Replacing Realtek RTL8188EE in my HP Pavilion 17 w/ AMD A8

[CDRDrew]

I own a 2014 HP Pavilion 17 with the AMD A8, P/N: G6R30UA#ABA. I have read on this board that I can replace the aforementioned wifi adapter with one that is also Bluetooth capable. However, my question is: Is there a replacement that is also 5Ghz capable? An 802.11ac/bgn, as it were. (If I have mangled certain designators to convey my message, sorry.)

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

Since your notebook probably only has one Wi-Fi antenna wire connected to that model card, a dual band card won't work properly.

If you open up your notebook and let me know how many antennas wires are attached to the card...one or two, I can let you know what your options are.

Below is the link to the service manual.

c04402649.pdf (hp.com)

[CDRDrew]

I'm going to guess one wire, but I'll take a look.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

If there is only one wire (I'm 90% sure there is), then you can upgrade to this card with Bluetooth:

Realtek RT8723BE 802.11bgn 1x1 Wi-Fi + BT4.0 Combo Adapter for HP Pavilion 17 Notebook   HP part #753077-005

From the listings, buy the part number that only has the one antenna wire connection as long as it is that part number.

753077-005: Search Result | eBay

There are other cards listed there when I did a search such as the Broadcom one.

[CDRDrew]

[Paul_Tikkanen]

That is unfortunate.

I don't know how you would be able to remove it.

Normally on stuff that isn't electronic, I would recommend drilling out the screw, but on electrical components if any of those metal shavings contact something electrical on the motherboard, that would not be good.

If you think you can do that and keep the metal out of the inside of your notebook, you may want to give that a try.

[CDRDrew]

I’m not nearly that handy. I’ll figure something out and get back to you. Thanks for your help so far.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

[CDRDrew]

Thanks to my fellow captain, who used to be an avionics tech, we removed that screw. Does this picture help?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Glad you got the notebook open.

Buy the Realtek RT8723BE Wi-Fi/Bluetooth adapter I posted the other day.