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1058
August 27th, 2022 05:00
Inspiron 3268 Wireless M2 card upgrade to Bluetooth 5
Is the simplest way to upgrade the Bluetooth on my 3268 PC to replace the wireless card (a quick Google indicates they're cheap and readily available). Which card would be best and is it just a (compatible) card change, or is it more complicated?
Thanks
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redxps630
9 Legend
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14.6K Posts
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August 28th, 2022 06:00
This is the original m.2 Wi-Fi+ bt4 in 3268. It is Qualcomm Atheros QCNFA335 NGFF M.2 1630 802.11b/g/n WLAN Bluetooth 4.0 WiFi Card YCM9R
it is a 16mm wide x 30 mm long (1630) M.2 card using key-A+E.
802.11bgn + Bluetooth 4.0, 2.4 GHz, 1x1
If new card looks like it (30 mm length and a+e key), it should be simple to swap. I think the width of card is flexible. Your motherboard wlan m.2 slot should accommodate both 16 mm and 22 mm cards.
it is possible that a new card with key-e would fit too, but for simple swap key-a+e is guaranteed to fit.
RoHe
10 Elder
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45.2K Posts
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August 29th, 2022 20:00
@DaveInSurbiton Since BT and WiFi are on the same card, chances are a new card with BT 5 may also support WiFi "ax". And an "ax" WiFi card will likely support dual band 2.4 and 5 GHz.
So make sure your devices support BT 5, and your router is dual band and supports WiFi "ax". Otherwise, you may not gain anything by upgrading the card, even though a card with BT 5 and WiFi "ax" should be backward compatible with older devices and routers.
DaveInSurbiton
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August 28th, 2022 01:00
Is something like this any good?
https://amzn.to/3RcFQRq
[I had to reply to myself as I couldn't edit the original post]
DaveInSurbiton
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August 30th, 2022 06:00
Thanks - that's very helpful.
DaveInSurbiton
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September 5th, 2022 02:00
Yes, I can confirm that's the one I've got. Going to try an external antenna first to see if that improves the range. I'll post if it works out. Again thanks for your time.
RoHe
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45.2K Posts
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September 5th, 2022 18:00
And you could always get a USB3>BT5 dongle and disable BT on the add-in card in Device Manager.
Since the dongle is outside the PC case, it may have better range, assuming your devices support BT 5.