Replacement options for Realtek RTL8188EE 802.11bgn Wi-Fi Adapter with 1 antenna

[MajicMike]

I currently have a HP Pavilion 11-n041 x360

Currently it has a Realtek RTL8188EE 802.11bgn Wi-Fi Adapter with 1 antenna WLAN card which is only a single band 2.4ghz.

The Realtek WLAN card is the worst in the industry and constantly drops connections.

The internet is very slow. Anyone have suggestions for a dual band WLAN card that will work with this model?

Thanks.

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

Unfortunately, there aren't any dual band HMC wifi cards that I know of that will work correctly with only one antenna.

You could try upgrading to the Realtek 8723BE card with bluetooth.

Two advantages...this card has Bluetooth, and this is the only HMC card that I know of that was actually designed to work with only one antenna cable.

But it is still only a single band card and no faster than the 8188EE.

Realtek RTL8723BE 802.11bgn 1×1 + BT 4 LE Combo Adapter   HP part # 753077-001.

Notice the photos of the cards...only one terminal to connect the antenna cable to.

https://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=753077-001&_sop=15

The 3rd item on the list is a M.2 card and doesn't belong with the rest.

[MajicMike]

I was able to find a card that was a direct swap. Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205, Dual Band.

I took the laptop apart and noticed the Realtek RTL8188EE had two antenna pins, but the laptop itself only had one antenna which was plugged into connector one  on the card with connector 2 open.

I installed the Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 and connected the laptops Single antenna pin to connector 1 on the new card.

My laptop now has both 2.4ghz and 5ghz bands and works extremely well and the internet is way faster on the 5 ghz band.

****update:

Both bands were working fine, but then i noticed that my laptop turns off the wifi card. I then have to restart the laptop, it works for a short bit and the wifi card gets shut off again. Updating the driver doesn't work for some reason. So the Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 is definitely not the solution.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Yes, I think it has to do with your notebook having an Intel Pentium processor.

I didn't recommend any Intel dual band cards because of that shortcoming + none work completely right with just one antenna.

Now if you want to experiment with a cheap dual band card, try this one out...the Bluetooth won't work because of the lack of a second antenna, but the wifi should work and not be cut off.

Broadcom BCM943228HMB 802.11abgn 2×2 Wi-Fi Adapter, Broadcom Bluetooth 4.0 Adapter
HP part # 730668-001

https://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=730668-001&_sacat=0&_sop=15

[MajicMike]

what happens if i buy just "Broadcom BCM943228HMB" and it doesn't list the hp number? I noticed the ones on ebay with the hp number are considerably more expensive.

thanks

[Paul_Tikkanen]

I don't think it should matter.

I just throw out that part number because I know it works in several model HP notebooks.

Of course they all have two antenna cables.