[SOLVED] Do I need to replace the WI-FI antennas when upgrading the adapter on a laptop?

[Mellelmejor]

I bought a Lenovo Legion Y730 17" and the previous owner upgraded the Wi-Fi adapter for an Intel 9260. The stock adapter was an RealTek RTL8822BE

My Wi-Fi signal doesn't seem as good as it should be, specially considering the current adapter.

Here is the deal, the stock antenna is missing the connectors, and the new cables are stuck to the base of the laptop, underneath it, instead of being in the monitor as usual. The cables are stuck to metal. (see pictures)

I tried to teardown my laptop and put the antennas in the monitor, but I can't find any guides to completely teardown my laptop and I don't feel comfortable further tearing my laptop down as it has many cables and connections that I have no clue how to handle.

Is there any reason for changing the antenna cables themselves? Should I try to fix the stock connectors and attach them to the new adapter?
If anyone knows how to further teardown my laptop and recommends doing so, I might be able to do it as long as I have a guide.

In case I shouldn't use or fix the old connectors, maybe I could move the antenna somewhere else? I don't know if metal would be the best surface to stick it to.

Many thanks to all

 

[bill001g]

I don't think there is a easy solution for this. It is not trivial to put those tiny ends onto the cables. The solder connection must be perfect to properly pass the microwave type signals. I can't think how you are going to get something that small soldered and not have it move a tiny bit before the solder fully hardens.

Even if you where to disassemble the screen find antenna that would fit is going to be hard. The cases are many times designed around a particular antenna and you would have to find the exact part. Even a fraction of a inch too long or too wide and it will not fit.

You likely are going to have to get creative. Be nice if you could run cable to the edge of the case and use desktop antenna.

Other wise I suspect you best bet is to buy a USB device that has larger antenna and use that when the hack you have does not provide enough coverage.

 

[Mellelmejor]

I don't think there is a easy solution for this. It is not trivial to put those tiny ends onto the cables. The solder connection must be perfect to properly pass the microwave type signals. I can't think how you are going to get something that small soldered and not have it move a tiny bit before the solder fully hardens.

Even if you where to disassemble the screen find antenna that would fit is going to be hard. The cases are many times designed around a particular antenna and you would have to find the exact part. Even a fraction of a inch too long or too wide and it will not fit.

You likely are going to have to get creative. Be nice if you could run cable to the edge of the case and use desktop antenna.

Other wise I suspect you best bet is to buy a USB device that has larger antenna and use that when the hack you have does not provide enough coverage.

you're right. This laptop is specially hard to open and everything fits very tightly. I'll just leave it that way and then see if I find any other way to position the antennas or add something to increase its signal.

Thanks!