

Massimiliano

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi, Massimiliano:

Do you know how many Wi-Fi antenna wires are connected to the Realtek Wi-Fi card your notebook has?

Normally that model card only has one antenna wire but, on some notebooks, it may have two.

If it only has one wire, you can upgrade to this model wifi card.

Realtek RTL8821CE 802.11 ac 1x1 Wi-Fi + Bluetooth 4.2 Combo Adapter (MU-MIMO supported) HP part # L17365-005.

The card has a maximum throughput of 433 MBPS on the 5.0 GHz Wi-Fi band with an AC router and an excellent signal.

You can find this model on eBay, or Ali Express. 

I see some Intel 3165 cards listed on the eBay listings, so don't buy those.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=L17365-005&_sacat=0&_sop=15

RTL8821CE - Buy RTL8821CE with free shipping on AliExpress

On the Ali Express listings, make sure the card has the HP Part # of 915620-001.

If it has two antenna wires, I recommend you try this model card:

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 also find the Intel AX200 on eBay. 

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

Below is the link to the service manual.

Maintenance and Service Guide HP ENVY x360 15 Convertible PCIMPORTANT! This document is intended for...

[MassiN]

It only has one wire.

Are you sure there is no way the AX200 HP part #L35282-005 could work? Even adding or changing the antenna wires on the notebook?

Moreover the manual seems to be for the ENVI x360 15 series, while my pc is a Pavilion Gaming. Is it the same or have you picked the wrong one accidentally?

Thank you

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

Here are your options if you want to install the Intel AX200:

1. Do nothing extra and simply connect the single wifi antenna to the Ax200's 'Main' antenna terminal.

You will have wifi but no Bluetooth because the Auxiliary (Aux) terminal antenna wire provides the Bluetooth reception.

2. Add a second M.2 Wi-Fi card antenna wire and connect it to the AX200's Aux terminal and you should have Bluetooth reception.

Doing the job right would require taking the entire notebook apart including the display panel to properly run the second Wi-Fi antenna.

The antenna kit you would need can be found in chapter 3 of the service manual.

Or you can 'jury rig' a generic M.2 Wi-Fi antenna wire to work, but make sure that no metal parts of the antenna wire/transceiver touch any metal parts on the motherboard.

You can probably find a M.2 Wi-Fi card generic antenna wire on Amazon.it.

[MassiN]

I'll try with the AX series and I'll let you know. It will take at least a month due to the shipping time.

Thanks again

Massimiliano

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Anytime, Massimiliano.

Glad to have been of assistance.

Looking forward to reading about the results of your notebook's Wi-Fi card upgrade project.

Paul

[MassiN · Accepted solution]

Today, I've installed the AX210NGW card.

Before the actual installation I've uninstalled and deleted the previous wifi e bluetooth device and drivers from the device manager and then installed the Intel AX210NGW wifi and bluetooth drivers.

The card came in a box with 2 different antennas and I first tried to use them, leaving the old one in place.

Both Wifi (2.4ghz and 5ghz) and Bluetooth worked, but the signal strenght was very low. I needed to put my pc at less than 5 meter from the router and all other nearby wifi were no more visible.

I think it could be due to the short distance between the antennas "terminal parts" (10 cm) or the 2 wires (joined with adesive tape) , interferences from the pc components (the antennas wire pass over the ram and next to all other pc componets), I connected the wrong antenna to the wrong connector or the antennas aren't good at all.

So I have tried to unconnect the new "main antenna" and connect the old one (wich is  behind the monitor and far enough from the other "aux antenna") to the "main connector" on the card, leaving the "aux connector" connected to the other new antenna.

It is working fine. I still have doubt about the singnal strength of the Bluetooth, but the wifi signal is good enough. 

I should disassemble the pc many times to try all the different combos, but I'm not so interested in doing it as long as the card works.

Have you any advice on how to test the signal strength and the actual version of the Bluetooth?

Every opinion on what could be done to improve the performances of the card is well accepted. 

Thanks

Massimiliano

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi, Massimiliano:

Glad you got the Wi-Fi portion of the card working well.

As I had mentioned in my other reply, you need to leave the original Wi-Fi antenna wire connected to the Wi-Fi card's Main antenna terminal for best Wi-Fi reception.

The Bluetooth:  I believe a maximum Bluetooth reception is somewhere around 30 feet (10 Meters).

You can pace your notebook that far away from a Bluetooth device you want to connect to and see if it connects from that distance.  If it does, then I'd be happy with that.

The Bluetooth version of the card, according to the specs is 5.3.

Intel® Wi-Fi 6E AX210