5 ms·

Ugh. I hope there will be Wi-Fi modules available for current laptop upgrade..

by Giorgi 3y ago

bigbillheck 3y ago
Has that ever happened?
- saidinesh5 3y ago
  My (current) 5-6 year old Lenovo ideapad came with some garbage wifi card that used to get disconnected every 2-3 hours. I swapped it out with an Intel card for around $30 iirc and still happy with it.
- robotnikman 3y ago
  Yeah, lots of laptops have small wifi cards in them using a standard connector that are easily swappable (uses same connector as M.2 SSD's).
  - aitchnyu 3y ago
    I was thinking Framework USB C modules but this is a good surprise.
- londons_explore 3y ago
  most non-apple laptops have a slot you can put a wifi card...
  - megous 3y ago
    Some lock you to pre-selected card models via arbitrary BIOS whitelists. (Will not even boot until you remove the card again.) Beware.
  - dewey 3y ago
    Apple laptops used to have an extension slot like that too: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AirPort#AirPort_802.11b_card https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AirPort#AirPort_802.11b_card
- booi 3y ago
  used to be you could swap out mini pci-e wifi modules. Intel makes good ones as well as a number of other manufacturers. They sometimes have connectable antenna that snake around the case.
- zamadatix 3y ago
  Sure, Wi-Fi modules are about as commonly upgradeable as storage in laptops.
- vel0city 3y ago
  The last several laptops I've used have had swappable WiFi modules.
zamadatix 3y ago
You can grab an Intel BE200 module (EDIT: which may be platform dependent, see below) or similar for about 30 bucks. For latest generation client side Wi-Fi cards Intel has traditionally had the better quality options on the driver side, not to give an illusion the cards and driver are perfect though. The limitation is you can't have a fully integrated system, like a MacBook. If the storage is upgradeable there is a high chance the Wi-Fi is.
- megous 3y ago
  Is it a real wifi? Or is it the same old ax200 story with AP only in 2.4GHz mode? https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000030429/wireless.html https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000... I prefer real WiFi.
  - zamadatix 3y ago
    I believe it's another client only card. For the AP side I'd recommend a Qualcomm 4x4 but it's unlikely to fit in laptops.
    - megous 3y ago
      Realtek RTL8922A and RTL8952A based cards will support AP mode, I'm sure. The driver (rtw89) got upstreamed a while ago and support for the new chip got added this Linux kernel release cycle. Hopefully the new generation modules will be available soon, too... I use the previous generation RTL8852A in my homegrown wifi router, and it works nicely as AP with the same driver and hostapd. The modules are small, and fit to laptops. (the ones I buy are actually some stock for laptops, that gets re-sold as spare parts I think) Cheaper than the Qualcomm wifi chips, too.
      - zamadatix 3y ago
        Yeah plenty of client cards have AP mode firmware, I don't recommend it though unless you want a particularly low end AP (outside of the use case of a fully open firmware AP, in which case fully open firmware older cards are generally the only way).
dijit 3y ago
it's pretty rare I see wifi cards in thin-and-light laptops these days unfortunately. Laptops, largely, have become SoC's; at least for the most popular lines of business laptops (and I include Macbooks in that). Things like the Thinkpad X1 Carbon and Surface's (incl. surface book) etc;
MrFoof 3y ago
I'd give it a few months. Both laptops (sans Apple) and desktop PCs (even USFFs) tend to use the NGFF M2.2230 form factor cards, typically with two antenna connectors. Yes, even your super fancy high-end desktop PC motherboard ultimately has an NGFF M2.2230 WiFi and BlueTooth combo card plugged in somewhere. It might be ultimately buried under a large VRM or other heatsink, but it's there nonetheless. Granted, replacing these sometimes necessitates entirely removing the motherboard from the case. Note for desktop PCs that you'll likely hook up an actual antennas to the RP-SMA connectors on the rear IO panel. Especially so if you're looking to take advantage of 6GHz spectrum. These antennas are a far less popular include with motherboards (even high end ones) than years ago, but they're generally only about $15-20 to purchase if you need better signal and range.

