wi fi upgrade socket type?

[peterf66]

hi, trying to identify the wifi socket on an old laptop with the intention of upgrading to 6g if possible or at least 5g, is it a m.2?

will this card fit?

Intel WiFi 6E AX210NGW M.2 Wireless Card Adapter

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

The Wi-Fi card is of the M.2 form factor.

There is only one antenna wire connected to the Wi-Fi card which rules out upgrading to Wi-Fi 6, unless you were to install the second antenna wire that is missing.

If your notebook has a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi card, you can upgrade it to this Wi-Fi 5 model:

Realtek RTL8821CE 802.11 ac 1x1 Wi-Fi + Bluetooth 4.2 Combo Adapter (MU-MIMO supported) HP part # L17365-005.

[peterf66]

thanks for that, I have a couple of old HP laptops I could rob a ant out of, does it have to be a certain one due to the frequency?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

You have to make sure the antenna you use has the same connectors used for a M.2 Wi-Fi card.

If you have older notebooks with the Half Mini Card (HMC) format, those antenna connectors are too large and won't work.

A HMC card looks like this:

710661-001 Wireless Network For HP EliteBook 820 840 850 860 ZBOOK 14 15 17 USA | eBay

Also, I can't guarantee the AX210 will work in your notebook. 

I know that the Realtek card will.

Another option if you install a second antenna wire might be this card -- again no guarantee it will work.

Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 ax 2×2 + Bluetooth 5.0 MU-MIMO M.2 2230 non-vPro   HP part # L35282-005.

[peterf66]

thanks, I did wonder about the ax200 but its finding the drivers for Linux?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

According to Intel the AX200 has Linux driver support.

Linux* Support for Intel® Wireless Adapters

[peterf66]

thanks, what is the difference between the ax200 and 210? I found this on eBay

 I haven't taken the lid apart yet but I presume that those antennae will fit in the lid?

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

You're very welcome. 

The AX210 is wifi 6E, and the AX200 is wifi 6.

You can Google the difference between the wifi 6 and wifi 6e specs.

The antenna wires will have the right connectors, but whether or not they will fit in the bezel, that I do not know.

There is an antenna kit part number listed in chapter 3 of your notebook's service manual, but finding that kit may not be easy.