My Intel 3168NGW decided to act up lately, and since i have to change it, i might as well take some pictures and make a little tutorial.
What are you gonna need?
- PH0 precision Phillips screwdriver (preferably with a magnetic end);
- An M.2 1216 wireless card, on this occasion i chose an Intel AX200NGW, which can be bought on Aliexpress;
- Whatever other screwdrivers you require to remove your motherboard from the case, usually Phillips PH2 or PH1.
- Optionally, small plastic tweezers.
Step 1:
Remove your motherboard from your case, since most, if not all screws are not going to be accessible through your motherboard tray cutout.
Step 4:
Remove these two silvers screws, located directly under where the wireless antennas are on the motherboard, then proceed to lift the silver module straight up.
This is also a good opportunity to clean up the M.2 socket with a bit of contact cleaner if you have some in hand.
Step 5:
Open up the module, very carefully pop out the antenna connectors out of your previous wireless card (this is where the plastic tweezers might come in handy) and unscrew the bolt that holds the card onto the module.
Step 6
Position and screw your new card onto the module and very carefully connect the antenna wires to the card, then pop and screw the module back together and connect it to the motherboard.
Step 7
Retrace your steps backwards, screw on the module with the silver screws, position your decorative side piece back on the motherboard, reconnect the LEDs and screw the side piece to the motherboard using the black screws.
Now you can turn on your system, check on the UEFI if the wireless network and bluetooth card is activated under Advanced > Onboard Devices, save your profile and boot into your OS.
If you’re running Windows 10, the new card will have its drivers installed immediately via Windows Update.
You can now test your new card’s wireless Ethernet and bluetooth connectivity to make sure everything is going smoothly, that’s about it, you’re ready to enjoy it.
Results:
HWiNFO64:
Nperf speed test with symmetrical 150mbps/150mbps connection from roughly 10 meters away from the router:
Sony Dualshock 4 controller connected via Bluetooth on DS4Windows, from roughly 5 meters away:
