Upgrading laptops with CNVio WiFi adapters (eg Intel AC 9560) to newer Intel WiFi 6 (AX200) WiFi 6e (AX210) WiFi 7 (BE200) cards

[Alex Atkin UK]

34 minutes ago, Sajuuk said:

I have got a new AX200 and ordered one AX210.

For some reason I cannot acheive decent Wifi speed in linux (Ubuntu) on either 9560 or AX200 cards.

 

Be warned, the AX210 needs kernel 5.10+ so is not supported in stock distros at the moment.  Even the Bluetooth doesn't work.

Although I wouldn't hold my breath that it will fix your problem as I never had speed issues on either of my old cards.

[Masimo]

I managed to get an AX200NGW running in a MSI GS75 laptop. Simple replacement of the AC9560 or Killer 1550i) by either AX200 or AX201 in the existing slot didn't work because of incompatibility. But I found a workaround (which unfortunately comes with some disadvantages).

Head over to the MSI support forum to find out how I did it.

 

[Alex Atkin UK]

11 hours ago, Masimo said:

I managed to get an AX200NGW running in a MSI GS75 laptop. Simple replacement of the AC9560 or Killer 1550i) by either AX200 or AX201 in the existing slot didn't work because of incompatibility. But I found a workaround (which unfortunately comes with some disadvantages).

Head over to the MSI support forum to find out how I did it.

 

Ah, presumably you ran into the issue of the WiFi M.2 being CNVi only rather than a whitelist issue, or I'd expect it not to work in any M.2 slot.  Think I'd rather stick with old WiFi than lose an M.2 slot, but neither of my laptops have a second slot anyway.

[Masimo]

The same trick works with an AX210NGW wifi-adapter. But again at the expense of an NVME slot.

 

[Alex Atkin UK]

59 minutes ago, Masimo said:

The same trick works with an AX210NGW wifi-adapter. But again at the expense of an NVME slot.

 

Have you compared the performance between the AX200 and AX210?  First impressions for me is it seems slightly faster, although I'm still on a WiFi 5 network as waiting on WiFi 6e Access Points to upgrade.

[Masimo]

Yes, I made a comparison. Working with a Netgear R7800 AC router (Channel 108; 80 MHz channelwidth).

4 meters distance from the router, 1 brick wall as an obstacle. Moving a 10 GB file from laptop to NAS.

 

AC9560: max. 50 MB/s (400 Mbps)

AX200:   max. 60 MB/s (480 Mbps)

AX210:   max. 66 MB/s (528 Mbps)

 

I'll upgrade my GS75 to have wifi-6E and bluetooth 5.2 shortly. Check out my plan here.

 

Switched my R7800 to 160 MHz channelwidth and speeds have seriously increased with the AX210.

I'm running both wifi-cards in the laptop at the moment. The AC9560 in the miniPCIe/CNVi slot, the AX210 with the NVME / wifi adapter.

The AC9560 remains stuck at max. speeds of 50 MB/s.

 

[Alex Atkin UK]

On 1/20/2021 at 8:26 PM, Masimo said:

Yes, I made a comparison. Working with a Netgear R7800 AC router (Channel 108; 80 MHz channelwidth).

4 meters distance from the router, 1 brick wall as an obstacle. Moving a 10 GB file from laptop to NAS.

 

AC9560: max. 50 MB/s (400 Mbps)

AX200:   max. 60 MB/s (480 Mbps)

AX210:   max. 66 MB/s (528 Mbps)

 

I'll upgrade my GS75 to have wifi-6E and bluetooth 5.2 shortly. Check out my plan here.

 

Switched my R7800 to 160 MHz channelwidth and speeds have seriously increased with the AX210.

I'm running both wifi-cards in the laptop at the moment. The AC9560 in the miniPCIe/CNVi slot, the AX210 with the NVME / wifi adapter.

The AC9560 remains stuck at max. speeds of 50 MB/s.

 

Surely only one of them has antennas plugged in, or did you add extras for the AX210?

I must say seeing your result there, I'm decidedly unimpressed with my nanoHD now.  Its just gotten slower over time and I can't figure out why.

[Masimo]

On 1/21/2021 at 11:26 PM, Alex Atkin UK said:

Surely only one of them has antennas plugged in, or did you add extras for the AX210?

