Reddit reviews Intel 3160.HMWG.R Dual Band Wireless AC + Bluetooth Mini PCIe card Supports 2.4 and 5.8Ghz B/G/N/AC Bands with Mounting Screws

Nope, you'll need a mini-PCIe card.

Intel 3160.HMWG.R Dual Band Wireless AC + Bluetooth Mini PCIe card Supports 2.4 and 5.8Ghz B/G/N/AC Bands with Mounting Screws https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MY9EVHI/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_UIZ2wbFCKD3JF

Or

Intel Network 7260.HMWG.R Revised WiFi Wireless-AC 7260 H/T Dual Band 2x2 AC+Bluetooth HMC Free Mounting Screws Included https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MY9S692/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_7OZ2wb0JJMXEY

The latter is faster if you do a lot of internal networking (PC to PC)

I use this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MY9EVHI

With one of these for my desktop: https://www.amazon.com/Orange-Juice-Wireless-Converter-Bluetooth/dp/B0789DXJJP

do you think this would be compatible?

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-3160-HMWG-R-Wireless-Bluetooth-Supports/dp/B00MY9EVHI/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1453926357&sr=1-1&keywords=intel+dual+band+mini+pci

I dont mind opening it up as I did so before to replace the HDD with an SSD, but im not super computer savvy so I know little about compatibility

For less messy amazon links you can extract the part after "/dp/" in

https://www.amazon.com/Intel-3160-HMWG-R-Wireless-Bluetooth-Supports/dp/B00MY9EVHI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1484239061&sr=8-3&keywords=mini+pci

and make it:

https://amzn.com/B00MY9EVHI

Or via smile link:

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00MY9EVHI

BEEP BOP

Plz send any recommendations via PM

Mini PCI is a standard that some motherboards have (Looks like this: http://psg.i.lithium.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/72899iDB437F35348C63E3?v=v2), a lot of laptops use it as a standard for plugging in wi-fi cards since normal PCI would not fit at all with any laptop.


Here is the thing with Mini PCI-E cards, some laptops allow you to swap it out easily while others require some disassembly. I looked up the HP ENVY 17 and if it is the same or similar model to this video (https://youtu.be/W5nAvEmTy-w), it should be a easy swap. You will need to replace the part that is to the left of the RAM. It is pretty simple to swap it out. First, take a phillips screwdriver and unscrew the 1 or 2 screws holding it in place, it will pop up on its own usually. Take the replacement one and pop it in, lay it flush with the screw hole and screw it back in. Make a note of the wire location before starting this unless the instructions note to plug it in differently (usually pretty standard). You might need to download additional drivers and uninstall the old one from device manager, just follow the instructions it comes with and it should lead you where you need to go.


Secondly, it looks like it is using a half height PCI-E card. You will need to get something like this if you want to upgrade: https://www.amazon.com/Intel-3160-HMWG-R-Wireless-Bluetooth-Supports/dp/B00MY9EVHI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1484239061&sr=8-3&keywords=mini+pci. Half height is usually what most laptops I have worked on use and from the look of it the ENVY uses it as well.


Hope that helps. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

Are there any macOS friendly chips that have ac wireless instead of just n? Or a list of chips?

Like this?:

Intel 3160.HMWG.R Dual Band Wireless AC + Bluetooth Mini PCIe card Supports 2.4 and 5.8Ghz B/G/N/AC Bands with Mounting Screws https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MY9EVHI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_-GLEyb2MK95R2