x220 wireless intel n-1000 upgrade/troubleshooting

Hello,

Been a while since I've been on these forums. I guess it's a testament to how trusty the x220 has been for me these past years. Recently, my wireless signal has been deteriorating and I think it's either an issue with the antennas or wireless card. Signal strength has significantly dropped in all of the places I usually frequent, and I'm sure it's not because all of the routers around the school and my apt are simultaneously dying. I am able to get 25mbps+ DL speeds using my phone's LTE tethering feature so it seems to be a reception problem. My x220 has the Intel Wireless N-1000 card with 2x2 antenna array.

I have a few questions regarding troubleshooting and potentially upgrading:

1. How can I tell if the issue is with my antenna array or wireless card?
2. Assuming it is my wireless card that is dying, would it be better to upgrade by replacing the wireless card (to an Intel Wireless 6205) or using a wireless expresscard?
3. If replacing the wireless card, does the replacement need to be Lenovo FRU, directly from the manufacturer? I read that somewhere and wanted to confirm.
4. If it's my antenna array that is at fault, then I'm guessing my best option is to go with an expresscard. What is the best wireless expresscard out on the market? I've seen only these two so far:

Amazon.com: Cisco-Linksys WEC600N Dual Band Wireless-N Ultra RangePlus Expresscard: Electronics
Amazon.com: Belkin F5D8073 N Wireless ExpressCard Adapter: Electronics

As always, thanks for any and all help!

- H

 

So a quick amazon/newegg review search answered #3 for me. Seems you do need a lenovo branded wireless card to work, but no real difference in price. Anyway, any help with 1, 2, and 4 would be greatly appreciated!

 

I've upgraded my x220 n1000 card with a 6205 from another lenovo machine. it was straight forward and gave much better performance and the ability to connect on the 5ghz networks.

The most probable cause of sudden signal degradation is not you card, antenna or router. it is your neighbor!

Hence the ability to switch to 5Ghz networks is all the more important.

Regards,
Fredrik

 

The cause of issues like this is probably because someone close by running on a connection and probably streaming something, on a channel that is either the same channel as you or an adjacent channel that interfere with your channel.

Try the free version of "inSSIDer Home" , and it will let you see all networks that reach you.

Move with laptop to both locations, 1. where you usually sit with the laptop, 2. where the router is located, and try to find what interference in both locations.