Atheros9285 reception

i have one of these in the asus ul30a-a2 and tried several driver versions but the reception is still about 3 bars in school. My old toshiba laptop had at the same location. I know there are problems with this card, but are there any solutions to boost the range?

 

Not sure what you can do. I had a stock one of those as well and I know what you mean. I only got 2 or 3/5 bars on my home AND school network which was pathetic. Upgraded to an intel 6300 and getting 5/5 with no drops ever since. Good signal range too. Anyway you should upgrade your card is the only thing i can say. And since you have a ul30, theres a nice little guide here I watched even though I don't have the same laptop, I just needed to see what the card looked like and stuff.

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Hey shinakuma, thanks for the response and video.

Will the Intel 5100 perform signnificantly better than the Atheros card? Can't seem to find a intel 6300 from Canadian vendors.

Btw, did the 6300 end up draining a whole lot of battery life ?

 

Don't buy Intel 5100 it's a constant cause of trouble- the only thing it improves is my post-count
Intel 5300 should be similarly priced and is a lot better (and no you don't need a third antenna)

BTW AR9285 is also a constant pain so you wouldn't be upgrading by buying Intel 5100.

 

I got my 6300 from Canada computers. They sell the 6200 as well, and the 5300 too. Only bad thing is that the 6300 is like ~$10-15 more expensive compared to American prices. But its worth the upgrade IMO.

 

the 6300 is about $39 here and 5100 half card is $29. Whats the difference between half card and full height card lol?

 

Ever tried switching the antenna pins?
From my experience it matters to atheros cards.

 

Yeah i've seen people insert a second antenna on theirs, but doesn't it have to stick out of the laptop?

 

Switch the pins of the laptop internal antennas.

 

Oh is there a specific pin you need for that though?

 

You need the half height card I'm pretty sure. I had a stock 9285 and Canada computers accidentally sold me a 5300 instead of the 6300 at first. When I went to open the box, the card is 2x the size of the stock Atheros and will NOT fit in your notebook. You need a half height card.

 

Oh crap, then the 5100 is my only option cause ncix sells the half card version and i can't find a half card for the 6300 in BC... not a big fan of ordering stuff online with all the shipping, etc.

 

Just swap the black and the white antenna cables on the atheros card and see if it works.

 

I have this same model card on my g72 and its awful.
Only its a full height card. Branded Azureware it is an atheros 9285

For comparision I have a acer 5732 , it gets 2 bars better reception from the same distance. No drops.

Its card is a mini card atheros as well I forget the exact model but its EXCELLENT. I would switch the two cards but the one in the asus is a full card. Unlike yours for some reason.

Whats weird is other owners of the same machine I have report having a half card as well so I dont know how I got jocked.

 

Yeah i find it a little weird, I've seen other laptops reviewed with this same atheros 9285 card and they do extremely well with the wifi. I know the Asus UL30a-A1 (windows vista version of the one i have) uses the same card but without the crappy reception or drops.

What exactly do you mean, sorry I'm sorta new at this stuff... do I have to purchase extra antennas to do this?

 

I mean
Open up the underside of the laptop
You will see the WiFi halfcard
You will also see 2 antenna cable attached to it
1 is black the other is white.
Black is AUX while White is Main swap the connectors and see if it helps because sometimes they screw up on the order and the consumers get Laptops with lousy reception.

 

Well you can always order it online from CC or maybe even Amazon.ca if they carry it. I think the intel 6200 is half height also and its only 29.99 vs the 44.99 i paid for the 6300. The 6300 has capability for 3 antennas which my notebook has, but i think yours only has 2 so you may as well get the 6200 and save the $15.

 

Thats not too possible for this laptop cause theres only 1 antenna for this card...hence the reason why the reception is crap =(

 

It should look like this
Note: This is ViciousXUSMC's photo.

 

Yeah, i only have the black one...other side is empty T_T

 

Send it back demand replacement.
All laptops should have at least 2.
1 For Main(White) 1 for Black (AUX)
If you really don't want to send it back then you have to buy the second one from ebay.

 

if i buy another antenna, do i have to solder it on myself?

 

There's no soldering to do- there's a connector for the antenna on the card.

 

Ahh thanks,

ive seen pictures of people inserting that extra antenna, but they had it stick out of the case. Is that manditory?

 

No. Just place it somewhere- best solution would be to run it along the edge of the display but if you can’t- just place it somewhere inside the main unit.

 

So any 2.4ghz universal wifi antenna will work rite?