Asus PCE-AC55BT can I replace the WLAN card?

[PLAfiller]

Greetings all,

I have the following PCIe card in my PC since 2014: Asus PCE-AC55BT. It has been working fine, but recently the Bluetooth is making problems, like random disconnects and so on. Obviously the card paid itself long ago.

But should I throw it away for e-waste or I can replace the card on the daughter board and keep using it? Thank you in advance for the help.

 

[Assimilator]

Yes, you should be able to retain the PCIe card and simply replace the WLAN module that actually provides the WiFi + BT functionality.

However there's no guarantee that the module is the problem - it could be the cable that connects from the card's header to a USB port to provide the BT functionality, it could be the traces on the card leading to that header, etc...

Given that card + module is generally only a little more expensive than module alone (which makes sense, given the card is a very dumb adapter), and when buying both together you don't need to worry about incompatibility or installation, I'd just shell out the extra cash for peace of mind.

 

[PLAfiller]

Yes, you should be able to retain the PCIe card and simply replace the WLAN module that actually provides the WiFi + BT functionality.

However there's no guarantee that the module is the problem - it could be the cable that connects from the card's header to a USB port to provide the BT functionality, it could be the traces on the card leading to that header, etc...

Given that card + module is generally only a little more expensive than module alone (which makes sense, given the card is a very dumb adapter), and when buying both together you don't need to worry about incompatibility or installation, I'd just shell out the extra cash for peace of mind.

You kind of read through me , I was thinking it could be something else. I will play around in the weekend and see if I can isolate the issue. Motherboard is brand new, this card I have been transferring from build to build. Most probably just replace it with something newer BT 5.0 at least.

 

[Bill_Bright]

It could also be the cable to the antenna. The antenna itself will be fine, assuming you didn't step on it or the dog did not chew on it. But you might inspect the cable to make sure it is not frayed or broken where it enters the antenna housing, or on the cables connector end.

If you don't see anything obvious wrong, then I agree with Assimilator and I would just buy all new. Besides there are faster wifi adapters than AC1200 and that BT 4.2 has been superseded a few times too.

Backing up for a second, you are experiencing these disconnect issues with more than just one wireless/BT device, right?

 

[PLAfiller]

Backing up for a second, you are experiencing these disconnect issues with more than just one wireless/BT device, right?

Yes, more like the bluetooth is gone. Windows says "this PC doesn't have bluetooth capabilites". It's jsut gone. I am not able to connect any of the usual devices like phone, mouse, headset.

Follow up from this morning: I had a 1030N from an old DELL laptop sitting in a box. I popped it up inside the Asus adapter and it fired right up! I have bluetooth again . The 7260 was dead. I checked on Aliexpress and they cost something like ~€6 or so. We will see. I definitely want my next motherboard to have this integrated, no more add on cards for wifi/BT.