options for upgrading wifi adapter from Realtek RTL8821CE 802.11ac PCIe

[abbyseesghosts]

Hi there,

My household has a couple HP laptops plus the Dell one I use for work.  Running  the same speed tests  from the laptops, all in the same room as the router, yields varying speeds.  We are currently on a gig plan through our ISP, have a TP-Link AX2100 router, and it's putting out Wifi 5.  All laptops are connected to the 5 Ghz band.  One HP can get around 700 Mbps (as does my Android), and the Dell usually gets in the 200 range.  Both laptops, when exploring the Wifi Settings popup in Windows 10, show a speed of 866.7 Mbps.  Rarely notice any slowdown on either laptop (or Android) when browsing or streaming video.

The other HP, running Windows 11, is frequently very sluggish and was scoring in the 100 Mbps range or even <100.  After a browser update, it hit 300 Mbps a couple times, so that's an noticeable improvement.  However, that Wifi Settings popup shows a speed of 433.3 Mbps, and it looks like that's where the laptop's Wifi adapter maxes out.  It's a Realtek RTL8821ce 802.11ce PCIe. 

Based on this post, it sounds like upgrading the adapter to get a 866.7 max speed is possible, but either requires more tinkering to add a 2nd antenna or losing Bluetooth.  I'm at least somewhat comfortable with tinkering, as I've already upgraded the RAM to max that out at 32 GB.  It sounds like adding an antenna might be more complex, but I was hoping to at least get pointed in the right direction to see if it seems feasible... 

Alternatively, if we give up Bluetooth on that device, any tips on specific hardware to upgrade to?  Actually, that question stands for the other approach as well.  Thanks for any insight!

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

Based on your notebook's hardware specifications, you should be able to upgrade to this model Wi-Fi card:

Intel AX210 Wi-Fi 6E 2x2 AX + Bluetooth 5.2 M.2 2230 non-vPro   HP part # / SPS # M27269-005

The above card will need two Wi-Fi antenna wires in order to work properly (no Bluetooth reception without a second antenna wire, and possibly a weaker Wi-Fi signal).

Below is the link to the service manual.

Maintenance and Service Guide (hp.com)

Chapter 3 has the dual antenna kit part number and chapter 5 has the Wi-Fi card removal and replacement procedure and the antenna wire installation procedure.

You are looking at a considerable amount of work to properly install a second antenna wire, so if you don't use Bluetooth, you may want to see how the card works with the single antenna wire.

[abbyseesghosts]

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the response and details, that is super helpful.  While the directions for disassembly in order to install a new antenna module look pretty comprehensive and would be a fun project, that is indeed a lot of parts to remove and replace properly - certainly lots of room for error.  Not sure if I'll tackle that, but it's good to have the resources on hand.

As far as the new wifi card - noticed that the model you mentioned is not one of the 4 listed in the maintenance and service guide.  I suppose that's not a comprehensive list of all compatible cards?  The research I had done seemed to suggest that getting the right form factor was the main issue.  I haven't opened up the laptop yet to have a look, but Amazon searches for the existing card and the Intel AX210 look like they match.

That said, wanted to note that updating the browser and letting Windows Update do its thing has helped significantly...something to be said for simple solutions, ha.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

I agree with you.

Having to do all of that work for a little more speed is not worth the trouble to me.

Some folks are very comfortable with work like that, and some are not (like me).

There isn't a comprehensive list of Wi-Fi cards that would be supported in your notebook.

The cards listed in the manual are just what HP offered in the model series and based on the hardware your notebook has, the Intel AX210 was the best one I felt would have the best chance of working in your notebook.

I have upgraded many Wi-Fi cards in notebooks where you could easily access the card and they had two antenna wires already.

The were also the older half mini card form factor cards (HMC) with thicker antenna wires and connectors.

The M.2 cards like the one installed in your notebook have very thin and delicate antenna wires and connectors.

I once thought it would be very easy to upgrade a PCIe x1 desktop Wi-Fi adapter that had a M.2 Wi-Fi card mounted in a M.2 slot.  It had two antenna wires on the adapter.

I broke both the terminals off the card when I removed the wires from it, and it took me well over an hour to remove the broken terminals from inside the antenna connectors, using tweezers and a straight pin.

So, I vowed never to try and upgrade a M.2 Wi-Fi adapter again.

I have read other posts where folks also broke the wires and/or the terminals off the Wi-Fi card.

Then I have read other posts where folks have tried several different model M.2 Wi-Fi cards in their notebooks, and I am amazed that they had no difficulty with the connectors.

I have two HP notebooks with the RTL8821CE card and while it is not the best Wi-Fi card out there, there is no way I will attempt to upgrade them.

FWIW, here are the latest Wi-Fi and Bluetooth drivers for the RTL8821CE:

Wi-Fi:

2024.10.228.9

https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp150501-151000/sp150994.exe 

Bluetooth:

1.10.1061.3014

https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp150501-151000/sp150596.exe