In the last article I wrote about replacing the Wi-Fi module in a laptop. I will give a link to detailed instructions below. And today I would like to answer one popular question - is it possible to replace the old Wi-Fi module in a laptop with a new one with support for the 5 GHz band and the new 802.11ac standard. A popular and topical question from owners of old and not so laptops.
The need to replace the wireless module with a more modern one most often arises after purchasing a dual-band Wi-Fi router. What is it, I wrote here. When we find that our laptop simply cannot see the 5 GHz Wi-Fi network. At a time when new mobile devices discover this network and connect to it. What's more, the internet connection speed on these devices is much faster than on a laptop. This is understandable, because they most likely work according to the 802.11ac standard, which is supported only at 5 GHz. And the laptop connects at 2.4 GHz and at best works according to the 802.11n standard. Which is already considered obsolete.
Now I looked in the online store, not even all new laptop models are equipped with Wi-Fi modules with support for 802.11ac and 5 GHz. These are mainly budget models. I'm not talking about laptops that are several years old. Yes, they still work well and there is no point in changing them (for many), but the Wi-Fi adapter in them is already outdated, and does not allow connecting to wireless networks that operate at the new frequency.
If you are not satisfied with a 2.4 GHz connection (most often due to speed), then there are two options:
- Buy an external USB Wi-Fi adapter that supports 5 GHz and 802.11ac.
There are nano adapters (as pictured above) that are great for laptops. They protrude only 1-2 centimeters. - If the first option does not suit you, then there is another solution - replacing the Wi-Fi module that is inside the laptop.
We buy a new module that supports the 802.11ac standard and install it in a laptop. Instead of the old module.
There are nano adapters (as pictured above) that are great for laptops. They protrude only 1-2 centimeters.
We buy a new module that supports the 802.11ac standard and install it in a laptop. Instead of the old module.With the first option, everything is clear - we bought an adapter, plugged it into the USB port, installed drivers (if necessary), disabled the built-in Wi-Fi adapter in the device manager and you're done.
But with the replacement of the built-in module, not everything is so simple. But you don't need to connect any additional devices. Nothing sticks out or occupies the USB port. As with an external adapter.
The nuances of choosing and installing Wi-Fi 802.11ac (5 GHz) module in a laptop
For some reason, I used to think that you can't just take, throw out the old Wi-Fi module from the laptop, and install a new one with support for the 5 GHz band. Because you need to change antennas. But as it turned out, I was wrong. We only change the module itself and the laptop starts to see and connect to Wi-Fi networks at 5 GHz. Checked!
In general, there are no differences and pitfalls. At least in my case.
I installed the Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3160 module. Dual Band means dual band. It can connect to 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks. I have a laptop from 2012, and of course there was a regular 802.11n module. Of course, the laptop did not see 5 GHz wireless networks.
Installed a new wireless module:
And the laptop easily finds and connects to networks in the 5 GHz range. And it works on the 802.11ac protocol.
Here's a small upgrade to an outdated laptop. Now connecting to the Internet via Wi-Fi network works much faster, thanks to the support of the modern AC standard. But as we already know, the coverage in the 5 GHz range is slightly worse than in the 2.4 GHz range. This is not a problem with the module, antennas, or router. This is such a feature.
I cannot confidently answer that such a replacement can be done on all laptops, since there are a lot of them, different configurations, requirements, component bindings, etc. But from my own experience I was convinced that this is quite realistic.
If you have any questions or have something to add, write in the comments.
