I Want To Upgrade Wi-Fi Card

[Hyp3rDeath1011]

I recently haha been thinking of upgrading the Wi-Fi card, as I want to make my online games work without being laggy. I also want to have built-in Bluetooth, as the Bluetooth dongles always seem to temporarily cut out. And I will need to have a dual-band card, as it will have enough power to run online games without any lag. I want to know if my laptop can use any Wi-Fi card. If not, is there a way to make my computer able to use any card?

[Hyp3rDeath1011]

More specifically, I searched "Qualcomm Atheros QCA9565 802.11 bgn 1x1 Wi-Fi + Bluetooth 4.0 combo adapter" on Amazon and found "Atheros Qualcomm Ar9462 Ar5b22 Wb222 Half Mini Pci-e Bluetooth Bt Wireless WiFi Card" for $15 USD. Will this be compatible with my laptop?

[Huffer · Accepted solution]

You have no BIOS whitelist which means you can plug in any wifi card of the right form factor and the system will still boot. 

The form factor is half-height mini-pcie express

So this card will plug in and work:

https://www.amazon.com/Bluetooth-PCI-Express-Half-Size-Atheros-chipset/dp/B012JQVUX8/ref=asc_df_B012...

However, you have only a single wireless antenna available so most dual band cards will not be able to work very well as they need two antennae.There are single antenna dual band cards but the one I know about is an M.2 form factor and will not work in your laptop. 

Your Service Manual

 Post back with any other questions and please accept as solution if its the info you needed. 

[Hyp3rDeath1011]

Can I simply get another antenna to make it dual band?

[Huffer]

Yes you can get another antenna but "simply" has nothing to do with it. Oh, the antenna is cheap but adding an antenna is a pretty big task since it requires nearly complete disassembly and rebuilding of the laptop. 

[Hyp3rDeath1011]

Well, that shouldn't be too hard, as I've already took apart the laptop before...

[Huffer]

Then here is the Service Manual:

Manual

Take it apart and note how the single antenna is strung. Likely anchored at the top of the screen inside the screen housing and the antenna goes down the side of the screen and then around and down through the hinge and connects to the wifi card on the bottom of the laptop. Route the second antenna starting on the other side of the top of the screen around and bring them together at the hinge then they run together to the wifi card. Be sure and get the correct antenna for mini-pcie. Newer M.2 wifi cards use a smaller brass connector that clips onto the card. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/3pcs-Universal-Internal-U-FL-Antenna-for-Wireless-Wifi-Mini-PCIe-PCI-E-Lapt...

This is the best mini-pcie wireless card for an AMD laptop:

https://www.amazon.com/AzureWave-AW-CE123H-Bluetooth-Half-Size-PCI-Express/dp/B00HRFS1GQ/ref=sr_1_fk...

I know this is a bit pricey but well worth it in terms of performance.