Upgrading WiFi card in laptop

[Stereodude]

Has anyone tried upgrading the WiFi adapter in a laptop?

Seems like it's just a matter of swapping out the old Intel HMC card for a different one. I've got a few laptops that are Wireless N (or older) that I'd like to change to AC. One HP and one Acer. It looks like I need to use an Intel 7260HMW AC card since all the newer Intel AC adapters are M.2 only. They seem to be ~$20 on eBay.

 

[CougTek]

I often did it when I was self-employed and had my own shop. That was more than 5 years ago though. I don't why it would be different nowadays. The laptops I open these days all have a removable wifi card inside and swapping it for a different model, provided you have the drivers, shouldn't be a problem.

I remember that Thinkpad laptops only accepted a few specific cards back then, but I didn't have any issue with the HP/Dell/Toshiba.

 

[Clocker]

I did it on my Lenovo R61 (was purchased in 2006). Also upgraded the CPU to a T9300 (or was it a T9500 IIRC) and replaced the heatsink/fan for fun too.

 

[Stereodude]

Hmm... So most of the eBay listings for the Intel adapter say not to use it with Lenovo or HP laptops. like this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/intel-dual-...th-4-0-PCIe-Half-Mini-Wifi-Card-/322372049570

DO Not USE for IBM / LENOVO / LENOVO THINKPAD and HP laptops. DO Not use for laptops of AMD CPU.

This HP Elitebook I have was sold with the Intel 7260HMW 802.11ac adapter as well as the 802.11n adapter mine came with. Did HP really restrict the BIOS to only work with versions of the adapter that have their specific firmware via a whitelist?

I found a few listings for an HP version, like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-Intel-72...2-11AC-Wlan-Card-SPS-784639-001-/262733804212

This is the exact part number HP lists for the laptop I have:

WLAN module: Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 802.11 ac 2x2 WiFi + BT 4.0 - 710661-001

Based on what I found 710661-001, 756753-001, & 784639-005 are the identical part.

There's some of them on eBay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-SPS-7106...-Intel-Dual-Band-Wireless-Card-/162336590082?
The This item is sold as-is with no warranty part and no returns doesn't give me a warm fuzzy though. They seller hasn't explicitly claimed it's broken or untested. They did list it as new, which has the wording of, "A brand-new, unused, unopened, undamaged item..." I'm not sure how the eBay / Paypal protections would work in this case.

There are a few other listings for that part number from other sellers, but they're all out of China.

This listing is perhaps my favorite: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Wirel...-BT4-0-PCIe-Half-Mini-Wifi-Card-/190897053836 It explicitly says it's not compatible with HP, but they list it with an HP SPS number of 710661-001, and the pictures show it's a 784639-005. Both of which mean it is HP compatible (at least some models)... :scratch:

 

[Stereodude]

There's some of them on eBay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-SPS-7106...-Intel-Dual-Band-Wireless-Card-/162336590082?
The This item is sold as-is with no warranty part and no returns doesn't give me a warm fuzzy though. They seller hasn't explicitly claimed it's broken or untested. They did list it as new, which has the wording of, "A brand-new, unused, unopened, undamaged item..." I'm not sure how the eBay / Paypal protections would work in this case.

So based on my research unless the seller listed the item's condition as "For parts / not working" the buyer is covered by the buyer eBay protections and can get their money back if it doesn't work. The This item is sold as-is with no warranty in the listing is basically irrelevant with a item listed as new. So, with that sorted out I went ahead and purchased it.

It's the exact SPS for my HP Elitebook, so it should be whitelisted in the BIOS and work just fine.

 

[Stereodude]

So the card from eBay worked fine in my HP, as I fully expected it to.

 

[Stereodude]

I got a 2nd card off eBay for my Acer. It works fine also. Plug and play.