I must say seeing your result there, I'm decidedly unimpressed with my nanoHD now.  Its just gotten slower over time and I can't figure out why.

I added a pair of additonal antennas for the AX210. They are actually fairly easy to install. I've put them between the two original antennas in the lower backside of the chassis. The cables simply run on top and across the motherboard to the NVME slot with the AX210 + adapater. I kept the antenna wires in place with small pieces of adhesive tape (the office type). As a temporary measure. I'll optimize the set-up when the second AX210 arrives.

 

(By the way, Windows allows to run two wireless cards simultanously. You can switch between the two via the wifi settings in the system tray.)

 

Update 29-1-2021:

 

The second AX210 came in today and I replaced the AC9560 in the CNVi slot. The AX210's wifi portion doesn't work, but the bluetooth part does.

So I am using AX210 #1 (in the NVME adapter) for wifi only (future proof, waiting for wifi-6E equipment to become available).

AX210 #2 provides bluetooth 5.2.

So no major surgical procedures required to get it running. Lost one of the two NVME slots, but compensated that by replacing the 500GB Evo Plus by a 2TB version.

 

Played around with antenna type and placement and optimized speed. Current transfer rates (5GHz downlink, R7800 AC router, 160 MHz channel width) in the same position as before (4 meters distance; 1 brick wall as an obstacle):

 

 

Happy camper! 

 

Edited January 29, 2021 by Masimo
update

[REIMENTAL]

I just put the AX 200 at an lenovo legion y540 as another guy mentioned in the previus pages and it works ! thank you !

[Alex Atkin UK]

In related news, this is very promising: https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/33226-wi-fi-6e-preview-with-asus-gt-axe11000-rog-rapture?showall=&start=1

[GrubaAkcja]

I can also confirm that AX200NGW works on Lenovo Y540.

15$ upgrade to WiFi 6 & BT 5.2 from Aliexpress  

 

[yolgezer]

I want to update the wifi card of the Asus G703gs notebook model, which is the intel 9560 wifi card I am using, I have seen those who use it with the ax200, but is the new ax210 compatible?

[Alex Atkin UK]

On 9/24/2021 at 6:44 PM, yolgezer said:

I want to update the wifi card of the Asus G703gs notebook model, which is the intel 9560 wifi card I am using, I have seen those who use it with the ax200, but is the new ax210 compatible?

The AX210 should work on the same machines the AX200 does.

 

The only unknown is how well it will work on 6Ghz using 5Ghz antennas.  I suspect it WILL work, but with shorter range than a machine that comes with the AX210 as standard.  But its worth the upgrade anyway as it actually performs better than the AX200 on 5Ghz and worse support than a new machine is better than no support at all.

[zogthegreat]

Hi everyone!

 

I can confirm that the Intel AX200 Wifi can work on the following hardware:

 

Dell Latitude E7270

Dell Optiplex 9020 micro

Dell Optiplex 7040 micro

 

I have also gotten the card to work under MacOS Big Sur using itlwm and heliport.

 

[dbahia]

Hi guys, I tried updating from Intel 9462 to Intel AX211, but with no sucess on Dell Inspiron 5406. The notebook manual says AX201 is compatible.

 

I think even between CNVio2 platforms, there is incompatibility for upgrades. My AX211 has subsystem ID 0094, which according to .inf files for driver would be supported only in those devices:

 

PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2726&SUBSYS_00948086

PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_51F0&SUBSYS_00948086

PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_54F0&SUBSYS_00948086

PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_7A70&SUBSYS_00948086

PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_7AF0&SUBSYS_00948086

PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_7E40&SUBSYS_00948086

PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_7F70&SUBSYS_00948086

 

My current card has device ID A0F0,

 

A0F0 has these devices listed in .inf file:

 

