Should I update wireless driver or not?

[dkline]

I've got a 2012 HP Pavillion Dv6-6c43cl running Win 7 Home Premium with an Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1030 card.

Two or three times a day, the wireless connection stalls and drops, forcing me to disconnect and then re-connect to the wireless signal, after which it seems to work fine (for a while).

And even when it is running, the wireless speed on the Dv6 is only about half that of a 2016 model HP Pavillion 15T that I have sitting right next to it.

So it seems that I've either got a faulty wireless card or I need newer drivers, right?

Assuming that's true, the safest and easiest bet is probably to try updating the drivers first to see if that resolves the connection issues.

The problem is, HP Support Assistant says there are no updated drivers for my Dv6. Yet when I go to the HP software and driver site for my model Dv6, it offers what I think is an updated driver for my laptop.

"Intel Wireless Drivers, Intel PROSet, and Intel My WiFi for Microsoft Windows 7 ver. 15.1.0.18"  (Aug 31, 2016).

Is that, in fact, the updated driver for my Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1030 card?

Or is it something else?

And why is HP Support Assistant telling me that there are no updated drivers for my card?

Finally, if it's a better bet to forget the drivers and simply update the card instead, should I order a new Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1030 or get a newer faster card -- and if so, which one?

Your advice is much appreciated here.

Thanks!

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

You have to look at the driver version and date near the exe download file.  The August 2016 date is just the date the file was uploaded to the support page.  HP periodically revises the support pages.  That does not necessarily mean the drivers were updated.

Here is the latest driver which you can use directly from Intel...1st driver on the list for W7 32 bit (although didn't your PC come with W7 64 bit?).   18.12.0  Date: 8/10/2015 

The 64 bit driver is the 2nd one on the list.

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25203/Intel-PROSet-Wireless-Software-and-Drivers-for-Windo...

Your notebook has a BIOS whitelist which blocks unsupported wireless cards from being installed.

You can only install one of the cards listed in the service manual and they must have the HP Part number on them or they will not work.  Also some of the part numbers listed in the manual are incorrect, which makes it even harder to change the wireless cards out.

[dkline]

Thanks, Paul. You're right, of course -- I have the 64 bit version of Win 7 Home Premium.

But I'm unclear why you recommend downloading the driver update from the Intel site rather than the HP driver site.

Is it because Intel's drivers are newer (ver. 18.0.12, though I couldn't find the release date), whereas the HP driver ver. 15.1.0.18 was released on Apr 23, 2012?

Also, do you even think the driver update will solve the problem?

And if I have to get a new wireless card, how do I get the right card if some of the part numbers listed by HP are wrong?

Do you know if this part number is right for the Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1030: 593530-001

Thanks again for your help.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

I recommend you install the driver I posted from Intel and see if it resolves the problem.

There is a driver version and release date at the top of the driver description...

Version: 18.12.0  Date: 8/10/2015 -- 3 years newer than the one your PC currently has installed.

Unfortunately, I would have no idea if the update will resolve the problem, but many times they do.

People report bugs, and then the hardware manufacturers update the drivers to a point until they no longer support the product.

Sometimes the hardware manufacturers even provide release notes for the drivers which provide information regarding what the driver update does (fixes and/or enhancements).  I don't see any such release notes on the webpage I posted.

The part # you posted...when I enter it in the HP parts store link below, it reports an Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1000 802.11 b/g/n (1x2) WLAN module, not a 1030, so case in point.

https://parts.hp.com/hpparts/Search_Results.aspx?mscssid=A9FFF3295C15499B952C47801C0E2769&SearchIn=P...

Also, you can probably get any of the listed cards in the manual in used but tested and working condition for much less than $60.34 on eBay.  Query by the HP part number, not by the model of the card.

There is no way I would pay that much money for a wireless card.

[dkline]

Again, thanks Paul!

I'll install the Intel driver and see if things improve.

But if they don't, I'm still unclear how to get a new card from eBay (or for that matter, from Amzon).

If the part number is wrong, as you say -- HP offers a Centrino Wireless N 1000, not a 1030, and on Amazon that part number gives me this dv6 wireless card --  then how do I get the right wireless card?

Suggestions?

[dkline]

Paul,

I just tried to install the new driver from Intel, and I got that spinning circle of arrows but no confirmation of success at the end.

So I went to check device manager and it lists the driver as 15.11.0.9, which seerms to be the older HP version, but gives a driver date of 2015, not 2012, which is more like the date of the newer HP version.

Do you knpow how to tell if an updated driver was in fact installed?i

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

Unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to help you select a potential replacement wireless card.

I'm looking at chapter 3, pages 28-29 of the service manual linked to your model's support page and there are too many variations to choose from.  And I would bet that not all of them will work.

For example...there are 3 model Broadcom wireless cards listed.

The best one to get out of that bunch would be the  Broadcom 4313GN 802.11b/g/n 1×1 WiFi and 20702 Bluetooth 4.0

Combo Adapter -- HP Part # 657325-001

But that one may be too new for your model. 

So do you get that one, or do you get the older Broadcom 4313

802.11b/g/n 1×1 WiFi and 2070 Bluetooth 2.1+EDR Combo Adapter (Bluetooth 3.0+HS ready) -- HP Part # 600370-001

Would both of them work?  Would neither of them work?  I just have no idea.

Also the Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6230 WLAN module -- HP Part # 631956-001...that info is incorrect.

Folks ordering that card, get an entirely different model card.

Just hope the newer driver takes care of the issue you are experiencing.

Otherwise you may go through $100 before you get a wireless card that actually works.

The only other thing you can do, is to open up the PC, and get the part number off the wireless card that is in there now, so you are sure to get a replacement card that will work.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Yes, the updated driver was installed.  It is a new version and date.

The spinning icon thing is normal.  I think it is crazy the thing just goes round in circles and disappears without reporting anything.  I've installed Intel wireless drivers many times, and that's what it does.

The driver version may not match what was listed on the webpage because that driver file is good for multiple wireless adapters and it will automatically install the latest one for the specific Intel wireless card installed.

[dkline]

I appreciate your honesty about no guarantees re: the cards. I've been working with PCs for more than 35 years -- I took an old Osborn "portable" (28 pounds) to cover the war in Afghanistan in 1980 -- and believe me I get it that human fallibity is a big part of how computers work (or don't work).

I'll probably just try one of the newer wireless cards and then, if that fails, replicate the part number I have inside now.

Btw, I went back to the Intel site to redownload that driver and noticed a note saying a newer version of the driver existed -- version 19.1.0 released July 26, 2016.

So I downloaded and installed that, this time getting a "Success!" screen from Intel and then rebooting.

Unfortunately, device manager still shows the same 15.11.0.9 version of the driver.

So I don't really know what driver is installed, do you?

Par for the course.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

The driver that installed was 15.11.0.9.

That was the last driver Intel released for that model card.

As I wrote in my other post the new drivers listed are a one size fits all driver that works on various model Intel wireless cards.

The newer cards such as the Intel 7265 would actually get the driver version and date listed on the file download.

But any of the older wireless cards are only going to get some version of the driver inside that package that is the latest one Intel released for that model wireless card.

So, the one thing you know at this point, is that you have the latest driver installed that Intel released for the 1030N card.

Hopefully that will fix the connection issues.