WiFi Card Replacement

[Balttazarr]

I want to replace  the WiFi Card in HP 15-ab250nw.

My Question is: which WiFi card will be compatible with this laptop?

The point is to have something like WiFi 5 or WiFi 6 since 801.11n doesn't suit my needs. It is just too slow with me 1Gbit Down/Up connection.

Are there any WiFi whitelist for this specific laptop?

Of course I did some research and will any of the WiFi cards with Intel-3165 or Intel 3160 work?

 https://ark.intel.com/content/www/pl/pl/ark/products/89450/intel-dual-band-wireless-ac-3165.html

Thanks in advance.

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

I do not believe that your notebook has a BIOS whitelist.

Most HP notebooks made in 2014 or later do not, with a few exceptions.

I assume that your notebook has the Realtek 8723BE wifi adapter?

If so, I believe that there will only be one antenna wire connected to it.

The Intel cards would require two antenna wires for both the wifi and bluetooth to work.

There is one dual band AC card where both the wifi and bluetooth will work with one antenna wire, and that is this one...

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

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

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

The card will have the same 72 MBPS throughput as the original wifi card on the 2.4 GHz wifi band, but on the 5.0 GHz wifi band, it will have a max throughput of 433 MBPS when you have an AC router with an excellent wifi signal strength.

Below is the link to the service manual, where you can find the wifi card removal and replacement procedure.

HP Pavilion Notebook (Intel)Star WarsTM Special Edition Notebook Maintenance and Service Guide

If you want to open up the notebook before buying the above model wifi card, if there happen to be two wires attached to the Realtek card, then get this model Intel wifi card listed in the manual...

Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265 802.11 ac 2x2 WiFi + BT 4.0 Combo Adapter (non vPRO)   HP part # 784644-005

[Balttazarr]

Hi Paul_Tikkanen. 

Thank you for your fast response.

The WiFi card that you mentioned Realtek RTL8821CE 802.11 ac 1x1 WiFi + Bluetooth 4.2 Combo Adapter (MU-MIMO supported) HP part # L17365-005. works flawlessly. I had a problem with my antenna cable. The old card was glued to the board somehow and the cable inside of it is damaged. The wires which are really thin don't the touch the pin, and there is barely any wifi singal. I have to put the laptop very close to the router. Succesfully it works, but not the antenna as it should. 

Is there a replacement WiFi antenna cable (the whole set) that will fit the new pin ending on the card ? It need to have this smaller pin for the above part. Soldering this kind of thin cables is a real challange.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

I had the same problem with replacing an Intel 7265 wifi card with an Intel 9260.

I broke both of those tiny connectors off the card and they got stuck inside the antenna connector 'cups').

It took me over an hour of digging the fragments out of those connectors.

I used a jeweler's loupe, a sewing needle and some needle nose pliers to finally extract the pieces out of those wires.

Then they snapped on just fine and I had great reception.

You may want to try that too if you had the same issue.   Just dig the parts out of the wires.

If you can find the part in Poland, you need this part number for the antenna...

Antennas (includes wireless antenna cables and transceivers; includes Mylar screw covers)  HP part # 809008-001.

Chapter 3 page 29 of the service manual.

[Balttazarr]

Thank you for your help.

I managed to solder a new cable to the antenna.

It works 🙂

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Anytime.

Glad to have been of assistance.

It's good that you were able to repair the antenna wire.