NUC upgrade WiFi card and keep vPro compatibility

[GenuineJakob]

Hi, is it possible to upgrade the WiFi card of an Intel NUC and keep the vPro functionality?

I bought multiple AX210 vPro cards and tried with two different NUCs:

NUC7i7DNKE 8265NGW --> AX210NGW

NUC11TNKv5 AX201NGW --> AX210NGW

After installing the new cards, the Wireless Interface disappears from the AMT network settings.

 

[n_scott_pearson]

Did you do a clean install of the Windows Wireless and Bluetooth drivers after replacing the modules? When you install the packages for another Wireless adapter, only the drivers required by this particular adapter will be installed. A clean install is necessary to ensure that the drivers (and firmware) specific to the AX210 module are installed.

Hope this helps,

...S

[GenuineJakob]

I never had the 8265NGW running in the first place, I bought the AX210NGW with the NUC and replaced the card before the first boot.

Yes, I installed Windows drivers for the AX210NGW.

[n_scott_pearson]

Ok, this is beyond me then. You'll have to wait for ICS to assign an AMT expert to look into it. My gut says that it's probably a good thing that both are acting the same.

...S

[GenuineJakob]

Any update from Intel? Is upgrading WiFi with AMT capability a thing?

[DeividA_Intel]

Hello GenuineJakob,  

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities. I am sorry to know that you are having issues with your Intel® NUC 11 Pro Kit NUC11TNKv5.  

In this case, the vPro feature should not be affected when you change the wireless card. However, you have to make sure that your wireless card is a vPro unit.

• intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/204836/intel-wifi-6e-ax210-gig/ordering.html

You can check with the place where you purchased the wireless card to confirm if it is vPro unit.

If you have any further questions just let me know.

Regards,  

Deivid A.  

Intel Customer Support Technician  

[GenuineJakob]

The card I purchased was advertised with vPro, model number is AX210.NGWG.
So Wireless Network should appear in the NUC11?

Unfortunately it does not.
Why isn’t this card supported in the NUC7i7DNKE?

[DeividA_Intel]

Hello GenuineJakob, 

Thanks for your response. In order to investigate this behavior I would like to confirm the following information:

1. To confirm, once you install the new adapter it does not appear in the Intel® Active Management Technology (Intel® AMT), is that correct?

2. Does the new adapter show in the BIOS or it does not appear in both BIOS and Intel® Active Management Technology (Intel® AMT)?

3. Just to confirm, does the Intel® Active Management Technology (Intel® AMT) shows a blank space for the wireless adapter or if it just does not show the vPro options for the adapter?

Best regards, 

Deivid A.  

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[GenuineJakob]

1. Yes
2. On both NUCs the adapter works perfectly fine in the operating system (Windows). Not sure where to find connected PCIe devices in the BIOS.
3. Yes there is a blank space below the wired connection. Wireless interface disappeared.

[DeividA_Intel]

Hello GenuineJakob, 

Thank you for the information provided 

I will proceed to check the issue internally and post back soon with more details. 

Best regards, 

Deivid A.  

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[Ronny_G_Intel]

Hi @GenuineJakob,

I understand that you upgraded the Wireless adapter in the following manner:

NUC7i7DNKE Original Adapter 8265NGW --> Upgraded to AX210NGW no proper CNVi interface support

NUC11TNKv5 Original Adapter AX201NGW --> Upgraded to AX210NGW no proper CNVi interface support

These cards you upgraded to, have not been validated with these platforms and they lack the proper CNVi interface implementation to be fully functional so they may not work and if they do work, some functions may be limited.

Connectivity Integration (CNVi) is a proprietary connectivity interface by Intel for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, the network adapter's functional blocks (MAC components, memory, processor, and associated logic/firmware) are moved inside the CPU and chipset (SOC). 

Therefore, CNVi requires proper chipset and Intel CPU support. 

Regards,

Ronny G

[DeividA_Intel]

Hello GenuineJakob,  

After checking your thread, I would like to know if you need further assistance. 

If so, please let me know. 

Regards,  

Deivid A.  

Intel Customer Support Technician  

[GenuineJakob]

Thanks for pointing out the missing CNVio2 compatibility, I completely missed that part.

So an AX211 or AX411 should work with Intel AMT in a NUC11 since those are vPro compatible and have CNVio2?

The vPro compatibility in the Intel ARK is kind of misleading if you need CNVi for it to work.

EDIT:

NUC7i7DNKE Original Adapter 8265NGW PCIe + USB --> Upgraded to AX210NGW PCIe + USB

NUC11TNKv5 Original Adapter AX201NGW CNVio2 --> Upgraded to AX210NGW PCIe + USB

So the NUC7 should be fine since it came with a non CNVi card and I upgraded to a non CNVi card.

[DeividA_Intel]

Hello GenuineJakob, 

Thanks for your response. I will check your inquiry internally so I am sure that I am providing you with accurate information.

I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Regards,  

Deivid A.  

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[Ronny_G_Intel]

Hi GenuineJakob,

Unfortunately, we dont have any sort of guidelines or recommendations for WiFi module replacement or upgrade, if the WiFi module gets upgraded the whole system would need to be re-submitted for EMC/Radio certification.

In addition to that, replacing/upgrading the wireless adapter/software may cause connection issues or software error messages.

Finally, the NUC11TNKv5 is not compatible with AX210NGW, system interface type: Wi-Fi(PCIe), BT(USB), not CNVIo2, But AX201NGW (TN Original Adapter) is M.2: CNVIo2

Regards,

Ronny G

[GenuineJakob]

Hi Ronny_G_Intel,

"So an AX211 or AX411 should work with Intel AMT in a NUC11 since those are vPro compatible and have CNVio2?"

Your answer isn't helpful, please answer with "yes AMT should work" "no AMT will not work" or "we can' tell if AMT will work".

So the answer to my original question "Hi, is it possible to upgrade the WiFi card of an Intel NUC and keep the vPro functionality?" is no?

Kind regards,

Jakob

[Ronny_G_Intel · Accepted solution]

Hi Jakob,

The short answer is that we don't recommend upgrading the WiFi adapters with adapters that have not been validated for a given NUC.

If the adapter is not on the validation list https://compatibleproducts.intel.com/?Lang=en-US it may not work, also, testing and validation (including WiFi certification) would be customers' responsibility.

Regards,

Ronny G

[DeividA_Intel]

Hello GenuineJakob, 

After checking your thread, I would like to know if you need further assistance. 

If so, please let me know. 

Regards,  

Deivid A.  

Intel Customer Support Technician  

[DeividA_Intel]

Hello GenuineJakob, 

I was checking your thread and see that we have not heard back from you.  

I’m going to close your post, but if you need further assistance, please do not hesitate to create a new thread. 

Regards,  

Deivid A.  

Intel Customer Support Technician