[SOLVED] WiFi Card Replacement

[PaSandima]

Hi. I have an Asus X542UQ-DM333T laptop and I have issues with connecting wifi networks. I have tried reinstalling the wifi driver but it didn't work. This device has a Qualcomm atheros AR956x network adapter. Is there a way to solve this without replacing the WiFi card.? If not,
I have checked the WiFi card and it only has one signal (antenna) cable. Can I replace it with a normal WiFi card which has two signal(antenna) cables. If so how to select the best WiFi card for my device.?

Current WiFi card - WCBN803A-AD(1A)

 

[PaSandima]

Hi. I have an Asus X542UQ-DM333T laptop and I have issues with connecting wifi networks. I have tried reinstalling the wifi driver but it didn't work. This device has a Qualcomm atheros AR956x network adapter. Is there a way to solve this without replacing the WiFi card.? If not,
I have checked the WiFi card and it only has one signal (antenna) cable. Can I replace it with a normal WiFi card which has two signal(antenna) cables. If so how to select the best WiFi card for my device.?

Current WiFi card - WCBN803A-AD(1A)

Sometimes when I try to connect to WiFi networks says can't connect to this network. And sometimes the WiFi connection gets disconnected automatically while using.

 

[britechguy]

Have you thought about purchasing a nano-sized USB WiFi dongle?

That is what I generally do these days when an internal WiFi card seems to be going bad in a laptop.

They work beautifully (at least in 99% of the cases) and are a far more economical option than having anyone tear down a laptop to replace . See the results of this search for some examples: https://smile.amazon.com/s?k=wireless+ac+usb+nano

 

[bill001g]

Your problem is not the card so much but if you only have 1 antenna and you buy a card that needs 2 how do you add a antenna to laptop. Unlike the wifi card which is somewhat simple to replace the antenna are located somewhere near the screen which tends to be a pain to disassemble. Then you would have to find a way to get a extra antenna installed. There is very little extra room and unless the laptop was designed to take 2 antenna you are going to have a hard time finding a place.

The card looks to be a fairly standard m2 card. You can pretty much replace it with anything that physically fits.

 

[PaSandima]

Can you suggest me a way to fix it without replacing the WiFi card?

 

[bill001g]

You have already done most of what you can do. You could see if there was a different driver from qualcom. Maybe older drivers ?. All likely not to have much impact unless you are very lucky.

There really is no way to test for hardware issues. It could be anything from some chip on the card having a issue to something like a damaged antenna cable.

Then again it could be there is nothing wrong with your wifi and it is just that you do not get enough signal from your router or you have too much interference from neighbors using wifi. You could sit very close to the router and see if it does this.

You only other option to see if the card actually has a issue is to try to test it in another machine. That is much harder when the device uses m.2 connections. I suppose you could try to brute force approach and reinstall windows and all the drivers but that is a lot of effort.

This is where repair places have some advantage because they can put it in another machines. But the costs you pay for that service you can generally buy a USB card.

The USB option maybe your best bet. I tend to not like those tiny USB cards. They have very small antenna which are almost inside the machine further reducing the signal. They are primarily a option when a physically larger device impact the portability of your laptop. The best usb devices have long USB cords and large external antenna. They are mostly designed for desktop use.

 

[PaSandima]

You have already done most of what you can do. You could see if there was a different driver from qualcom. Maybe older drivers ?. All likely not to have much impact unless you are very lucky.

There really is no way to test for hardware issues. It could be anything from some chip on the card having a issue to something like a damaged antenna cable.

Then again it could be there is nothing wrong with your wifi and it is just that you do not get enough signal from your router or you have too much interference from neighbors using wifi. You could sit very close to the router and see if it does this.

You only other option to see if the card actually has a issue is to try to test it in another machine. That is much harder when the device uses m.2 connections. I suppose you could try to brute force approach and reinstall windows and all the drivers but that is a lot of effort.

This is where repair places have some advantage because they can put it in another machines. But the costs you pay for that service you can generally buy a USB card.

The USB option maybe your best bet. I tend to not like those tiny USB cards. They have very small antenna which are almost inside the machine further reducing the signal. They are primarily a option when a physically larger device impact the portability of your laptop. The best usb devices have long USB cords and large external antenna. They are mostly designed for desktop use.

Can you suggest me a good USB wifi card arount $15 ?

 

[britechguy]

What is your situation as far as WiFi type goes? That is, are you connecting to networks that use Wireless G (not likely, but possible), Wireless N, Wireless AC?

You can get many, many USB dongles for well under $15 if you stick with Wireless N as the "top technology" and if you are connecting to networks that use that technology they're your best bet.

I have one that is very similar to this one that works perfectly and picks up signals very well (but it's micro sized, not nano sized):

https://www.amazon.com/Adapter-600Mbps-USBNOVEL-Wireless-10-4-10-12-2/dp/B06XRG9QDV

That page also gives you options with antennae, but those are not good for laptop devices if you want ease of "pickup and go." If it's used pretty much as a replacement for a desktop, and you have a USB port on the back behind the screen, an antenna model could be great. You just need to have a location to plug it in where you are not likely to be hitting it with your hands.

There are also AC1200 compatible nano and micro sized options, too:

https://www.amazon.com/Edimax-Adapter-Supports-MU-MIMO-EW-7822ULC/dp/B01MY7PL10 (slightly above your desired price, nano sized)

https://www.amazon.com/OURLiNK-1200Mbps-Wireless-802-11ac-10-4-10-13/dp/B07G92W7ST (micro sized and almost precisely at your price point).

There are scads of others available from many vendors. The above are offered as quick examples.

 

[PaSandima]

What is your situation as far as WiFi type goes? That is, are you connecting to networks that use Wireless G (not likely, but possible), Wireless N, Wireless AC?

You can get many, many USB dongles for well under $15 if you stick with Wireless N as the "top technology" and if you are connecting to networks that use that technology they're your best bet.

I have one that is very similar to this one that works perfectly and picks up signals very well (but it's micro sized, not nano sized):

https://www.amazon.com/Adapter-600Mbps-USBNOVEL-Wireless-10-4-10-12-2/dp/B06XRG9QDV

That page also gives you options with antennae, but those are not good for laptop devices if you want ease of "pickup and go." If it's used pretty much as a replacement for a desktop, and you have a USB port on the back behind the screen, an antenna model could be great. You just need to have a location to plug it in where you are not likely to be hitting it with your hands.

There are also AC1200 compatible nano and micro sized options, too:

https://www.amazon.com/Edimax-Adapter-Supports-MU-MIMO-EW-7822ULC/dp/B01MY7PL10 (slightly above your desired price, nano sized)

https://www.amazon.com/OURLiNK-1200Mbps-Wireless-802-11ac-10-4-10-13/dp/B07G92W7ST (micro sized and almost precisely at your price point).

There are scads of others available from many vendors. The above are offered as quick examples.

Thanks