Motherboard Built-in Wi-Fi 6E Card Upgrade

I bought the Intel AX210 Wi-Fi 6E card and replaced my old built-in Wi-Fi card on my motherboard. The speed test at the end reaches full download and upload speed from my internet provider.

[@will_neithan]

IMPORTANT!!! Some news I have just learned thanks to @garyc5245 comment.
So, apparently, there is this thing called Intel CNVi and CNVi wi-fi cards work only with CNVi motherboards and CNVi motherboards work exclusively with CNVi wi-fi cards. Also, CNVi has two versions that need to be matched too. Study up on that before swapping your wi-fi cards!
read this before new wi-fi card purchase:
www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000026155/wireless.html
link content:
Intel Integrated Connectivity moves key elements of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Technology into Intel processors.
The solution is comprised of:
- CNVi, the integrated wireless IP portion of Intel processors
- A companion RF (CRF) module in M.2 form factor (2230 and 1216 Soldered Down)
These Intel Wireless Adapters are CRF modules that support Intel Integrated Connectivity:
- Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX411
- Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211
- Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX203
- Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201
- Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX101
- Intel Wireless-AC 9560
- Intel Wireless-AC 9462
- Intel Wireless-AC 9461
These CRFs can only be used with select Intel processors/chipset on systems/motherboards that is specifically designed to support it.
Though you can insert these CRF into a standard M.2 Key E socket, they are only compatible with a system designed for the CNVi. Contact your system or motherboard manufacturer to verify compatibility.
forum thread:
community.intel.com/t5/Wireless/Differences-between-Intel-AX211-vs-AX210-WiFi-6E-Bluetooth-v5-2/m-p/1358093
link content:
"I do not like the fact that a M.2 Type E socket supporting CNVio or CNVio2 cannot be used with/for generic M.2 Type E devices. That is, if you have a motherboard with a CNVio-based M.2 Type E socket, you can *only* install a Wireless-AC 9461, 9462 or 9560 module. Similarly, if you have a motherboard with a CNVio2-based M.2 Type E socket, you can *only* install a Wireless-AX AX201 or AX211 module. When I say '*only*', I mean that installing anything else may cause the motherboard to not even power up."

[@waderhoden]

Hi thanks for making this video it has help greatly, one question thou. I'm building a new pc and I want to know if I should update my motherboard bios before or after I replace the wifi card?

[@will_neithan]

Hey, I'm glad the video helped. Regarding the BIOS, I would say, that the general rule is to upgrade it before the hardware change, because old BIOS has higher chance of not supporting the new hardware. In such case the worst case would be that your PC does not boot. However, if you have the possibility of flashing your motherboard directly without turning on your PC, then such a worst case scenario means nothing much, because you just stick your prepared flash drive with the new BIOS in the motherboard and upgrade it though press of a button. If you do not have the option to flash your bios externally, then you would have to remove the newly added hardware, upgrade BIOS, then put the new hardware back in. So, I guess upgrade BIOS before. Don't forget that BIOS upgrade usually deletes all your BIOS settings, so back them up. There is also styles that you never upgrade BIOS unless you are experiencing some issue because new bios version can cause new instabilities or bugs. However, I do not follow this way of thinking. I upgrade my bios every time I encounter a new version and if there would be a problem because of it, I can always just flash it back to previous version with no issues.

[@waderhoden]

@@will_neithan thanks, appreciate the advice 🙏🏾

[@waderhoden]

hey one last question, are the antenna cables specific to a certain connector on the wifi card? or it doesn't matter? Like any antenna wire can be connected to any of the of antenna slots on the wifi card?

[@will_neithan]

@@waderhoden Hey, yes, it should not matter. To my knowledge, antennas are universal. That doesn't mean though that some antennas can't be better than others.

[@waderhoden]

@@will_neithan thanks man, your the best!!!

[@simonneville777]

Thanks heaps, I did this to my motherboard ( Asus TUF Gaming B650M-PLUS WiFi) after watching your video. It was simple and easy and worked like a charm. I got the Wifi card from Ali express for approx equivalence of $10 usd delivered. It's something I'll do with all my motherboards now I don't want to waste time trying to find work arounds etc if it's not Kernel supported in linux I'm not interested especially when the work around is so quick and easy.

[@will_neithan]

I'm glad the video helped:) Don't forget to read also the pinned comment about the CNVi wi-fi cards!

[@garyc5245]

just to verify, if I have a wifi 6 (AX201 card) you "cannot" upgrade to the a 6E AX210...right? I've had a device manager error with the current new z590 motherboard and I noticed the 2 wires that connect to the m.2 wifi card were making contact with each other and not sure if that is the cause of the issue. Great video btw, wish i would have found this before my tear down

[@will_neithan]

Thank you for bringing this issue to my attention! I have done some research and it seems that Intel has made things more confusing and less universal. Check the comment I have pinned.
So, my understanding is, that if your z590 is a CNVi motherboard, you can use only CNVi wi-fi card in the m.2 slot specified for built-in wi-fi, however any other m.2 slot should be able to utilize a non-CNVi wi-fi card, like the AX210.