Wi-Fi adapter upgrade on "whitelisted" laptop

[NomadWolf]

Hello, everyone! 

I am "lucky" owner of the last generation whitelisted HP laptops (2016). Recently I planned to upgrade my Wi-Fi card to make my system support WiFi6 standard. 

But after replacing my native Intel(R) Wireless-N 7265 with Intel AX210, I got stuck on the BIOS error - " Bluetooth Module ID (704)". After studying this problem, I realized that the whole problem is in the Whitelist embedded in the system, despite the fact that I installed the latest available BIOS firmware version of 2019.

I would like to clarify how the Whitelist system works, whether it allows at least a limited hardware upgrade, or whether it is attached to the only native adapter model on the laptop. I didn't find a list of valid devices for my laptop model in Internet.

I no longer hope that HP will remove the Whitelist from BIOS, I also have no desire trying to modify BIOS by myself. I hope you will help me at least with the question of acceptable harware replacements. Thank you! 

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

Unfortunately, HP does not release any info on what model notebooks have BIOS whitelists.

The only feedback we get is from folks like you that try different cards and report the results.

This is what we know over the years...

All HP notebooks made in 2011 or earlier have BIOS whitelists.

A few HP notebooks made in 2012 - 2013 do not have BIOS whitelists.

Most made in 2014 or later do not have BIOS whitelists with few exceptions (yours would be one of them, I suppose).

Did you buy the non-vPro model of the Intel AX 210? 

Intel vPro cards will not work in any HP consumer class notebook such as yours.

Perhaps you should set your sights lower and try the AX 200 card...This is the model that came in my HP notebook with an AMD processor...

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

I can't find any info regarding anyone that upgraded the wifi card in that model series, since the Intel 7265 AC card is usually good enough for most users.

Chapter 3 of your notebook's service manual indicates the 7265 was the best one available...

HP ENVY NotebookIntel Models 17-n100 17-n1993D camera Models 17-r100 17-r199 (worldwide)3D camera Mo...

[NomadWolf]

Hi, Paul, thank you for your answer. In general, I had the idea to try different adapter models, but it's quite expensive, and I won't be able to do it in the near future. Regarding Intel AX210, what is the exact way to distinguish vPro from non vPro version?

I will also note that my native adapter model is 7265N, not AC, it can already be considered very outdated...

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

Can you post the SPS number on the AX 210 card?

If we google it, that should let us know whether the card was vPro or not.

If you only have the 300 MP/S N card, you can upgrade to the AC card listed in the service manual.

Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265 802.11 ac 2x2 WiFi + Bluetooth 4.0 Combo Adapter (non vPRO)    793840-005

Make sure you get one with that part number though.

[NomadWolf]

Here is SPS number of my Intel AX card: M27269-005 0A

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

All I could find is this, and it doesn't indicate if it is vPro or not.

INTEL WI-FI AX210.NGWG.NV WiFi 6E 802.11ax WLAN M.2 - #YourWirelessShop - £25.43 | PicClick UK

And HP has a totally different model wifi card with that SPS #...see the next to the last item.

Illustrated parts catalog | HP® Customer Support

If I had to take a guess, I would say it is non-vPro because the Realtek wifi card would definitely be non-vPro.

[NomadWolf]

It is very strange that these non-vPro models exist at the level of rumors, besides, no seller has them left. There is not even a single picture on which it was possible to compare the two models. I had a very bad experience ordering goods from Europe and the USA. I'll try to order from China later. Could you please share how you can check the adapter model by the SPS number?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

The SPS number is normally the same as the part number.

Take for example, the AX 200 card I posted... L35282-005 part number.

We know is it non-vPro, because of the description of the card I posted.

Google the part number...and check that the SPS number is the same as the part number.

You can see on the label of the card, the SPS # matches.

l35282-005 | eBay

There will be no identification on the card itself that it vPro or non-vPro.