Ugh. I hope there will be Wi-Fi modules available for current laptop upgrade..

by Giorgi 3y ago

Ugh. I hope there will be Wi-Fi modules available for current laptop upgrade..

bigbillheck 3y ago

Has that ever happened?

saidinesh5 3y ago
My (current) 5-6 year old Lenovo ideapad came with some garbage wifi card that used to get disconnected every 2-3 hours. I swapped it out with an Intel card for around $30 iirc and still happy with it.
robotnikman 3y ago
Yeah, lots of laptops have small wifi cards in them using a standard connector that are easily swappable (uses same connector as M.2 SSD's).
- aitchnyu 3y ago
  I was thinking Framework USB C modules but this is a good surprise.
londons_explore 3y ago
most non-apple laptops have a slot you can put a wifi card...
- megous 3y ago
  Some lock you to pre-selected card models via arbitrary BIOS whitelists. (Will not even boot until you remove the card again.) Beware.
- dewey 3y ago
  Apple laptops used to have an extension slot like that too: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AirPort#AirPort_802.11b_card https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AirPort#AirPort_802.11b_card
booi 3y ago
used to be you could swap out mini pci-e wifi modules. Intel makes good ones as well as a number of other manufacturers. They sometimes have connectable antenna that snake around the case.
zamadatix 3y ago
Sure, Wi-Fi modules are about as commonly upgradeable as storage in laptops.
vel0city 3y ago
The last several laptops I've used have had swappable WiFi modules.

zamadatix 3y ago

You can grab an Intel BE200 module (EDIT: which may be platform dependent, see below) or similar for about 30 bucks. For latest generation client side Wi-Fi cards Intel has traditionally had the better quality options on the driver side, not to give an illusion the cards and driver are perfect though. The limitation is you can't have a fully integrated system, like a MacBook. If the storage is upgradeable there is a high chance the Wi-Fi is.

megous 3y ago
Is it a real wifi? Or is it the same old ax200 story with AP only in 2.4GHz mode? https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000030429/wireless.html https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000... I prefer real WiFi.
- zamadatix 3y ago
  I believe it's another client only card. For the AP side I'd recommend a Qualcomm 4x4 but it's unlikely to fit in laptops.
  - megous 3y ago
    Realtek RTL8922A and RTL8952A based cards will support AP mode, I'm sure. The driver (rtw89) got upstreamed a while ago and support for the new chip got added this Linux kernel release cycle. Hopefully the new generation modules will be available soon, too... I use the previous generation RTL8852A in my homegrown wifi router, and it works nicely as AP with the same driver and hostapd. The modules are small, and fit to laptops. (the ones I buy are actually some stock for laptops, that gets re-sold as spare parts I think) Cheaper than the Qualcomm wifi chips, too.
    - zamadatix 3y ago
      Yeah plenty of client cards have AP mode firmware, I don't recommend it though unless you want a particularly low end AP (outside of the use case of a fully open firmware AP, in which case fully open firmware older cards are generally the only way).

dijit 3y ago

it's pretty rare I see wifi cards in thin-and-light laptops these days unfortunately. Laptops, largely, have become SoC's; at least for the most popular lines of business laptops (and I include Macbooks in that). Things like the Thinkpad X1 Carbon and Surface's (incl. surface book) etc;

MrFoof 3y ago

I'd give it a few months. Both laptops (sans Apple) and desktop PCs (even USFFs) tend to use the NGFF M2.2230 form factor cards, typically with two antenna connectors. Yes, even your super fancy high-end desktop PC motherboard ultimately has an NGFF M2.2230 WiFi and BlueTooth combo card plugged in somewhere. It might be ultimately buried under a large VRM or other heatsink, but it's there nonetheless. Granted, replacing these sometimes necessitates entirely removing the motherboard from the case. Note for desktop PCs that you'll likely hook up an actual antennas to the RP-SMA connectors on the rear IO panel. Especially so if you're looking to take advantage of 6GHz spectrum. These antennas are a far less popular include with motherboards (even high end ones) than years ago, but they're generally only about $15-20 to purchase if you need better signal and range.