HP 15 ay076nia WLAN adapter upgrade

[Altaf_Baluch07]

Hello folks,

I have an HP 15 ay076nia and want to upgrade my Wlan adapter. My laptop currently has Realtek RTL8723BE 802.11 bgn (single antenna) installed but i am only getting 72mbits (out of 250mbits broadband) and i want to upgrade it with a new adapter possibly Wifi 5 or Wifi 6 (🙄) to get the most out of my internet connection. I have been through the manual of my HP product and the possible upgrades listed are:

• Broadcom BCM43142 802.11 b/g/n 1x1 Wi-Fi + BT4.0 Combo Adapter
• Realtek RTL8188EE-VJ 802.11b/g/n 1x1 Wi-Fi Adapter

Upgrading to any of these won't make much of a difference i assume since both of them aren't AC. There is an option to install a dualband adapter 'Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165 802.11 ac 1x1 WiFi + BT 4.2 Combo' but it requires two antennas and my laptop currently has one.

Therefore, i googled around a bit and came across some products such as  'Intel® Dualband-Wireless-AC 9260' (https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/99445/intel-wirelessac-9260/specifications.html) which is dual band but i have read it could give speeds upto 433Mbps (whereas my broadband connection is 250Mbps). Could you please tell me if this adapter will be compatible with my laptop since it's M.2 2230 and i think my current Realtek has also the same format (see pics pls) but i am not sure.

Also feel free to give suggestions if there are other Wifi 5/6 adapters which could be compatible with my laptop if this one does not. If possible, suggest me the product number too for the second antenna to purchase since there are many and i am confused which one to select.

Thanks in advance.

Cheers,

AB

[Altaf_Baluch07]

@Paul_Tikkanen

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

You're very welcome.

While it is not listed in the service manual as a supported Wi-Fi adapter, this dual band AC Wi-Fi adapter will work (both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth) with the single antenna your notebook has:

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.

Below are the links to the latest Wi-Fi and Bluetooth drivers for the RTL8821CE:

Wifi:

https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp145501-146000/sp145749.exe 

Bluetooth:

https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp143501-144000/sp143863.exe 

[Altaf_Baluch07]

I got my hands on a used genuine part which should arrive by Saturday. I will keep you posted. Thanks a ton, buddy. Wish you a pleasant day.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Anytime. 

Glad to have been of assistance. 

You have a nice day too!

[Altaf_Baluch07]

Hello Paul, i got the adapter today and it works like a charm. I am getting the desired speeds 😁 from my internet connection i.e. 250 mbit/s. Thanks very much again for your help. Adios ✌️ 

Before:

After:

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

Glad that your notebook's wifi card upgrade project was successful.