WiFi 6 BIOS update for Gigabyte H470 HD3 motherboard?

[DaveLabrecque]

The spec sheet for the H470 chipset (https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/201835/intel-h470-chipset.html) says it works with the AX201, but Gigabyte says they haven't received a WiFi 6 BIOS update for that board. So they recommend the AC9560.

Does anyone have any wisdom on how to approach this? Should I just try the module and see if it works? Is there a way to check if the latest BIOS for that board is actually WiFi 6 capable (unbeknownst to Gigabyte)?

[n_scott_pearson]

According to their web site, this is supposedly a standard M.2 Type E connector. They talk (without much detail) about an 'upgrade kit' that converts it to CNVi support. 

• If without this 'kit', this should be a standard M.2 Type E connector,. In this case, your route to WiFi 6 support would be via the AX200 card (the AX201 would not work).
• If this 'kit' does what the title suggests, adding it creates a special M.2 Type E connector with support for CNVIO. In this case, then the AC9560 is the card you need - but there will be no WiFi 6 support in this case. You could try using an AX200 card, but I am unsure this will work (it depends upon their implementation).
• If this 'kit' is even smarter, then adding it creates a special M.2 Type E connector with support for CNVIO2. In this case, the AX201 would be the card as it's the only one with CNVIO2 support. Again, you could try using an AX200 card, but I am unsure it will work (again, it depends upon their implementation).

Hope this helps,

...S

[GianlucaAmato]

I tried with an AX200 and it does NOT work.  It shows up neither in the Windows Device Manager, nor in the Linux list of PCI devices. Therefore, I think the M.2 E slot in the mainboard is only for CNVi devices. The problem is: will it support AX201 with the CNVi 2 standard, or AC9560 ?

[n_scott_pearson]

If it is specific to CNVi, then you are stuck with the Wireless-AC 9560; the AX201 cannot be used.

...S

[DaveLabrecque]

UPDATE: I came across this today:

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/WiFi-Card

Not sure how long they've been doing it, but it looks like Gigabyte is selling M.2 CNVi kits up to 1733 mbps to go with their mobos. No mention of WiFi 6, which is odd. Also, they say, "Intel platform: H370-series, B360-series, H310-series." Um... no support for my H470 board?

[n_scott_pearson]

The 30 Series chipsets support CNVIO - which doesn't support WiFi6 - whereas the 40 Series chipsets support CNVIO2 - which *only* supports WiFi6/6E.

...S

[DaveLabrecque]

Well, the agent for my first conversation with Gigabyte support seemed to doubt that the AX201 would work, saying that Intel has not released the BIOS update to include it, and from what I've read around the Interwebs CNVio2 is not backward compatible to CNVi. But when I told him/her that Intel says the AX201 will work with my mobo (this was through a product Q&A I got on somewhere), the agent essentially said I'm welcome to try it.

My second conversation ( a few weeks later) with Gigabyte support ended with the agent saying the AX201 "should" work with my board.

Sure would be nice if Gigabyte had a handle on what works with their boards. Dare I say even produce a compatibility list of wireless M.2 modules for each. Alas...