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Upgrading WiFi Adapter in Dell Inspiron 11 3147 (upgraded to Windows 10)

JTW1
Einsteiger
1.325Aufrufe
Is there any WiFi Adapter I can use to upgrade the WiFi? Original specs show “Intel(R) Pentium (R) CPU N3540 @ 2.16 GHz. The adapter in this computer actually isn’t Intel, but something Dell spec’d and had made by Qualcomm.
0 Kudos
1 Lösung
n_scott_pearson
Superuser
1.220Aufrufe

Ok, we do this the hard way...

Before anything else, a warning: If you have an older laptop, be warned that some manufacturers implement Inclusion/Exclusion lists in their BIOS that will prevent you from upgrading yourself. If this is the case, you can only purchase upgrades through the laptop manufacturer – and usually on an outrageous cost-plus basis.

There are several cards that you could use if Wireless-AC and WiFi 5 capabilities are considered good enough. Since the cards cost roughly the same, however, I recommend upgrading to the latest Wireless-AX and WiFi 6/6e capabilities. To upgrade to the latest Wireless-AX and WiFi 6 support, you need an AX200 module. For Wireless-AX and WiFi 6e (which supports the 6GHz band), you need an AX210 module.

An important question: Does your card look like this?

n_scott_pearson_0-1752854653518.png(7260NGW, an example of a Next-Generation-Wireless (NGW) card)

 

Or does it look like this?

n_scott_pearson_1-1752854671004.png(7260HMW, an example of the older PCIe-Half-Mini-Wireless (HMW) card)

 

If you have a an card that looks roughly like the 7260NGW, you can purchase a replacement card manufactured by Intel for roughly US$20. Here are examples:

If, on the other hand, you have a card that looks roughly like the 7260HMW, there is a small problem: Intel does not manufacture cards in this older HMW formfactor any longer. All is not lost, however; there are 3rd-party companies that take the Intel silicon and mount it onto older formfactor cards. These cards utilize the exact same drivers as the NGW cards from Intel, downloaded (yourself) from the Intel Download Center, so nothing sketchy here. These cards are slightly more expensive than the Intel NGW cards, however, roughly US$30 (due to smaller sales volumes, I think). Here are examples:

Note that these HMW cards are examples only; the ones that I actually purchased and tested are from a company named Fenvi. It seems that Fenvi doesn't market their card-level products on Amazon (I purchased mine through NewEgg, if that helps).

Hope this helps,

...S

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4 Antworten
n_scott_pearson
Superuser
1.303Aufrufe
In order to answer this question, we need to know more information regarding the socket that the wireless card is plugged into. Please respond with a photo of the current card.
...S
JTW1
Einsteiger
1.247Aufrufe

I replied with the following text and an attached photo. It didn't go through. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Please advise.

 

"Thank you for your response. I appreciate your help.

 
The adapter in the photo measures 15mm (vertically across the print). I got some information that an "Intel 7260.HMW Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 Network Adapter PCI Express Half Mini Card 802.11 b/a/g/n/ac" would work here, and I bought one (before I opened the computer and saw it). This measures 30mm. 
 

 

 

n_scott_pearson
Superuser
1.221Aufrufe

Ok, we do this the hard way...

Before anything else, a warning: If you have an older laptop, be warned that some manufacturers implement Inclusion/Exclusion lists in their BIOS that will prevent you from upgrading yourself. If this is the case, you can only purchase upgrades through the laptop manufacturer – and usually on an outrageous cost-plus basis.

There are several cards that you could use if Wireless-AC and WiFi 5 capabilities are considered good enough. Since the cards cost roughly the same, however, I recommend upgrading to the latest Wireless-AX and WiFi 6/6e capabilities. To upgrade to the latest Wireless-AX and WiFi 6 support, you need an AX200 module. For Wireless-AX and WiFi 6e (which supports the 6GHz band), you need an AX210 module.

An important question: Does your card look like this?

n_scott_pearson_0-1752854653518.png(7260NGW, an example of a Next-Generation-Wireless (NGW) card)

 

Or does it look like this?

n_scott_pearson_1-1752854671004.png(7260HMW, an example of the older PCIe-Half-Mini-Wireless (HMW) card)

 

If you have a an card that looks roughly like the 7260NGW, you can purchase a replacement card manufactured by Intel for roughly US$20. Here are examples:

If, on the other hand, you have a card that looks roughly like the 7260HMW, there is a small problem: Intel does not manufacture cards in this older HMW formfactor any longer. All is not lost, however; there are 3rd-party companies that take the Intel silicon and mount it onto older formfactor cards. These cards utilize the exact same drivers as the NGW cards from Intel, downloaded (yourself) from the Intel Download Center, so nothing sketchy here. These cards are slightly more expensive than the Intel NGW cards, however, roughly US$30 (due to smaller sales volumes, I think). Here are examples:

Note that these HMW cards are examples only; the ones that I actually purchased and tested are from a company named Fenvi. It seems that Fenvi doesn't market their card-level products on Amazon (I purchased mine through NewEgg, if that helps).

Hope this helps,

...S

JTW1
Einsteiger
790Aufrufe

Thank you so much. It was the AX200. If it wasn't for your input, I don't think I would ever have gotten this. Based on your response being the one that worked, I can see no other source I encountered had a clue on this.

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