Replace wifi card in 15-ab157nr

[erspimp03]

Hi,

I purchased a Pavilion 15-ab157nr some time ago and have experienced several problems with the internet connection. I believe that they come from the adapter card, a Realtek RTL8723BE. I would like to upgrade to a better card, but I cannot find any information on what might work as a replacement. Is there a known whitelist for this model? I found the "star wars special edition" service manual but I am not sure if this would be applicable to my model.

Thanks for any help you may be able to provide.

[Sparkles1 · Accepted solution]

Hi @erspimp03,

Welcome to the HP Forum! Thank you for becoming a HP Forum member. It is a dynamite location to get help from the community, get suggestions and find what has worked for others. For you have the best experience, here is a link for you to review, should you have any concerns: First Time Here? Learn How to Post and More

I understand that you purchased your notebook some time ago but have had difficulties with your wireless that you believe is related to the card and are considering replacing the wireless card. I did notice that you responded to a similar query by @ShoutH2O and were going to try the Intel, 2x2 AC 7265,which is  recommended replacement . How did that work out for you? Here is a link to the HP Pavilion Notebook (Intel) Star WarsTM Special Edition Notebook Maintenance and Service Guide. Please note chapter 3, page 26, item 11 WLAN modules for the recommended replacements.

To express appreciation for my post please click the “Thumbs Up Icon”.  If my post resolves the issue you are experiencing, please click "Accept as Solution" to help others find what worked for you!

[erspimp03]

I installed a 7265NGW today and unfortunately the laptop failed to detect it multiple times, and it would not even show up in device manager. I was not able to find a 7265 card with part number 784644-005 as specified in the manual, so I bought one that was identical but with a different part number. Not sure what would cause this type of incompatibility. Perhaps HP has its own version of the M.2 interface for different models. Or maybe I just got a bad chip! Not sure I have the time or patience to try again.

[Sparkles1]

HI @erspimp03,

Thank you for the update.  I am not sure why the card was not recognized. The connection is not specific to HP.  It is possible that the chip is bad. If you try it in another computer does it work? When I did a web search with the part number there were multiple results. Should you decide to try again, please let me know the results.

[erspimp03]

Turns out I just got a bad card, I had the seller send me another one which works great. My internet is not much faster on the 5ghz band but seems to be a lot more consistent (which was the problem that drove me to seek alternatives in the first place). Overall it was a worthwhile upgrade.

[Sparkles1]

Hi @erspimp03,

Thank you for the update.:) I am glad that you have overcome your difficulty.  As it was the card and  I did suggest trying it on another computer to determine if it was the card, would you please consider marking my post as "Accepted Solution" to help other members and visitors alike find this information, should they have the same issue.