%NIC_201_2x2_AX%         = Install_BU_QSR_HrP_201_AX_2x2_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_00008086 ; AX
%NIC_9560_2x2_AC%        = Install_GEN_QSR_JfP_9560_AC_2x2_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_00308086 ; AC
%NIC_9560_2x2_AC%        = Install_GEN_QSR_JfP_9560_AC_2x2_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_00348086 ; AC
%NIC_9560_2x2_AC%        = Install_GEN_QSR_JfP_9560_AC_2x2_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_00388086 ; AC
%NIC_9560_2x2_AC%        = Install_GEN_QSR_JfP_9560_AC_2x2_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_003C8086 ; AC
%NIC_221_2x2_AX_6G%      = Install_GEN_QSR_MrP2_221_AX_6G_2x2_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_00508086 ; AX_6G
%NIC_9461_1x1_AC%        = Install_GEN_QSR_JfP1_9461_AC_1x1_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_00608086 ; AC
%NIC_9461_1x1_AC%        = Install_GEN_QSR_JfP1_9461_AC_1x1_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_00648086 ; AC
%NIC_201_2x2_AX%         = Install_GEN_QSR_HrP_201_AX_2x2_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_00708086 ; AX
%NIC_201_2x2_AX%         = Install_GEN_QSR_HrP_201_AX_2x2_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_00748086 ; AX
%NIC_201_2x2_AX%         = Install_GEN_QSR_HrP_201_AX_2x2_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_00788086 ; AX
%NIC_201_2x2_AX%         = Install_GEN_QSR_HrP_201_AX_2x2_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_007C8086 ; AX
%NIC_9462_1x1_AC%        = Install_GEN_QSR_JfP1_9462_AC_1x1_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_00A08086 ; AC
%NIC_9462_1x1_AC%        = Install_GEN_QSR_JfP1_9462_AC_1x1_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_00A48086 ; AC
%NIC_9560_2x2_AC_no_160% = Install_GEN_QSR_JfP_9560_AC_no_160_2x2_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_02308086 ; AC_no_160
%NIC_9560_2x2_AC_no_160% = Install_GEN_QSR_JfP_9560_AC_no_160_2x2_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_02348086 ; AC_no_160
%NIC_9560_2x2_AC_no_160% = Install_GEN_QSR_JfP_9560_AC_no_160_2x2_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_02388086 ; AC_no_160
%NIC_9560_2x2_AC_no_160% = Install_GEN_QSR_JfP_9560_AC_no_160_2x2_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_023C8086 ; AC_no_160
%NIC_101_1x1_AX_no_160%  = Install_GEN_QSR_HrP1_101_AX_no_160_1x1_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_02448086 ; AX_no_160
%NIC_9461_1x1_AC_no_160% = Install_GEN_QSR_JfP1_9461_AC_no_160_1x1_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_02608086 ; AC_no_160
%NIC_9461_1x1_AC_no_160% = Install_GEN_QSR_JfP1_9461_AC_no_160_1x1_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_02648086 ; AC_no_160
%NIC_203_2x2_AX_no_160%  = Install_GEN_QSR_JnP_203_AX_no_160_2x2_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_02748086 ; AX_no_160
%NIC_9462_1x1_AC_no_160% = Install_GEN_QSR_JfP1_9462_AC_no_160_1x1_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_02A08086 ; AC_no_160
%NIC_9462_1x1_AC_no_160% = Install_GEN_QSR_JfP1_9462_AC_no_160_1x1_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_02A48086 ; AC_no_160
%NIC_201_2x2_AX%         = Install_BU_QSR_HrP_201_AX_2x2_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_0A108086 ; AX
%NIC_1550s_2x2_AC%       = Install_RIV_QSR_JfP_1550s_AC_2x2_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_15511A56 ; AC
%NIC_1550i_2x2_AC%       = Install_RIV_QSR_JfP_1550i_AC_2x2_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_15521A56 ; AC
%NIC_1650s_2x2_AX%       = Install_RIV_QSR_HrP_1650s_AX_2x2_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_16511A56 ; AX
%NIC_1650i_2x2_AX%       = Install_RIV_QSR_HrP_1650i_AX_2x2_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_16521A56 ; AX
%NIC_9560_2x2_AC%        = Install_GEN_QSR_JfP_9560_AC_2x2_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_20308086 ; AC
%NIC_9560_2x2_AC%        = Install_GEN_QSR_JfP_9560_AC_2x2_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_20348086 ; AC
%NIC_201_2x2_AX%         = Install_GEN_QSR_HrP_201_AX_2x2_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_20748086 ; AX
%NIC_9560_2x2_AC%        = Install_GEN_QSR_JfP_9560_AC_2x2_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_40308086 ; AC
%NIC_9560_2x2_AC%        = Install_GEN_QSR_JfP_9560_AC_2x2_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_40348086 ; AC
%NIC_201_2x2_AX%         = Install_GEN_QSR_HrP_201_AX_2x2_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_40708086 ; AX
%NIC_9462_1x1_AC%        = Install_GEN_QSR_JfP1_9462_AC_1x1_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_40A48086 ; AC
%NIC_9560_2x2_AC_no_160% = Install_GEN_QSR_JfP_9560_AC_no_160_2x2_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_42348086 ; AC_no_160
%NIC_101_1x1_AX_no_160%  = Install_GEN_QSR_HrP1_101_AX_no_160_1x1_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_42448086 ; AX_no_160
%NIC_203_2x2_AX_no_160%  = Install_GEN_QSR_JnP_203_AX_no_160_2x2_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_42748086 ; AX_no_160
%NIC_9462_1x1_AC_no_160% = Install_GEN_QSR_JfP1_9462_AC_no_160_1x1_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_42A48086 ; AC_no_160
%NIC_201_2x2_AX%         = Install_GEN_QSR_HrP_201_AX_2x2_WinN , PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A0F0&SUBSYS_60748086 ; AX

