Upgrading Ralink RT3290

[davide_borsatto]

Hello everyone,

I just bought a HP ENVY dv6-7311el. It works well and everything, but the wireless performances are REALLY poor. I previously had a six year old Pavillon dv6000 and I had no issues of this kind (I keep the new PC on the same spot where I used to have the old one). The router works, and another PC in my home is connecting without a problem.

The bottleneck must be the Ralink network adapter. I googled a bit and I found that I'm not the only one having this kind of problem, so I'm pretty disappointed by the fact that with a 800€ PC I got a cheap adapter. Anyway, I think I have two options now: I either buy an external USB adapter or change the internal one. I'd much rather go with the latter, so I wouldn't waste a USB port (maybe two if the thing is too big and covers the port next to it) and most of all it would be a permanent fix.

My concerns now are: would my warranty be voided by upgrading the adapter to a better one? I surely wouldn't do it myself (I'm really bad at this kind of stuff, I once plugged a RAM backwards and fried everything, not kidding) but I want to be sure that by doing this I wouldn't screw up my warranty. I live in Europe, Italy to be precise.

Also, if anyone could suggest me a valid replacement, I would really appreciate it.

Thank you in advance

[Huffer · Accepted solution]

It does not void the warranty but upgrade options are very limited. HP has a BIOS "whitelist" which means if you plug in anything other than an "approved" card the system will not boot.

You might need this Service Manual:

Manual

You want one of these adapters:

Atheros 9485GN 802.11b/g/n 1×1 WiFi and 3012 Bluetooth 4.0 Combo Adapter 655795-001

Atheros WB225 802.11b/g/n 1×1 Bluetooth Combo Adapter 675794-001

Broadcom 4313GN 802.11b/g/n 1×1 WiFi and 20702 Bluetooth 4.0 Combo Adapter 657325-001

Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6230 WLAN module 670691-001

If you have Bluetooth, you obviously need to get one of the combo Bluetooth adapters.

This one comes up on eBay Italy

http://www.ebay.it/itm/HP-G6-wifi-card-655795-001-/150824102527?pt=UK_Computing_Other_Computing_Netw...

That one will work fine for you and is better than the Ralink. You will need a new driver for it. Are you running Windows 7 or 8? We can link you to the right drive once we know.

If this is "the Answer" please click "Accept as Solution" to help others find it.

[lasvegaswireman]

No, it won't affect your warranty, provided no damaged occurs during or from the installation and there are no "Warranty VOID" stickers on the computer. The following cards must be sourced from HP and should work;

HP part #            Description

655795-001     Atheros 9485GN 802.11b/g/n 1×1 WiFi and 3012 Bluetooth 4.0 Combo Adapter
675794-001     Atheros WB225 802.11b/g/n 1×1 Bluetooth Combo Adapter
657325-001     Broadcom 4313GN 802.11b/g/n 1×1 WiFi and 20702 Bluetooth 4.0 Combo Adapter
670691-001     Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6230 WLAN module
691415-001     Ralink RT5390R 802.11b/g/n 1×1 WiFi Adapter
690020-001     Ralink RT3290LE 802.11b/g/n 1×1 WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 Combo Adapter
690019-001     Atheros AR9565 802.11b/g/n 1×1 WiFi + Bluetooth 4.0 Combo Adapter for use
only on computer models equipped with an Intel processor

Please note that your computer has Bluetooth and you must replace the wireless card with one that also supports Bluetooth. Use of retail or other cards are not supported and may not work.

If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

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[davide_borsatto]

Thank you all, you both have been super helpful and quick to reply.
I'm running Windows 8, I haven't upgraded yet to 8.1 as it would probably take too much time to download...

[Huffer]

Windows 8 WLAN:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareDownloadIndex?softwareitem=ob-111900-1&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en...

Windows 8 Bluetooth:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareDownloadIndex?softwareitem=ob-122000-1&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en...

[davide_borsatto]

I ended up ordering the Atheros WB225 802.11b/g/n 1×1 Bluetooth Combo Adapter 675794-001, as I found it new on ebay and sold by a Italian seller 🙂 May I ask where I can download the drivers for this adapter? Thank you!

[Huffer]

The post above is exactly that...links to Windows 8 drivers for wireless and Bluetooth. It should be the same Atheros driver for the card I linked and the one you bought.

[davide_borsatto]

The adapter arrived, and I was even able to install it myself. Now everything works like it should (knock on wood), and I didn't even need to install the drivers as it worked right away.

I thank you all for your help, it's nice to see someone just being nice and helpful for a change 🙂

[RebTech60]

Does this adapter support 5GHz or just 2.4GHz?

[JorgeCepeda]

Hello Huffer (or anyone that can help me). I am having the same problem that others have reported with the wifi card Ralink RT3290. I recently bought a Sleekbook 15 (15-b105la), and I am not sure if the same "whitelist" applies to my notebook (I really want to upgrade the wireless card). 

I have been googling for the service manual of my notebook, but I can''t find any. I would really appreciate if anybody could tell me where to look for the options I have as replacements for the Ralink RT3290 (by the way, what a terrible card).

To anyone that might help, thanks in advance!