HP Pavilion 13-s056nw wifi adapter RTL8723BEissue and potential wifi adapter card upgrade

[franky12813]

hey Guys,

I have a problem with my HP Pavilion 13-s056nw wifi adapter RTL8723BE (792204-001).

Sound quality on my bluetooth speakers or headset while I am connected to wifi is very bad. Sound is breaking and uncrlear.

The issue disapperaing while I disconnect wifi and running music or films from hard drive. I was trying update drivers...no results.

I assume the issue is RTL8723BE adapter internal issue, so I am thinking to replace the adapter. Several questions appered.

1. Do I need to use exactly the same adapter or is this possible to install any other which fits phisically? What about the "whitelist" in the BIOS? I chacked ant there is F27 BIOS version.

2. If possible I woule like to upgrade to dual band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) and some newer BT version than 4.0. I opened the laptopd and I noticed just one antenna is connected (slot 1 in the corner), what is a bit strange comparing to Maintenance and Service Guide (http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c04825536.pdf), where I can see antenna with two plugs matching both slots on the wifi card. Is this normal or something missing? Is this possible to upgrade to 5GHz adapter in such a configuration?

3. What woule be the best choice for alternative wifi andapter in my case?

Thanks in advance

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

Unfortunately, there is only one model Wi-Fi card you can upgrade to where both the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth works with one antenna wire and that is this one:

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.

Below is the link to the service manual where you can find the Wi-Fi card removal and replacement procedure:

HP Pavilion x360 Convertible PC (model numbers: 13-s000 through 13-s099) Maintenance and Service Gui...

[franky12813]

Thanks Paul. 
I have ordered used 8821 and it connected to wifi, but couldn’t turn on BT. Later on in few minutes wifi card disappeared from hardware manager and is not visible for the OS. I put a warranty claim so I will get another one to try again. 
Worth to mention when I installed 8723 back it worked the same way as before. 
Will keep You and the Community posted.

Regards 

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

While I didn't think it was a factor, your notebook may have a BIOS whitelist which prevents the installation of any other model Wi-Fi adapter from working.

That usually only happens if the notebook was manufactured in 2013 and earlier and your notebook is newer than that.

So, if that happens again, you will not be able to upgrade the internal card, and you will have to use a dual band USB wifi adapter.