Need help with Wifi Chipset to upgrade to 5ghz

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Hello everyone. I have a Asus x556ub laptop currently running windows 10 and it has a realtek RTL8723BE wifi chipset which only supports 2.4ghz. Until recently i had everything ok running on 2.4ghz speeds but I want to upgrade the wifi module on my laptop to utilize the 5ghz speeds. Can someone please be kind enough to recommend me the right chipset or module that I can install in my laptop - of the right size and kind that will fit into the existing space and will support 2.4 + 5ghz speeds.

Thanks in advance.
 
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just a follow up, I couldnt find anything online regarding people with similar laptops who have upgraded to the 5ghz chipset but I have read up on RTL8821CE chipset that can be installed in HP, Lenovo, Acer etc laptops and it supports Bluetooth and dual band speeds. Will these be any good. Thanks
 
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I think it would probably fit, at least connector wise, they look like they are both mini-PCIe. However, I can't say if the package itself would be the same size, but it does look pretty similar. I can't imagine windows would have any driver issues either.

Also, one thing to keep in mind is that the antenna would be normally built into the laptop somewhere, and although the ufl connector will be the same, the antenna itself may only be single band, in which case 5ghz signal will be at best poor to completely non-existent. You may need to buy a dual band antenna off ebay and try to route it in the laptop somewhere as well.

At least the module appears to be pretty cheap, only £6-7 on ebay, so it's really up to you if you want to give it a go.
 
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Thanks Lord_filbuster and adrichardson81 for your kind comments, can you please guide me what sort of an antenna will i require if possible please. tried looking on ebay and there are several but im just a newbie with technology stuff. thanks
 
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Any of these would work, but I don't know the layout of the laptop, so there's a few different shapes and sizes here:

EDIT, direct links removed.

Try looking for these on ebay, the results are basically all for the same thing -

Internal Network Antenna MHF 4 Dual Band WiFi Wireless or
M.2 Internal Network Antenna MHF 4 Dual Band

obviously ignore all the results for the screw in external antennas, but anything with the tiny Ufl connector will work, the antenna shape on the other end might be square or long and thin, but whatever you can fit in the laptop would be fine.


They're relatively generic, so most of the sellers seem to have variants of these ones. I can't find any UK sellers, so it might take a couple of weeks to arrive. All the ones I can find are all sold in pairs, I think for MIMO modules, but the antennas themselves are identical. I'm not 100% on whether the new module uses 1 or 2 antennas, but it think it is just 1.

I'd try with just the old antenna first, and see if you get 5GHz as well, then if not, try connecting a single one of the dual band antennas above, and if it all works, then you can route the antenna away in the case somewhere. If it does have two antenna slots, just add the other antenna later, after you've got it working. It would still pick up signals with a single one, the other is just for increasing throughput.
 
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Can you open your laptop up and post pictures? Some laptops have an unused antenna built in.

If there isn't one, you need a mini pci-e internal laptop antenna. We can't give you off-site links, but that should get you the right thing from the obvious places. It'll have roun metal connectors at 1 end and a flat plastic coated stick-on at the other end.

The 1st and 2nd links you posted should work
 
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