Single-to-Dual WLAN antennas upgrade

[pittavinop]

Hi Everybody!

Last year, the organization I work for got me a brand new laptop computer to replace the old one that died. They got me a HP 14-ck0047 with the most basic options, with the pretext that  I'm a technician and I would find it easy (and amusing) to install upgrades to achieve my required performance.

After upgrading RAM and storage, the only part I'm having trouble with to upgrade is my WLAN card situation.

Originally my computer came with the most basic WLAN card option, the "Realtek RTL8723DE 802.11 bgn 1x1 WiFi + Bluetooth 4.2 Combo Adapter" (HP spare part no. L21480-005), which I found rather dissapointing since it was 2020 (at the time) and most ISP's wireless routers offer 5,8GHz WiFi, which is a very useful feature especially during COVID lockdown times to get videocalls flowing smoothly.

The first upgrade I made in January 2021 was to replace the WLAN module for a "Realtek RTL8821CE 802.11 ac 1x1 WiFi + Bluetooth 4.2 Combo Adapter (MU-MIMO supported)" (HP spare part no. L17365-005) thinking that I would have a considerable improvement in WLAN performance, but this wasn't the case either.

My Google Meet videoconferences would stutter or freeze every now and then, whereas if I plugged the computer with an old CAT5e cable, Google Meet would work with no issues.

Working on some older laptops that also belong to the organization I work in, I found that they all had two antennas instead of a single antenna as my HP 14-ck0047, so that got me thinking how could I install a second antenna.

Browsing the internet, I found a couple of entries in this same forum regarding upgrading from single to dual WLAN antennas, which recommended to search for the exact part number for each laptop model, since they are different for each model.

I found in the "Maintenance and Service Guide" for my computer that the part number for the dual WLAN antennas is L23159-001.

First I tried to contact HP support in my country, but amazingly, HP has no longer official repair shops in my country.

They even suggested I took my computer to a local repair shop, which didn't inspire too much confidence.

Then I contacted a parts distributor (from where I got the Realtek RTL8821CE back in January), and they don't have it available.

Is there any equivalent part I could try ordering? Nobody in my country has that part, couldn't find it on eBay either, nor HP's site.

Besides, I don't know if a USB Wireless AC adapter will have the same reception than installing the dual antennas, or if it will work as bad as the single antenna I have now. On top of that, the computer offers only 3 USB ports...

What are your thoughts?
I thank you all for your help on this matter in advance.

Cheers!

Pablo