HP Pavilion 15 WLAN spare parts

[Lucadst]

Hi, i'm about to replace the Broadcom BCM43142 from my notebook since it is unstable in connecting to networks and also because now i have a 5GHz wifi at home, so i was thinking to switch to an Intel Dual Band AC-3160, because my model has only one antenna.

By looking at the user manual, i found this list of compatible spare parts:

Before i buy the card, i would like to be sure if there are differences on choosing the part number 710662-005 or the 784638-005, because it is the first time that i buy a spare part.

Thanks in advance

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

I don't see a difference in the design of the card.   They are both HMC form factors, so either should fit if your Broadcom card is also an HMC form factor, and not M.2.

However, the Intel 3160 needs two antenna cables connected to it in order to work properly.

If it does work with the one antenna, you will either have wireless, or you will have bluetooth. 

You won't have both, and it is possible that you may have neither.

Did you update the BCM wifi driver to the latest version?   If not, give that a try.

7.35.351.0 Rev.A   Oct 25, 2016

https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp78001-78500/sp78044.exe

[Lucadst]

Hi, thanks for your answer.

Well, i tried every version of the driver but i always had the same problem (very hard to connect to networks, and have to swicth to plane mode a couple of times until it successfully connects, but in any case the signal is lost easily, even in front of my router), but i will try again for a couple of days the one you linked.

Meanwhile, as far as i know, since intel AC 3160 is a 1x1 card, should work perfectly (wifi+bluetooth) with one antenna, while cards that need 2 antenna are marked as 2x2.

In any case, the fact that wireless or bluetooth (or either both) could not work, sounds to me a bit strange, since the AC 3160 is one of the recommended spare parts.

Am i wrong?

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

You're very welcome.

1 x 1,  2 x 2 does not mean the number of antennas.

Plenty of 1 x 1 cards have two antenna cables connected to them.

One of the problems your wifi card has is that is was really designed to work with two antennas, and that is why it works so terribly with only one.   Did you try placing the antenna on the other terminal?   Some folks have reported improvement by doing that.

1 x 1,  2 x 2 means the number of data streams up and down that the wifi card can handle

For example the Intel 3160 AC is a 1 x 1 card, and it has a maximum throughput of 433 MBPS.

The Intel 7260 AC is a 2 x 2 card, and it has double the throughput of 867 MBPS.

No dual band AC or N HMC form factor card only has one antenna connected to it.

The newest model Realtek AC 1 x 1, and  M.2 form factor wifi adapter, has been designed to work with only one antenna cable.

There are other 15-p2xx models that come standard with the 3160 AC wifi adapter, and those models have two antenna cables available to connect to the card. The model series shares the same service manual.

So yes, you can install the 3160 with only one antenna, but it won't work right.

I think you would be better off purchasing a USB dual band nano adapter such as this.

https://www.amazon.com/Edimax-Adapter-Supports-MU-MIMO-EW-7822ULC/dp/B01MY7PL10/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&q...

[Lucadst]

Ok, thanks a lot for your explanation.

Greetings

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Anytime.

Glad to have been of assistance.