Yoga 920-13IKB, replacing Qualcomm Aetheros with Intel AC 8265 Wireless card or something better ?

[TPham1948]

Hi,

Just bought a second one, which appeared to be more stable than the first one (much trouble with wifi, ethernet connections & bunch of other annoyances). The wifi connection could be erratic at times, but bearable.

I wonder if the Qualcomm Aetheros could be replaced with Intel AC 8265 Wireless card or something better ? I thought of having seen it somewhere but now I could not find the info on this subject.

Could anybody point me to the right direction ?

Thanks

[yigit]

I couldn't find the HMM ( Hardware Maintenance Manual ) for specific info but most of the Lenovo products come with the black/white list devices. If it's not on the white list, most likely it won't work. Can you please check the HMM, there supposed to be some more/specific information about it ( You may get one copy inside of the box )

[TPham1948]

Thanks for replying. Some info's that I came across:

. Page 34 of the HMM shows the 'PCI Express Mini Card for wireless LAN'. It also said to check “Table 5. Parts list—Overall” on page 56 for Lenovo part numbers for the approved modules. The said table shows 'WLAN, Intel 8265 2x2AC+BT PCIE M.2 WLAN NV' and 'WLAN, Ltn NFA344A 2x2AC+BT4.x PCIE M.2 WLAN'.
. The Drivers Support page https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/us/en/products/laptops-and-netbooks/yoga-series/yoga-920-13ikb/80y7/80y... showed 2 drivers 'Qualcomm WLAN Driver' and 'Intel WLAN Driver'.

Hence, the Intel AC 8265 is likely to work. I'm hoping that someone has done it and is willing to share the 'how-to video', the pro & con, and the conclusion.

I read, and re-read, several times the long posts about WiFi issues. Some even returned their purchases. In my cases, I'd think the Yoga 920 has advanced design, hence the drivers may be the primary culprit that causes havoc with the WiFi card. The other culprit could be the thunderbolt ports. Everything worked well for me until I tried some docks and USB C cables.

Chances are, the Intel AC 8265 may work better with the current hardware's and drivers. I found a post on another forum in which a guy did it back during Xmas time frame. I tried to PM him but received no reply.

Again, I hope that someone would care to share inputs and advises.

Thanks

[matrox00612]

Hi,

I can confirm that Intel 8260, 8265 and 9260 works on Yoga 920, none of them are whitelisted, I personally test all of them, best performance was 9260.  9260 is a bit difficult to find, I find mine on ebay "China".  It’s easy to replace, just need T5 torx and Phillip’s screwdriver, remove the 10 torx screws from the bottom to access the wifi card. 

[TPham1948]

@matrox00612, much thanks for the info.

. Why did you test the Intel cards ? Was it out of curiosity or seeking better WiFi and/or system performance ?

. Did the 8265 provide better WiFi connection & stability than the Qualcomm?

. Did you use the driver from Lenovo website ?

. When you said the 9260 provides best performance, can you elaborate a little more, please. 

. The seller who has the 9260 also carries the newer 9560 which has BT 5.0. https://ark.intel.com/products/99446/Intel-Wireless-AC-9560. Do you think that one could be a better choice ?

. I'm a bit, . .. hmmm . . ., scared about opening the laptop. Is there a video somewhere that you know of ? Or at least some some tips and/or warnings to avoid troubles.

Thanks again,

[matrox00612 · Accepted solution]

Hi,

I have on hand the 8260 and 8265, as you said for curiosity a tested knowing that it could not work, for my surprise both woks.

WIFI speed was much better on 9260 as per speedtest.com, yes Intel offers me better stability, in terms of connection and speed.

I pick the driver from station-divers.com (20.30.1.2 for WIFI, 20.30.0.3 for Bluetooth)

9260 offers better performance in terms of speed and ping as per speedtest.com

yes 9260 has Bluetooth 5.

As my knowledge 9560 its not PCI-e, so don’t fit on our Yogas.

It’s very easy to open the laptop don’t worry.

[TPham1948]

@matrox00612,

Thanks again for additional info's, and I accepted your contribution as the solution.

. I'd proceed to order the 9260 while contemplate about opening the 920. Found some video on the 910 and the guy said it would take some power to remove the bottom plate after all screws were removed, due to a magnet clip in the center of the plate. It sure did not too pretty the way he did it.

. Perhaps I would go with the drivers on Intel websites:

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/27485/Intel-PROSet-Wireless-Software-and-Drivers-for-IT-Ad...
https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/94150/Intel-Dual-Band-Wireless-AC-8265

I'd have like to 'know how' to install only the drivers, not the full suite. More searching and trial/error, I guess.

In the meantime, I hope that advises & tips from knowleagable people of the forum continue to come. Then once I receive the 9260, I'd report back. Note that the Qualcomm Aetheros is working decently. Just that it is not consistent.

Best,

[matrox00612]

Hi,

You can download the zip file driver, extract and then install from device manager, that way you install the driver only.  Looks that Windows 10 don’t have driver for 9260, so it will appear on device manager as unknown device.

PD Remember uninstall the drivers from Qualcomm that way you prevent any possible conflict.

[TPham1948]

Great advises

The 9260 was ordered. Not bad for $32.

Thanks

[Prabhansh]

Hi TPham1948,

Welcome to Lenovo Community! And happy to have you here.

Here's the video guide tutorial for Yoga 920-13IKB, may be it will come handy once you are going to replace the WLAN card.

I hope the above information helped you.

Please feel free to post in Lenovo Community Forums if you have any further queries!

Regards,
Prabhansh
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