HP Pavilion 14-ab102la – Windows 11 not recognizing Wi-Fi (BCM943142YHN / Intel AX210)

[_el_Ender]

Hi HP Community,

I have an HP Pavilion 14-ab102la Energy Star and I’m having serious issues with the Wi-Fi card after installing Windows 11.

Device details

- Model: HP Pavilion 14-ab102la Energy Star

- Operating system: Windows 11

- BIOS version: F.91

- Original Wi-Fi card: Broadcom BCM943142YHN

Issue with the original card (BCM943142YHN)

After installing Windows 11, the system detects the device and Bluetooth works, but no Wi-Fi driver is installed.

The card is visible in the BIOS, but in Windows the Wi-Fi never gets activated and no networks are detected. I have tried several drivers I found on the Internet for this model, but none of them worked.

Also, when I search for this notebook model on HP’s official website, there is no dedicated driver/download section for it, so I’m not sure which is the correct Wi-Fi driver package.

Test with another card (Intel AX210)

As a test, I replaced the Broadcom card with an Intel AX210. In this case, the BIOS behaves as if there is no Wi-Fi card installed at all: it doesn’t detect it, and Windows shows no wireless network adapter.

What I’m looking for

- Could someone who owns this model (or a compatible one) tell me which Wi-Fi driver they use on Windows 10/11 for the BCM943142YHN?

- If anyone has the official HP Wi-Fi driver package for this laptop, could you please share the download link?

- Does anyone know if this model has some kind of BIOS whitelist that blocks using different Wi-Fi cards (like the Intel AX210)?

Any guidance or driver package that can help me restore Wi-Fi connectivity on this laptop would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much!

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

The AX210 must not be supported if it isn't being detected at all, so there is probably at least a partial BIOS whitelist that blocks it from working.

Why the original card doesn't work on W11, that I don't know, but there is no W11 driver support for the Broadcom card.

The last W10 driver HP released for that card is this one:

Broadcom Wireless LAN Driver (Windows 10)

7.35.351.0

sp78044.exe

There is one Wi-Fi card that is not listed in chapter 3 of the service manual as a supported card that works in the 15-ab0xxx model series (15.6" display model) and that is this one:

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

Maybe the above card will work on yours as well.

Otherwise if your notebook has two antenna wires you may want to try one of the other Intel cards listed in chapter 3 of the service manual and make sure they have those part numbers.

HP Pavilion 14 Notebook PC (Intel, model numbers 14-ab000 through 14-ab099) Maintenance and Service ...

The 3165 would be the newer of the two.