Samsung Series 5 NP520U4C-A01UB WiFi Card Upgrade

Hey all brand new to the forum and I'm burning to have this question answered, I have a Samsung Series 5 NP520U4C-A01UB running Windows 8. I love the computer, but absolutely hate the stock wifi card that came along with it, which is the Centrino Advanced N 6235. It drops the signal randomly and constantly has to be reset. Looked online and lots of people are having the same issue no matter what machine or version of Windows they're using so it's obviously an issue, which Intel hasn't addressed yet. Currently I'm using a USB adapter as to not have to deal with it, but I'd like to switch to a different card, but am unsure which card to use. I contacted Samsung Support and the customer service agent I spoke to said the wifi card couldn't be upgraded. I'm not sure if this is true or if he just said it because it would void my warranty, he didn't want to help me, didn't know what he was talking about, etc.

Here's a link to my laptop model

Series 5 14" Notebook (NP530U4C-A01US) | Samsung Notebooks


Here's a link to my WiFi Card model

Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N 6235


Any help finding a card with the same or similar features that actually works would be highly appreciated. Thank you in advanced.

 

First work through all the suggestions in this thread.

In terms of possible replacements, you need a combo WiFi / Bluetooth card so there's not many options. I tried the older Intel 6230 in my NP900X4C but, because the two cards are very similar, the driver got confused. It probably needed a full uninstall / reinstall that I never got round to trying.

Regarding changing the hardware and the warranty, there are two basic rules: (i) don't damage anything and (ii) keep any parts you take out and then put them back before asking for warranty service. The warranty covers the hardware supplied by Samsung.

John

 

I have this one with Win7 (same WiFi) ;

Series 5 14

Had to exchange the first NP530U4C due to sporadic WiFi connection issues, sometimes it refused to connect at all. But the one I have now has been rock solid, no issues. IIRC, Intel released new drivers (15.3.1.2) either late last year or earlier this year.

 

Device Manager says I'm on WiFi driver version 15.4.0.11. The easiest way to check for a newer driver is to run the Intel driver update utility (which, strangely, says that I'm on 15.3.0.1, which is the latest ).

John

 

I am in the same situation and am looking for information on replacing the wireless card. Did you have any success? It looks like the wifi card must be on the motherboard somewhere

 

Some cheaper notebooks use on-board WiFi but most use a small card in a socket. The only way to be sure is to look inside and see what the WiFi antennae connect to.

I would note that Intel have been working on fixes to the 6235 WiFi driver during the past months and many problems have been addressed. You can use the utility here to check for a newer driver. Other suggestions to improve the WiFi performance are in this thread.

John

 

Thanks for the reply. I have made sure the computer is as up-to-date with the drivers as possible but I will try using the utility to see if that solves anything. In any event, it looks as though the wifi card is not easily accessible. It must be on either side of the motherboard, covered by the shell or keyboard.