That's a half height card. 2280 form factor I believe.
Yes, I ran ubuntu and it does not detect a wifi adapter at all. Only an Ethernet adapter.
That may not be definitive however. There was lots of chatter I saw complaining of the Broadcom Driver not playing nice with Linux.
Also tried Safe Mode with Networking and it did not see a connection.
I can't see how a OS/software problem could explain the connectivity positive but only when right on top of the router experiment.
As I said I couldn't keep my 7260 in 1903 connected, it would connect and then just die. I never did try to move closer to router to see if it became more solid.
I thought you might be seeing something similar.
Hi , sorry if i am late on this one , but here are few facts to answer all your questions through out the thread :
- The range of Toshiba Satellite C55 all ships "Whitelisted" a term used on the internet to describe laptops that wouldn't accept a different model to replace wifi card inside .
- There are underground sites specialized in removing white lists from laptop's bioses but they failed with this model (usually they are successful with those not heavily touched phoenix bios laptops but Toshiba heavily modify their's)
- While the majority of Whitelisted laptops won't allow you to even boot a laptop when the card model / brand switch , Toshiba's Whitelisting manages to boot windows but make the card unrecognizable . they do so so you can use the port as an extra M.2 slot to install a small S.S.D drive but not to replace the Wifi card by another .
- When you search for a replacement all you need is to search the model number on merchants website which is : bcm943142y and make sure it shows in listed name .
- There is one of those sold on amazon for 6$ (+shipping)
- The slot on the laptop is M.2 (accepts ssds) and also NGFF (accept small form factor wifi cards) , the card however is economical NGFF so its cut is even smaller than NGFF but still is NGFF standard .
- The only mean to test if the problem is with antenna is to get replacement external antennas (comes in packages of two separate antennas each with a dangling wire to attach to card) which sell for similar price as the card , those antennas however are meant for test purposes only and are not made as a long term solution .
- Debugging logic instructs you try first testing with antennas as when it turns out the problem is laptop's internal antennas then buying an external card/dongle becomes inevitable so you save on card's price and yet have antennas for upcoming debug challenges than rather 2 working obsolete cards .
I hope that answers all your questions .
Cheers
Yes nIGHTmAYOR, great input. Thanks for the info on the whitelist. That fits with the other oddities working on this machine.
Question on the antennae: I am not familiar with exactly how those 2 antennae work. One is designated MAIN and the other is designated AUX.
Is MAIN used for 2.4G and AUX for 5G bands?
Or do both work together for either band?
If AUX is used for 5G only, can I switch the leads on the card to see if it gets a signal that way to test?
Test antennae: can these be generic, or must they be Toshiba branded/compatible?
Where I stand now:
- I have ordered an exact replacement WiFi card (new, $5 with shipping!) and it is due in next week.
- The laptop owner has to go back home today, so this experiment will be on hold for a bit. I will revive the thread when I get some results.
- Please keep the thoughts and info coming though!
- If this were my laptop I would be doing all kinds of Frankenstein experiments, but alas.....
- If the replacement card does not work I am going to push her towards the dongle solution.
- If I get test antennae, and they correct the problem, I may still push the dongle. Finding new OEM replacement antennae has been difficult so far. I've only found used ones on EBay. Not going that route.
An update:
Surprisingly, the new replacement card arrived today. I just installed it. Uninstalled old card from Windows before physically switching out the cards.
No change. No joy.
The signal *might* be a little stronger when standing next to the router, but probably just placebo effect.
So antennae are the only option left to get the original configuration to work. (personal challenge)
I'm going to push for the dongle, at least for now.
Told you to go for the antennas not the card . well basically the aux and the main play together in the 2.4 GHz setup and the 5 GHz setup , but separate only if card support dual banding , i.e when the card is capable of connecting twice to router to output double bandwidth , like when your card support 5 GHz AC 1200 Mb/s then each antenna is responsible for 600 Mb/s connection . But with single band both wires just work together to have intensified signal .
Now that we know the wired antenna got busted your next option is dongle adapters .
I'm looking for new antennas for this machine. Not having much luck finding correct replacements.
The Toshiba P/Ns are PA0042 Rev X2 (Main), PA0074 Rev X1 (Aux). Manufacturer: SMY.
I'll keep looking. But it will be some time before I see the rig again, so I have no rush.
when it comes to antennas any would do , judging that the connecting part is NGFF size , when its longer than the older route then just extend the route , when its shorter then just tape it where it ends along the route .
the problem however isn't finding them , its that it requires disassembling the entire laptop to get them replaced , its like they start with the antenna then build a laptop around them , hence why all techs opt for dongle replacement when it comes to that .
P.S there are few other factors you need to bare in mind , it may not all be about the card which turned out to be doing well nor the antennas , it could well be the socket connector got fried or oxidized from an electricity burst or a heat wave that may reduce its conductivity resulting in hindered connectivity , also a busted capacitor anywhere near the socket can do that too . hence again why all techs opt for dongle replacement with these "its acting up" scenarios than rather "its dead and require replacement" ones which are more clear .
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