Wireless adapter upgrade?

[tcorey3]

I am wondering what the best wireless adapter I can get for my laptop is? I have a Netgear Orbi 1000Mb home network and am only pulling about 200Mb into the laptop. What slot do I have in here, M.2, Key A, E  PCIe? Is it worth upgrading or should I look for a new laptop all together?  Thank you for any help.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

According to the parts list your notebook comes with an Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165 802.11 ac 1x1 WiFi and Bluetooth 4.2 combination WLAN adapter.

HP PartSurfer

While I cannot guarantee it will work, you could try the Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 ax 2×2 + Bluetooth 5.0 MU-MIMO M.2 2230 non-vPro 160 MHz PCI-e wifi adapter...HP part # L35282-005

You can find this card on eBay.  It is on back order from HP.

Below is the link to the service manual, where you can find the wifi card removal and replacement procedure.

HP Pavilion Notebook PC Maintenance and Service Guide

[tcorey3]

Thank you for the suggestion. I am a little wary because you're not sure if it will work, it's only a $17 gamble and if it saves me from buying a whole new laptop for now it is more than worth it!

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

Yes, it would be a gamble, but it is not out of the realm of possibility that wifi card will work.

It all depends on if your notebook has a BIOS whitelist or not, and HP does not release that info to the public.

Most HP notebooks such as yours that were made in 2014 and later do not have BIOS whitelists which allows you to pretty much install any model wifi card you want as long as your notebook has the correct antenna setup.

The Intel 3165 AC card requires two antenna wires to work properly as does the AX200 non-vPro, so you are all set there.

I can tell you that I have a newer model notebook with the AMD Ryzen processor, and my notebook came with that model Intel AX200 card.

If you decide to roll the dice, please post back and let us know how your wifi card upgrade project went.

[tcorey3]

Sorry for the slow response here but USPS deliveries have been suspect at best this holiday season! So, I finally installed the AX200 card and although it works it is not providing any faster download speeds than the original card. The most I am getting is ~200 Mbps on a 1000Mbps service. However, when looking at my Network Connections: Wi-Fi  Speed: 580-870 Mbps so perhaps it is doing what it should. I did not look here when the original card was installed so I, unfortunately, have nothing to compare to.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

I'm pretty surprised that you aren't getting a better download speed with that card when you have a 1 GB internet service.

I would have thought the download speed would be somewhat closer to the connection speed.

If you don't have an AX wifi router, the card is only going to connect at a max speed of 867 MBPS.

I have the older Intel 7265 AC adapter and am paying for 200 MBPS service, and I consistently get 230 MBPS with that card.

It connects at 867 MBPS as well.  That is the max.  Sometimes it dips lower but it still maintains the 230 MBPS download speeds.

The good news is the AX card works, so thanks for reporting back with the upgrade results.