My laptop's wifi adapter is faulty, are there any alternatives?

colore

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 18, 2010
Messages
393
Hello

My laptop's wifi adapter is faulty and I think it's because the driver is faulty but it is now obsolete and not updated.

Is there any other cheap alternative to connect to wifi with good speed and stable connection?

I was thinking of something small that I will plug and play.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!
 
Hello

My laptop's wifi adapter is faulty and I think it's because the driver is faulty but it is now obsolete and not updated.

Is there any other cheap alternative to connect to wifi with good speed and stable connection?

I was thinking of something small that I will plug and play.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Many cheap plug n play usb options. I prefer the mini\nano version without large antennas but you may need that extra antenna. Just look some up and see if they meet your needs since you didn't tell us anything other than you need a new adapter.
 
What laptop? Not all laptops will just take an off the shelf WiFi card. At least the used to be the case in the past, where the BIOS had a whitelist and would only take the cards it was programmed to take.
Also, depends on whether you're comfortable opening it up to replace the card. Some laptops it's almost as easy as RAM, others have to be torn apart completely.
Otherwise, USB WiFi card is your only option, really.
 
What laptop? Not all laptops will just take an off the shelf WiFi card. At least the used to be the case in the past, where the BIOS had a whitelist and would only take the cards it was programmed to take.
Also, depends on whether you're comfortable opening it up to replace the card. Some laptops it's almost as easy as RAM, others have to be torn apart completely.
Otherwise, USB WiFi card is your only option, really.
never heard of that in all the years ive been doing this. as long as its keyed right, a new one will work.
 
Hello

My laptop's wifi adapter is faulty and I think it's because the driver is faulty but it is now obsolete and not updated.

Is there any other cheap alternative to connect to wifi with good speed and stable connection?

I was thinking of something small that I will plug and play.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!
Before you go replace the card internally, how old is the laptop in question? And what is the specific brand and model name of that particular laptop?

If that laptop is more than about seven or eight years old, chances are that its WiFi card is of the mini-PCIe form factor instead of the m.2 NGFF form factor of newer laptops. The two connectors are completely incompatible with one another - even physically.

And even if the card is of the m.2 NGFF version, your laptop may predate Intel's adoption of the CNVi protocol, or your laptop may not be an Intel CPU-based laptop. If this is the case, then certain newer Intel WiFi cards will not work at all. The AC94xx, AC95xx and AX201 cards require CNVi support, which will not work on systems that lack support at platform level for them.
 
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never heard of that in all the years ive been doing this. as long as its keyed right, a new one will work.
Oh, lucky you. Big headache for certain HP laptops. I had to go through BIOS modding once just to get 5GHz card installed on a laptop. Just search for "hp wifi whitelist" and you'll discover a whole 'nother parallel universe. Here's just one good article on the matter:
https://joshuawise.com/wireless-whitelist
Again, I haven't tried anything like that recently (mostly since I started avoiding cheap laptops that had no 5GHz to begin with), hence why I asked what laptop OP was using.
Before you go replace the card internally, how old is the laptop in question? And what is the specific brand and model name of that particular laptop?

If that laptop is more than about seven or eight years old, chances are that its WiFi card is of the mini-PCIe form factor instead of the m.2 NGFF form factor of newer laptops. The two connectors are completely incompatible with one another - even physically.

And even if the card is of the m.2 NGFF version, your laptop may predate Intel's adoption of the CNVi protocol, or your laptop may not be an Intel CPU-based laptop. If this is the case, then certain newer Intel WiFi cards will not work at all. The AC94xx, AC95xx and AX201 cards require CNVi support, which will not work on systems that lack support at platform level for them.
Good to know. I got the impression OP is dealing with older hardware, so this may be very relevant.
 
Oh, lucky you. Big headache for certain HP laptops. I had to go through BIOS modding once just to get 5GHz card installed on a laptop. Just search for "hp wifi whitelist" and you'll discover a whole 'nother parallel universe. Here's just one good article on the matter:
https://joshuawise.com/wireless-whitelist
Again, I haven't tried anything like that recently (mostly since I started avoiding cheap laptops that had no 5GHz to begin with), hence why I asked what laptop OP was using.

Good to know. I got the impression OP is dealing with older hardware, so this may be very relevant.
that article is from 2005, for a couple specific devices, its not universal...
 
that article is from 2005, for a couple specific devices, its not universal...

I have seen this on many older laptops as well. Lenovo, Dell, and HP all had picky models.

Hard to say how relevant it is until OP posts their laptop model.
 
I have seen this on many older laptops as well. Lenovo, Dell, and HP all had picky models.

Hard to say how relevant it is until OP posts their laptop model.
possibly, but its not all.
that is true...
 
Hopefully a replacement could just be slotted in. I have run into many Lenovo laptops mostly T410s when we had those and M93 desktops that don't accept just any WiFi cards that fit in the slot. We'd usually have to check specification or repair manuals and they'd have a list of approved cards the system would accept. You put anything else in there and you'd get an error on POST. "Unauthorized PCI Card installed. Remove Immediately and re-start computer" Let's hope this isn't the case and this is a card that can be easily swapped out.
 
Yes with no make & model not much we can help you with for the internal card but the external USB ones are pretty universal provided you can get drivers for your OS.

I replaced the cheap RealTek WiFi card in my new Asus F512DA (AMD Ryzen 5 model) with an Intel AX200 (The AX210 will not work with AMD CPUs &Chipsets) I wanted faster speed but turns out my old router (Netgear R7500v2) was what was actually the speed issue!

Its an 802.11AC (AKA WiFi 5 I guess the numbers are the new thing and no more 802.11.letter?)

The AX200 is 802.11AX (WiFi 6)

Also is there an easy way to get those microscopic RF antenna connectors on?

I have also heard of the HP/IBM & Lenovo BIOS blocks but if I get a laptop it's usually a Dell as they don't guard and actually publish the tech & service manuals! I love being able to find those easily.
 
Also is there an easy way to get those microscopic RF antenna connectors on?

If the antenna wires don't have enough extra slack to allow you to attach the connectors before installing into the m2 slot, then your best bet is to use something like the edge of a credit card to press them, or some silicone-tipped tweezers.
 
Just use a WiFi dongle. Even the cheap Chinese models work well. That, and you always have a back up for other computers too. AND, if you are working in a coffee shop, for instance, and you
have two access points, can bridge both adapter with an internal adapter for increased speed too. The dongle is the way to go.
 
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