Upgrade Laptop WiFi Card?
- Thread starter BK_123
- Start date
Yes I did it with my Dell a while back. It's not difficult as long as you can get at the wifi card and that the wifi isn't part of the mother board. There are 2 types of card as far as I can see. There is a standard sized one which is longer than some and then there is what they call a mini wi fi card which is squarer and around 3 cms square. You need to find what the wi fi card physical configuration is in your laptop and what type it is and then buy the appropriate type. It should come with drivers, although most wifi cards are based on a Broadcom chip and drivers are available from them I upgraded my card from bog standard 56 Kbs that was running at stupid Kbs to a 300 Kbs card that actually runs at around 180 Kbs, much better. Lots of wifi mini cards on EBay.
A USB dongle is just as good, cheaper, and a lot less hassle. I use this one:
N600 Wireless Dual Band USB Adapter TL-WDN3200 - Welcome to TP-LINK
N600 Wireless Dual Band USB Adapter TL-WDN3200 - Welcome to TP-LINK
Not sure a dongle would be as good and a dongle takes up a USB port and on my cheapo Dell I only have 2 USB ports. Also with a dongle sticking out the side there is the possbility of breaking it if you lift the laptop or tilt it. I know I have done that. A dongle is a lot less hassle I agree although the wireless card on my Dell was just behind a cover on the bottom of my laptop so very very easy to get at. That is not the case on a lot of laptops.
I prefer the built-in to a USB dongle. I recently upgraded the wifi adapter in my laptop from a 2.4ghz only to a dual-band with 2.4 & 5ghz capabilities. I had previously been using a dual-band dongle but disliked having it sticking out the side of the laptop and didn't like dedicating a USB port to it.
The USB dongle was cheaper and worked fine so it's not a bad solution but I prefer the internal solution.
My Toshiba didn't have an access door for the wifi so I had to remove the entire bottom panel which involved removing abut 15 screws. Once I got the bottom removed the adapter was easy to access and change out. Only 1 screw holding it in place and 2 snap on antenna leads. It is an Intel adapter and I didn't have any problem finding or installing the driver for it.
The USB dongle was cheaper and worked fine so it's not a bad solution but I prefer the internal solution.
My Toshiba didn't have an access door for the wifi so I had to remove the entire bottom panel which involved removing abut 15 screws. Once I got the bottom removed the adapter was easy to access and change out. Only 1 screw holding it in place and 2 snap on antenna leads. It is an Intel adapter and I didn't have any problem finding or installing the driver for it.
Last edited:
cb600fshornet
Fully Optimized
- Messages
- 2,190
- Location
- England, Birmingham
A USB wifi dongle is more versatile, especially if you have multiple machines. I'll often use mine to plug into machines I've just reinstalled which don't have network drivers, so I can install the native ones!
But if you don't need the flexibility, an internal card is the better (albeit more expensive) choice.
But if you don't need the flexibility, an internal card is the better (albeit more expensive) choice.
I'd like to upgrade to the Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 Plus Bluetooth Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260HMW Wifi Bluetooth 4.0 Half Mini PCI-E Sale-Banggood.com. If I were to purchase and install is I'd be able to take advantage of my routers 5G & WiFi AC capability's. I am like Strollin and would rather have an internal adapter over USB dongle. Strollin which Intel adapter did you install?
I have the exact same one Seti..
I have the exact same one Seti..
Last edited:
The Intel AC 7260 is the one I installed. The dual-band 2.4/5ghz part works great but I am not able to get the Bluetooth working. I googled it quite a bit and found people that could and couldn't get the BT to work but no solution for getting it to work in my machine.