17r 7720se WiFi card upgrade results

Disclaimer: I make no promises that this will work for you. Following my directions is done so at your own risk.

I would like to share my experience in upgrading the Intel Centrino 2230 wifi card in my Inspiron 7720 se. First a little backstory, it originally had Windows 8 on it, and had some weird wireless issues going on. It turns out, after switching to Windows 7, that the wireless issues were unique to Windows 8, and were not present in Windows 7. However, being that the 2230 only operates on the 2.4 ghz band, I could not connect to the 5 ghz signal on my Asus RT-66 router(aka "the dark knight"). This is where the Intel Centrino 6235 wireless card comes in.

The 6235 operates on both the 2.4 ghz and 5 ghz band as well as having the Bluetooth built into it, like the 2230. The cards are physically the exact same size and the Intel proset driver I downloaded for the 6235, was also applicable to the 2230.

The card that I purchased can be bought from Amazon

The proset drivers are available from Intel

Installation was a snap. The card is located directly below the access panel for the RAM and hard drives. It is secured by one screw. Be careful when removing the screw, as the card is under slight, upward tension. As the screw is removed the card will rise up. the screw can be launched if not careful. The antennae are simply pushed into place in their respective sockets. There are two of them. They should be removed prior to removing the card to make removal easier. Gently remove the card by pulling up and back. replace the card with the new 6235 and secure with the one screw. The antennae go back in the same order as was on the 2230. Button up the laptop and you should be done inside.

For me, the laptop recognized the 6235 immediately under Windows 7 Ultimate. I cannot speak for what will happen under Windows 8, although the proset drivers are available for Windows 8. I installed the new driver packages anyways, which gave me the proset utility. Now I can connect to 2.4 and 5 ghz networks as well as Bluetooth. It works very good, and is a worthwhile, and inexpensive modification.

 

Just a note. I've found the 6235 card to have shorter range than the 2230. Worth to consider if you use the laptop far from the router.

 

Shorter range on the 2.4ghz or 5ghz? because the 5ghz will have shorter range thats a given.

Please get back to me im thinking about upgrading to this card. but if its get worse range only on the 2.4ghz no go since im already pushing the limits where my laptop sits now.

Thanks