 

So maybe you should check if your device id supports AX211 before buying one.

[Alex Atkin UK]

10 hours ago, dbahia said:

So maybe you should check if your device id supports AX211 before buying one.

I stand firmly behind my view that CNVIo is a horrible invention.  The whole point of a socketed card is to be able to upgrade it, Intel ruined that.

[dbahia]

It seems A0F0 is the device if for Tiger Lake UP3 processor CNVi Firmware. It also seems that AX211 is currently only supported by Alder Lake-S (DevID 7AF0) and Alder Lake-P (51F0).

[Allen-R]

(sorry for commenting on old thread, made an account just now to comment this)

Found this guy (2nd page) saying that the AX200 card works on his Acer Nitro 5 AN515-53 (same as my laptop which I think is also CNVIo v1) by using this tape-method (1st page). I know the page says "Intel 9260" but that NitroMage dude uses the same laptop as I do (If I go to Windows Settings > System > About I also see "Nitro AN515-53") and my Device Manager says "Intel(R) Wireless-AC 9560"

That post was about AX200 but can anyone here confirm if the AX210 works with the Acer Nitro 5 AN515-53 model if they use the cover-2-pins-with-tape method? (dunno if that method also works for other incompatible CNVIo laptops)

Just wanna see if I can really get WiFi 6E & BT 5.2 to future-proof this old 2018 model Nitro 5 that I have.
(also wanna see if the dual-joycon lag thing is fixed with this module change, 'cause it seems like a BT problem with Intel 9560)
(this all started with me wanting to remove the joycon lag and then I saw that you can change WiFi+BT card in laptops to support newer stuff)


Like the 2 users on that thread, "What are these pins for?"
The 2 pins:

Edited January 19, 2022 by Allen-R
Added more stuff v8 (+ small edit)

[Allen-R]

On 12/9/2021 at 9:43 AM, Alex Atkin UK said:

I stand firmly behind my view that CNVIo is a horrible invention.  The whole point of a socketed card is to be able to upgrade it, Intel ruined that.

also yeah, 𝕎 𝕋 𝔽 Intel?

[Allen-R]

Not gonna try the AX211 since those (as said in this thread's first page) only support 10th gen Intel (CNVIo2) and I have 8th gen Intel (CNVIo card).

[Allen-R]

On 1/5/2020 at 1:29 AM, nosirrahx said:

I am doing my install today but you can check out my communication with Intel about CNVio and CNVio2 here:

https://forums.intel.com/s/question/0D70P000006dg55/cnvio-vs-cnvio2-documentation?language=en_US

Dunno why, but it just redirects to the home page.
Is this the same one tho? (I can access this one)
 

On 1/8/2020 at 5:38 AM, nosirrahx said:

My understanding is that if you put a PICe card in a CNVio slot that you will either lose wifi or bluetooth. The one time I tried this I had that result.

Have you tried covering 2 of the pins at the back of the card? This dude said doing that fixed it for him.
Dunno what those pins are for tho.

