Replace single band "Centrino Wireless-N 2230" with dual band Qualcomm Atheros wireless (Ubuntu 14.04)

my.forums · 07-07-2016, 10:38 PM

Dell 15R Inspiron 5520 laptop, dual boot Windows 10/Ubuntu 14.04 Gnome 2

Hello,

I have a DELL Inspiron 15R 5520 laptop i7/IvyBridge; and I want to replace my single band "Centrino Wireless-N 2230" with a dual band Qualcomm Atheros Wireless AR5BHB92. These both use the PCI-E bus, so obviously the card will physically fit. Also, they both use 2 lead antennas; so the other unit should just pop-right-in. I am hoping for two benefits, the first is to get rid of the proprietary blobbed back-doored firware, which is a well know vulnerability of the Centrino baseband processor firmware, with the free no-blob no-backdoor firmware, which I understand the Atheros chipset will accept, supplied by my Ubuntu 14.04 distro. (Assuming the Ubuntu firmware doesn't have a backdoor). I suspect my Ubuntu distro will simply find the correct driver and use it; while Windows 10, which I have on the first partition (dual boot system), will probably need to have the driver manually updated offline, since the wifi card won't work until the driver has been updated.

What I'd like to know, before I take a thermal lance to my laptop to get at all the juicy tender bits, is whether or not this mad scheme will even work. I have thought this through and I'm betting that it will; but I'd like a couple of informed opinions before I start cutting. Oh and BTW, where can I get the Windows 10 driver for the Atheros wifi card?

Here's the output of sudo lspci -vv:

Code:

02:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation Centrino Wireless-N 2230 (rev c4)
	Subsystem: Intel Corporation Centrino Wireless-N 2230 BGN
	Control: I/O- Mem+ BusMaster+ SpecCycle- MemWINV- VGASnoop- ParErr- Stepping- SERR- FastB2B- DisINTx+
	Status: Cap+ 66MHz- UDF- FastB2B- ParErr- DEVSEL=fast >TAbort- <TAbort- <MAbort- >SERR- <PERR- INTx-
	Latency: 0, Cache Line Size: 64 bytes
	Interrupt: pin A routed to IRQ 29
	Region 0: Memory at c0500000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=8K]
	Capabilities: [c8] Power Management version 3
		Flags: PMEClk- DSI+ D1- D2- AuxCurrent=0mA PME(D0+,D1-,D2-,D3hot+,D3cold+)
		Status: D0 NoSoftRst- PME-Enable- DSel=0 DScale=0 PME-
	Capabilities: [d0] MSI: Enable+ Count=1/1 Maskable- 64bit+
		Address: 00000000fee0100c  Data: 4152
	Capabilities: [e0] Express (v1) Endpoint, MSI 00
		DevCap:	MaxPayload 128 bytes, PhantFunc 0, Latency L0s <512ns, L1 unlimited
			ExtTag- AttnBtn- AttnInd- PwrInd- RBE+ FLReset+
		DevCtl:	Report errors: Correctable- Non-Fatal- Fatal- Unsupported-
			RlxdOrd+ ExtTag- PhantFunc- AuxPwr- NoSnoop+ FLReset-
			MaxPayload 128 bytes, MaxReadReq 128 bytes
		DevSta:	CorrErr+ UncorrErr- FatalErr- UnsuppReq- AuxPwr+ TransPend-
		LnkCap:	Port #0, Speed 2.5GT/s, Width x1, ASPM L0s L1, Exit Latency L0s <4us, L1 <32us
			ClockPM+ Surprise- LLActRep- BwNot-
		LnkCtl:	ASPM L1 Enabled; RCB 64 bytes Disabled- CommClk+
			ExtSynch- ClockPM+ AutWidDis- BWInt- AutBWInt-
		LnkSta:	Speed 2.5GT/s, Width x1, TrErr- Train- SlotClk+ DLActive- BWMgmt- ABWMgmt-
	Capabilities: [100 v1] Advanced Error Reporting
		UESta:	DLP- SDES- TLP- FCP- CmpltTO- CmpltAbrt- UnxCmplt- RxOF- MalfTLP- ECRC- UnsupReq- ACSViol-
		UEMsk:	DLP- SDES- TLP- FCP- CmpltTO- CmpltAbrt- UnxCmplt- RxOF- MalfTLP- ECRC- UnsupReq- ACSViol-
		UESvrt:	DLP+ SDES- TLP- FCP+ CmpltTO- CmpltAbrt- UnxCmplt- RxOF+ MalfTLP+ ECRC- UnsupReq- ACSViol-
		CESta:	RxErr- BadTLP+ BadDLLP+ Rollover- Timeout- NonFatalErr-
		CEMsk:	RxErr- BadTLP- BadDLLP- Rollover- Timeout- NonFatalErr+
		AERCap:	First Error Pointer: 00, GenCap- CGenEn- ChkCap- ChkEn-
	Capabilities: [140 v1] Device Serial Number 68-5d-43-ff-ff-7e-2e-1c
	Kernel driver in use: iwlwifi

