Is it possible to upgrade to a dual band wireless card

[Stilian]

Hello,

I'm trying to figure out if I can equip my 15-ak001nu laptop with a dual band wireless card. The current one seems to be RTL8723BE from Realtek, but sadly that one operates only on the 2.4GHz band.

I came across this post which goes along the lines of what I want to achieve however it seems to be based on another model:

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Wireless-and-Networking/HP-Pavilion-15-Notebook-PC-5ghz-dual-...

According to the expert opinion on that thread a replacement is possible and options for compatible wireless cards are given.Would these options also work for my laptop model?

It is also stated that if only one antenna is present inside the device prior to the upgrade, the Bluetooth functionality will be lost. To my understanding an antenna is simply a cable that attaches to the wireless card. What would prevent one from simply attaching another cable, if of course one could get their hands on the appropriate antenna?

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

Most likely, your notebook only has one wifi antenna cable connected to the Realtek RTL8723BE card in there now.

All Intel cards require two antenna cables in order for both the wifi and bluetooth to  work.

There is only one dual band AC card you can upgrade to when your notebook only has one wifi antenna, and you want both the wifi and bluetooth to work...

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 RTL8723BE 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 Gaming Notebook Maintenance and Service Guide

If you want to open up the notebook beforehand and see how many antenna wires are connected to the Realtek card, if it has two antenna cables, let me know and I will give you some suggested Intel dual band cards to install that would be better than the Intel 3165 AC.

[Stilian]

Hi Paul,

Thank you so much for the speedy reply and I apologize for my late response. I'm accepting your answer as a solution because it is quite concise and essentially solving my problem. However I will open up my laptop asap to see how many antenna cables are connected to my card currently and come back to you here if it has more than one.

Thank you once more and stay safe!

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

You stay safe and well too!