wi-fi issues

[RV-Steve]

This notebook came with a Realtek RTL8188EE wireless card that recently has become unstable.  A reboot or network reset brings it back to life, but only temporarily. I have updated the drivers both from Realtek and HP without any improvement. I would like to upgrade to a better card, preferably an Intel ac/b/g/n 2x2 card if possible, or learn what my alternatives are. I am aware that the Atheros AR9485 is a compatible b/g/n single antenna replacement. My computer has one antenna but I can purchase an HP 763691-00 as a second antenna per my service manual.  I assume (please correct me if I am wrong) that the second antenna would install over the current antenna.  I have read online that the bios includes a white list that limits the specific hardware that can be installed in my laptop and that more current versions of the bios eliminated the white list, but I  have no way to confirm this. I updated my bios to version F.57 revision A a few days ago.  As best as I can tell this is the latest bios version.   I replaced my hard drive with a Crucial SSD a month ago so I am comfortable with installing the new card and antenna.  I have looked at USB 3 external wi-fi adaptors with two antennas (rather than a USB dongle), but reviews indicate they tend to drop the signals and require a reboot to get working again, which is the same problem I currently have. A reliable ac/b/g/n external adaptor would be a possible solution. If you have recommendations for a compatible ac card and/or an external adaptor I would appreciate receiving them.   I live in an RV and travel, so signal range to a campground wi-fi antenna  is very important.

Thanks very much for your help.

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

Looking at your model's specs, and your willingness to add a second antenna, you can upgrade to this model wifi card.

Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 802.11 ac 2x2 WiFi + BT 4.0 HP Part #710661-001

The card is readily available on Amazon or eBay.

Do your search by the HP part number, not the model of the wifi card.

Adding the second antenna will take an extensive amount of work.  To properly route it, you will need to completely disassemble the notebook including the display panel.

I believe, but I can't guarantee it, that the 7260 card's wifi will work if you connect the single antenna cable to the card's main or #1 antenna terminal, but you will not have Bluetooth, if that matters to you.

Your notebook doesn't have Bluetooth now anyway.

[RV-Steve]

Hi Paul,

I apologize for not being more technically astute and I appreciate your help.  I have spent the better part of today on this.

I purchased a Realtek USB 802.11 ac adaptor and, while it improved connectivity, it didn't resolve the problems.  Interesting, when I either disable or uninstall the OEM Realtek RTL8188EE card it comes back when I reboot and it opens separate  Wi-Fi  and Wi-Fi 2 windows.  It appears to me that I need to replace the card.

In looking through the drivers for my model I found several drivers for different brand boards.  I looked at the details for each and found the following. All are Windows 10 64 but compatible.

Atheros:  AR3011, AR3012, AR9285, AR9462, AR9485, AR9565, QCA9565, and AR9830

Broadcom:  BCM43142

Realtek:  PCIe family controller (is this just a driver instead of a board?, RTL8188EE (my current board and HP part #709848-005), and RTL82723BE

In searching through the forum I found the RTL8821CE and Intel 7260.

So I have three questions:

1.  Are you familiar with any of the boards listed and are there any that you recommend?
2.  How do I correlate the model number with an HP part number.  Try as I might I could not find a way to do this.
3.  Are there any forum links for me to refer.  My search only came up with two.

Thanks again for your help.  I'm really grateful,

Steve

Steve

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome, Steve.

I suggest you press the F12 key to disable the onboard wifi.  It shouldn't reappear when you restart or turn on the PC unless you press the F12 key again.

The Realtek PCIe family controller is the ethernet adapter for use as a wired connection.

The RTL8821CE won't work in your model because it is a different form factor M.2, vice HMC like the Intel 7260 is.

Below is the link to the latest W10 wifi driver that HP has for the RTL8188 wifi adapter.

2024.0.8.107/2024.0.4.108 Jun 5, 2019

This package contains the DCHU driver installation package for the Realtek RTL8188EE, RTL8723BE, RTL8723DE, RTL8821CE, and RTL8822BE wireless LAN Controller in the supported notebook and desktop models running a supported Windows 10 or Windows 10 Cloud operating system.

https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp96501-97000/sp96885.exe