WIFI Upgrade on W5A, possible??

Hey all,

I just got a W5A in black, beautiful machine, and was wondering if upgrading WIFI card is possible.

It is only 1/4 shown when you open the bottom cover. I think, in order to take this mini-pci WLan card out from the machine requires opening the whole bottom cover. I don't know why Asus made it this way but this is the way it is.

I don't like the Intel B/G card. The driver is too buggy and seems like it has problem with my Linksys WRT54G router.

I just got an Atheros A/B/G card for W5A and it seems like it requires disassembly of the whole bottom cover.

Does anyone offer such service?? Perhaps proportable?? BTW, I got this black W5A from them, I spoke to Justin and another sales rep, and the service was good. It was fast and simple. I overnighted it from PA to NJ and it was delivered promptly and safely. I placed an order around 11AM EST and about 24hrs later, Fedex guy was at my door with the box from Proportable. Very good shopping experience.

Anyway back to the subject, how do I install this new card in the machine??

Any suggestion??

PS) I am not affiliated with Proportable in any way but just thought that I would share my personal experience with the Asus users here.

 

i have no answers to you question... but I was wondering if you had any experience hooking it up to an external monitor. I was thinking about buying it and hooking it up to my LCD monitor... but I dont know if the W5a can do 1280x1024.

 

Kimochi,

I have not tried but I see why not it.

I will let you know after trying it.

 

The answer is yes and no...... it's much like the S5/M5 in the way the wifi card is not accessible from the access covers........ just the way the card had to be put here, while making the access cover larger would have hurt the structural integrity of system...... so the ONLY way to remove it is to basically disassemble the notebook. I've done it many times and it does get easier, but certainly doesn't make it more enjoyable..... you basically have to take the whole system apart and take the motherboard out of the chassis and replace the wifi card on the bottom of the mobo.... For a first timer, this would take a couple hours and you'll probably end up with some broken case parts......... not something for the faint of heart (even though you can get replacement parts for EVERYTHING in these systems) ......

If you have an A network at work.... it might be worth it....... if you have one at home, my suggestion is for $50 or so get a G router........ because $50 it's not worth the cost of a new card and the time it takes to replace it.

Just a heads up.

 

I only read the first half of your post........ and I know who you are, we spoke on Thursday.... Listen, I've got the same router... update your firmware! Seriously, don't bother swapping out that card. You'll get longer distances but it's not worth it. I use Asus' b/g wl-120 minipci wifi card in one of my laptops and I can get like 400 yards away from my house and still get a good signal........ With Intel's card I can get about 200....... (now mind you that's a clear, flat shot.. don't expect this in the city or a neighborhood as you'll be going through things that cut this down)... the main this is intel's card doesn't amplify the signal a lot... This got to make heat a non-issue for the card and increase battery life. Unless you have to get those long long distances, Intel's card is really the best thing to have in there.

I'd also say update to the newest intel pro/set.... they work on that a lot and every little bug always gets worked out.... it's very good now.... just try to get the newest one..

Worst case senario, I'd tell you we could certainly do it for you, but technically you'd be voiding your warranty but having the system taken apart and by putting in another wifi card.......... although we're more than capable, we wouldn't want to void Asus' warranty on a customer at any cost...

 

Justin,

Thanks for the info.

I guess I will try to update the firmware first to see how it is.

I don't really mind about disassembling the bottom cover but by doing so, it'd void 3 warranty just makes me stop thinking.

I just got the laptop yesterday so I basically have 3 full years of warranty left.

I will keep it posted how it goes here

Thanks again

 

Right... well you're not talking about just taking off the bottom cover.. because that would actually not be that bad. All of these notebooks come apart from the top down. The motherboard is screwed down to the bottom case from the inside. Trust me when I tell you that the wifi card on the W5/S5/M5 must be the first thing installed and is the last thing you'll take out..... I'm serious when I say that to get that out you'll have to take our every screw in the notebook.

The router certainly would need the new firmware.... it's good to have anyway.... You might want to see if there is a new pre set as well..... but since the WRT54G is one of the most popular wifi routers... I've used it for the last two years along with all of Asus' units... Having the linksys be my primary, it certainly helps since that is the unit most people have or the one I'd suggest people pick up at their local store if they don't want to buy one of Asus high end units.....

Good luck with that.