offgridguy · 07-08-2016, 08:17 AM

I think Windows 10 comes with the driver for the Atheros card.
I know when I upgraded to 10 from 8.1, I had no problem with my
Qualcomm Atheros wifi adapter.
As for the first part of your question, I have never used a Dell, but have
used ubuntu on other machines that used the Atheros card.

ardvark71 · 07-08-2016, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by my.forums

What I'd like to know, before I take a thermal lance to my laptop to get at all the juicy tender bits, is whether or not this mad scheme will even work.

Hi...

It's possible but I would contact Dell just to make sure. I've heard of at least one laptop (don't remember brand and model) that was engineered to restrict the brands and models of adapters that it could accept.

EDIT: I see what you mean now, that's definitely a bit more involved than other laptops.

Regards...

AwesomeMachine · 07-12-2016, 10:17 PM

If you switch out the WIFI adapter the system will likely go dead. Laptops have to comply to FCC rules for WIFI communication. If the end user can put any card they want in the slot, it would be mayhem.

The antennas have some "gain" figure. 3 Db gain is half-power point, so for every 3 Db gain the power output doubles. Antennas in laptops are also "tuned" for the size and length of the coax leads, the band (frequency), and the desired gain. If you hook up the antennas to a random card the tuning of the antenna hardware might cause excessive power drain, inadequate range, heating, adapter failure, increased range, RF leakage, and/or directional transmission.

But those problems exist to some degree with the WIFI system as it was designed. A RF meter really helps. To get around the laptop dying when it senses a foreign network adapter, you must boot the laptop into the BIOS setup program, very early in the boot sequence. Then you have to hot swap the card and antenna connections while the machine is in held in the BIOS setup.

After you get everything back together, select "don't save for the BIOS setup and let the machine boot. It should boot normally after that. If you accidentally kill the machine, unplug it, take the battery off, and let it sit for a few minutes to a half-hour. Then put the battery and AC back and try it again.

Do all this at your own risk. And the antenna connectors are not robust. They are designed for perhaps five insertions at most.

notKlaatu · 07-12-2016, 10:22 PM

Never tried it with a Dell, but I can confirm that a Lenovo Thinkpad flat out refused to work when I swapped its wifi card out.

I don't understand why; I can swap out a wireless card in my desktop, but with laptops it seems to be different, at the firmware/bios level.

dave@burn-it.co.uk · 07-15-2016, 10:16 AM

Lenovo will complain. You have to use the special BIOS that avoids the Authorised parts check.
Dell will be fine - apart from the fiddly fitting.

I have replaced the WLAN cards in both my Dell and my T43P and I am thinking of doing the same with my other Dell as well to get 5Ghz wireless - to avoid the neighbours who are all on 2.4Ghz.