Upgrade WiFi Card?

[DreamNofR1]

I have an HP Laptop that's about 3 years old, model 15-ay19cl, serial number [edit ]and wondered if there's an upgraded Wifi 6 card available for this laptop. If so, which one?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

What model wifi card do you have in there now?

If it is a Realtek or Broadcom single band card, then there is only one antenna cable present, and any Wifi 6 card such as the AX200 would require two.

If your notebook has the Realtek or BCM card, the only wifi card you can easily upgrade to would be this one...

The only place I know of where you can get one currently is on eBay, as the HP part store has had them on back order for eons now.

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

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

[DreamNofR1]

Right now I have what came with the laptop, obviously, which is the Intel model 3168NGW. I see two wires at the top labeled "Main 2" and "Aux 1" that each wire is plugged in to. Does that help?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Good.

You already have a dual band card.

I'm 99% sure the Intel 9260 AC, non-Vpro card would work...

https://www.amazon.com/Intel-Wireless-Ac-9260-2230-Gigabit/dp/B079QH5KW1

We have no data on anyone installing a Wifi 6 card in that model series, but I don't know of any reason why one like the AX 200 wouldn't work.

Just make sure you get a non-VPro model of any Intel wifi adapter you are interested in, and make sure it is not a CRF card like the AC 9560 is.

[DreamNofR1]

I appreciate the info, but, I'm seeing 802.11 ac in the description. Wouldn't I need a card that is capable of 802.11 ax for "WiFi 6?"

[Paul_Tikkanen]

I did give you a link to an AC card that would most likely work.

As I wrote...we have no data from anyone that has installed an AX card in that model series.

You could try this model and see if it works...

Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 802.11ax 2 × 2 + Bluetooth 5 (non-vPro)   HP part # L35282-002

HP doesn't have the part in stock.  It is listed at $41.80.

I don't see any listed on eBay, so you will have to see where you could find it on your own.

[DreamNofR1]

Thank you very much for the info. I placed an order for the HP one so I guess I'll just have to be patient and wait a long time since it's backordered. I'd rather go with something that will definitely work.

Just for curiosity more than anything, why wouldn't something like this work? I don't see anything about vPro or non vPro so I wasn't sure since it appears to be the same connection (E Key) that I have in my current laptop.

https://www.amazon.com/WiFi-AX200-PCs-802-11AX-Bluetooth-NGW/dp/B07TLBNSZQ

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

Since the card doesn't specifically mention that it is a non-VPro card, I would be leery against ordering it.

If you can get confirmation that it is a non-vPro card, or you can find one that clearly labels it as non-vPro, then it should work as well.

I would also like to indicate that nowhere did I post that the AX card would definitely work.

I have twice posted that we have no data on any AX card working in that model series.

I indicated that I was 99% sure the 9260 AC non-vPro card would work, and that I did not have any reason to suspect that the AX 200 wouldn't work.

But a sure thing...I can't say that.

All we can do on this forum is rely on reports from other forum members that install cards not listed in the service manual and can confirm that they will work.

We do know that the 15-ay### model series does not have a BIOS whitelist but still doesn't mean that any wifi card that fits in the M.2 slot is going to work.

As I indicated earlier, the Intel 9560 AC wifi card will definitely not work in your notebook, even though it will fit just fine.

The card is a CRF card which means that it uses both the processor and the card to work as a wifi adapter.

It is not a traditional wifi card in the sense that it is a complete package in one device.

So, when you get the AX card, please let us know if it works or not.

[DreamNofR1]

Understood, thank you again. I know this to be more of a trail and error situation and that I am taking a risk by replacing the card with whatever I choose, being that nothing has been confirmed for this model. So again, thanks, I'll try to find an AX 200 that is non-vPro and see what happens.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Anytime.

You may want to check with HP on the backorder status of that card, because if it is anything like the Realtek RTL8821CE card that I recommend on the 15-ay### models with the single antenna cable, that card has been on backorder for over two years now.

But you can find that card with the HP part number on eBay with no problem.