Windows 10: Broadcom 4352 AC card, low wireless signal.

Yooooo! I have a Lenovo Y510p with modified BIOS so I could replace the crappy Intel wireless card that came with it (Intel Centrino N2230) for an Azurewave - Broadcom 4352. The experience has been good so far, the only problem I'm having is the low wireless signal with the card. I have other laptops that have higher range and strengths on the same place with older cards.

I've tried verifying (and even swapping) the cables and noted no difference. I asked on another forum and they told me that it could be that the card is not receiving enough power, but I have yet to find a settings in the BIOS or in Windows that dwindles its performance. I have recently updated the driver from Lenovo's website and it didn't improve a bit.

Any suggestions to improve the wireless signal? Thanks.

:)

 

Microsoft Lumia 950XL issue connecting to Wi-Fi

Usually a Wireless AC router sends out a signal for AC and N, check your router settings.

 

Can't connect to Wifi, Windows 10, after shutdown

Update, your Broadcom adapter is a card. This card apparently has had a history of problems, I guess you had been lucky until recently.

Wireless 1397 WLAN Mini-Card / problems connecting to WPA-PSK protected network - Dell Community

Dell Wireless 1397 WLAN minicard – PROBLEM! - Dell Community

Dell Wireless 1397 WLAN mini-card- speed problem - Dell Community

Dell Wireless 1397 WLAN Mini-Card - Dell Community

I found some specs.

https://www.cnet.com/products/dell-...eight-mini-card-network-adapter-series/specs/

Other Broadcom cards can be gotten cheaply however finding drivers for them can be a pain. Broadcom.com is usually of no help as well. Here is a link to some Broadcom cards if your interested.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=broadcom+wireless+card

Check this link for much more information on Dell Broadcom Wireless cards.

http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/dell-wireless-cards/#Broadcom

-Richard

 

Don't have a answer for this one but do you know if the Broadcom is better than the Intel 7260AC?

 

Yes. I have been told that. The broadcom one supports intel widi

 

I wonder how does it compare for connection quality though for WiFi... Wonder if Qualcom/Atheros makes one or not? Intel is good for wired NICs but sucks for Wireless.... From what I read, it's actually the Intel 7260 that supports WiDi as that's a Intel technology.

 

Broadcom normally has less signal power than Intel and Qualcomm. Don't worry about signal strength since it doesn't translate to real world throughput (e.g. a 3-2 bar Broadcom chip can provide faster throughput than 4-5 bar Intel). I use Marvell 802.11ac rather than the Broadcom/Qualcomm/Intel chip though. As long as throughput is excellent, you don't need to tweak any settings and/or update drivers.

 

Trying to find a replacement AC 867mbps Mini-PCIe card for the notebook and not sure what to get..

 

@ Almighty

Mini-PCIe interface is getting obsolete so you won't find any good replacement other than Broadcom BCM4352. However, there's another half-size mini-pcie form from Realtek called Realtek RTL8812AE: Realtek RTL8812AE miniCard - WikiDevi

Realtek is well established in the integrated sound department, but I don't know their performance in the wireless department.

On a side note, I really wanted Marvell to provide a dedicated half-size mini-pcie or an NGFF or M.2 since their 802.11ac chip in the Surface is performing really well while giving me NO problems whatsoever (no ping spikes, no low signal strength, etc.)

 

Didn't know about this. What is it going to supersede it?

 

NGFF or M.2 socket which ironically still uses the PCIE interface. The difference is that M.2 based chips are smaller than their m-pcie parts.

If you buy a expensive gaming laptops, there's a really good chance that they both include m-pcie with 2x m.2 slots. These days if you buying a slim laptop, it will not include a mini-pcie slot, but rather an M.2 slot (aka NGFF) for WiFi. Good thing is many manufacturers are releasing their latest iteration in this form. At the same time, they may not release anything new for mini-pcie sadly.

 

Never knew that they were going to use M.2 or NGFF sockets for it!

 

Yep. The latest intel (Intel 7265) is only available on M.2 form

 

Hmm, but I thought the OP had problems with the Broadcom, so Broadcom works better than the Intel? How does one tell if one has a half-size or full size card as I noticed there are adapters to make a half-size work in a full size but is it really needed?
Realtek is established in the networking department, atleast the wired NICs but they don't work as good as Intel. I don't even know if the Atheros N/BT4.0 in my ASUS G74SX notebook is a full size of half-size card. NGFF seems to have adapters to make it work in a Mini-PCIe slot like the one here:
Amazon.com: Bplus: M2MU2, M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCI-E Adapter: Computers Accessories

Seems like Intel is better than Realtek:
wireless - Realtek RTL8821AE Wifi driver/alternative - Ask Ubuntu

I can't remember if it was the Realtek or the Broadcom that required a MiniUSB connection?

Is there any difference between the Intel 7265 and the 7260 in terms of performance?

Seems like from Amazon, many said the Intel 7260 is not reliable as it has dropouts compared to the Broadcom.

My Atheros only does 65Mbps N.

 

Found this one but it's NGFF:
Atheros Sparklan WNFQ 255ACN BT M 2 NGFF 802 11AC 867Mbps WLAN Bluetooth 4 1 | eBay

They have one without BT:
Compex WLE600VX Atheros QCA9882 MiniPCI E 802 11AC 867 Mbps 2x2 MIMO 2 4GHz 5GHz | eBay