Question Question about Wifi card Upgrade for Lenovo Yoga 530

[ajayHD]

I was recently given a Lenovo Yoga 530 (81H90000UK) , called a Flex 14 (or flex 6 14" sometimes) outside of europe I believe, for some general note taking and web browsing for when i'm at uni.

However, some of the specs of the machine are pretty weak with only 4gb of Ram and 128gb of storage but and a generic 1x1 Wifi adapter. The ram and ssd should be easy to replace and there shouldn't be any manufacture restrictions but the wifi card could cause some issues.

I want to upgrade to a 2x2 Intel 9260 or the newer Wifi 6 AX200 card but, i've read in some other threads and forums that Lenovo has a manufacture whitelist for the wifi cards. Now the wifi card in there now doesn't have a lot of information but i believe it is a realtek card.

I was wondering if anyone else has done an upgrade like this before and if it works or not?
Also, if anyone has done the ram and storage upgrade did that go smooth?

 

[justin.m.beauvais]

One thing to keep in mind is that there are limitations on some WiFi cards, ones not imposed by Lenovo. Beware of WiFi cards that require Intel CPUs to function. Now, I can't see a reason for Lenovo to restrict what you can and can't put into the system as far as WiFi cards, but this Intel CPU requirement is something to really look out for. What Lenovo might have is a list of cards that will and won't work with different systems, less of a whitelist and more of a compatibility listing.

 

[geofelt]

First, see how you do with the supplied wifi.
You may find it adequate for your needs.
You may find that a usb dongle would do the job.
But, such usb adapters do not have good antennas for good range.

What kind of wifi is available at your uni?
No sense in buying a superspeed replacement if your uni wifi can not handle it.

On ram, yes, 4gb is too small.
Go to a ram web site like crucial or kingston and access their ram upgrade app.
Enter the make/model of your laptop and you will get a list of supported upgrades.
No need to buy from them, but buy a kit with the same specs as they support.
This is not a big deal, I would expect no issues.

Go to Crucial for the ssd upgrade.
That will tell you if you need a m.2 device or a 2.5" device.
Also if it is sata or pcie.
My suggestion is to buy a samsung ssd of the required specs and your preferred size.
Samsung has a nice ssd migration aid that will move your windows C drive to their ssd.
This has worked many times for me on every laptop I have upgraded.
You may find that you will need a usb to ssd adapter cable to do the copy.

 

[ajayHD]

Beware of WiFi cards that require Intel CPUs to function.

The 9260 and AX200 don't have CNVi so they should work on any system.

What kind of wifi is available at your uni?

We have campus wide 5ghz and 2.4ghz literally everywhere with 300mbps up and down. Sure, it wouldn't be the end of the world if I don't get every ounce of performance but, it would be nice. We have storage space on campus where I keep all my uni related work and having quick access to them would be a big plus.

On ram, yes, 4gb is too small

Yeah true! I've somehow managed to find a pdf with all the part numbers and sku's for all the components they use for all the different configurations. I have a stick of 16gb DDR4 lying about with the same specs as the ones listed so that should work no problem.

That will tell you if you need a m.2 device or a 2.5" device. Also if it is sata or pcie.

Just like with the ram, the document listed all the ssd's they use. It's M.2 PCIe and the higher end ones are actually NVMe drives rather than just sata, so I should be able to wack in a good SSD no problem.

As for the wifi cards, they spec out the highest end with either an Intel 8265 or Foxconn RTL8822BE so the manufacture issue should be non existent. I guess it will be down to the drivers to get full functionality. I'll just bite the bullet and try the wifi cards and if they don't work I do have the Intel 8265 that I can fall back on for better wifi.

Thanks all for the help.