Edited January 19, 2022 by Allen-R
Added more stuff v2

[Allen-R]

Wait I think I found a post regarding those 2 pins:
https://thecomputerperson.wordpress.com/2016/11/04/how-to-mask-off-the-wifi-power-off-pins-on-m-2-ngff-wireless-cards-the-old-mini-pci-pin-20-trick/

I saw mentions of the AX200/210 in the comments (the 210 comment is still someone asking if it works or not)
Something about always keeping the radio "on" or something. But then the bottom comment says you can still turn it off but what about bluetooth? I wonder if Bluetooth will now always stay on with this mod (if it really works on the AN515-53 model)

There's also this reddit post talking about taping pins:

 

[DaniDuck]

FINAL GOOD EXPLANATION.

 

Hello Everyone. I know as well as you guys that this topic is old and very confusing without mention frustrating because the lack of information. Thank you intel for this. So i'm going to help you. First thing first. The meaning of CNVi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNVi

 

Intel the chipset manufacturer since 2017 created the Wifi CNVi standard for making "cheaper" and "expensive" wifi cards with the new tech wifi 5 (AC) and wifi 6-6E (AX).

 

THE DIFFERENCES:

 

-The "Cheap cards": In order to make the wifi cards "cheaper" ($10 USD aprox.), intel created the CNVi cards: AC9560, AX201, AX211, as "empty cards" or RFID only. This means that this cards only have 2.4Ghz, 5GHz and bluetooth antennas inside and thats all. No wifi chip processor. The "wifi processor chip work" is done by the intel CPU processor ONLY in this compatible models:

 

-AC9560 (wifi 5 ac/bt5.1) : Intel i8 gen, Intel i9 gen ONLY. (CNVi v1)

-AX201 (wifi 6 ax/bt5.2) : Intel i10 gen, Intel i11 gen ONLY. (CNVi v2)

-AX211 (wifi 6E ax/bt5.2) : Intel i10 gen, Intel i11 gen ONLY. (CNVi v2)

Impotant: CNVi1 and CNVi2 are NOT COMPATIBLE between them.

 

That's the reason why you connect one of these incompatible cards in yor gear and your PC/Laptop won't even turn it on.

 

-"The Expensive cards": Now in the other side exists a type of "expensive cards" ($20USD aprox.) with the "wifi processor chip" inside (so you dont need the CPU processor to make them work):

 

-AC9260 (wifi5 ac/bt5.1) : compatible with any processor/pci-e board.

-AX200 (wifi6 ax/bt5.2) : compatible with any processor/pci-e board.

-AX210 (wifi6E ax/bt5.2) : compatible with any processor/pci-e board.

 

That's the reason why you will connect one of these compatible cards in yor gear and your PC/Laptop WILL WORK PERFECTLY!.

 

So now you know the differences and what to buy. Hope this helps to anyone in the future.

 

Dan.

 

Also here is a picture for comparing the connectors:

[Alex Atkin UK]

I have an interesting follow up.

 

While the AX210 performs better on WiFi 5 than the AX200, I actually found the AX200 performs better on WiFi 6 than the AX210.

 

Now it maybe down to the antennas on the specific laptop I was testing, but it seems really curious seeing as you'd expect them to perform the same or the AX210 better.

The AX200 is also outperforming the Macbook Pro M1 Pro, at least with my specific Access Point.

[Brian64]

I recently purchased the Asus F512JA Vivo 15 budget laptop, it comes with the Intel AC 9462 M.2 2230 CNVio-1 (E-key) wifi card, now my laptop specs include the gen.10 i3 processor running Windows 10 so it's kind of strange they added this mildly slow wifi card that has a max speed of 433Mbps. My internet plan is 1.2Gbps so I decided to upgrade the card, here are the results of the upgrade.

 

Intel AC 9560

 

This card was immediately recognized and I used the latest intel drivers for this card, testing reached peaks of 1.7Gbps and steady 1.2Gbps speeds with one problem, after hours of use the wifi card mysteriously disappears and no matter what I tried network reset, reboot, re-install drivers, delete driver in device manager could not bring this card back to life, only a removal of the card and a reboot then reinstall of the card would reactivate the 9560, very strange.  Also I tried shutting off all power saving settings under windows that shut off the wifi, didn't work.

 

   I am considering the intel 9260 wifi card but at this point I could use some advice on potential upgrades.  I realize its most likely the CNVio that is affecting my choices and that the intel processor is doing all the hard work while the card is nothing more than a transmitter.

 

What are my options, am I stuck in CNVio-1 hell?    Any help is appreciated