I think the theory is that cards go out of spec and start connecting less reliably. I replaced a friend’s WiFi card the other day when they were about to throw

I think the theory is that cards go out of spec and start connecting less reliably. I replaced a friend’s WiFi card the other day when they were about to throw the laptop out because connectivity was poor (Windows, and it wasn’t a driver issue). Obviously you also need a reliable access-point (that’s a much more difficult topic to address!). And don’t forget some secondary means to connect to laptop to the internet or you can’t download the driver!