ASUS ROG G751- WiFi suffers when lid closes. Replace 7260 Network Adapter with 9260?

[Paras Lehana]

Hi, Republic of Gamers,

I own an ASUS ROG G751 for last 5 years. My model contains the Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 NGW Network Adapter.

Like other users complaining about 7260 on the internet, I had similar issues with it but they were very rare and mostly got fixed by resetting the adapter or running a few CMD commands.

Recently, I bought a 144 Hz QHD display (Samsung LC27JG54QQWXXL) for my laptop that's running perfectly okay. Yes, the laptop outputs 1440p at 144 Hz both via HDMI and DP. Since I have a new display, I often keep my laptop lid closed.

For the past few days, I was observing constant signal drops on my WiFi networks. The problem that started with slow WiFi soon transformed into No WiFi. My ROG was unable to catch the 5 GHz WiFi at my home. While trying to connect it to the 2.4 GHz one, it gives "Can't connect to this network". I followed almost every method on the internet but couldn't increase the signal strength past one bar at maximum. To troubleshoot, I tried making a Mobile Hotspot. Although, the signal strength showing up on the screen was still abnormal (I kept my phone near the laptop), I could connect but experienced too slow speeds.

Before I could plan to buy an internal or external WiFi adapter, I tried to disassemble the laptop following this. The WiFi chip houses on the top left of the laptop (photo attached) and the two antennas goes behind the display.This is when something hit my mind.



Could the lid opening or closing impact the signal?

I know it seems abnormal and yes, I could not find any related issue on the internet regarding my model though I found a few ones for other laptops. But to my surprise, the signal strength regained when I kept the lid open! Besides asking you for other recommendations, do you think this could have been a reason for the signal drop? I had many times downloaded torrents keeping lid closed and I don't remember if I had faced a similar issue. I also found posts over the internet that mentions signal drops due to an external monitor!

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Anyways, I'm also willing to replace the Network Adapter if I could get a better upgrade with least money. Since the laptop currently houses an NGW model, I think it supports M.2 adapters and not Mini-PCIe. Please correct as in the other case, I think 7260 is already the best I could replace with. If case is the former, I'm willing to upgrade it with 8265 or 9260. They look so cheap on AliExpress and if they are genuine, I'm okay to pay this much. Will the upgrade be worth it? I read on some site that the laptop deals with some regularity stuff and that I may have a problem changing the network adapter.

I created this thread primarily for the lid issue as there were many threads regarding the upgrade already (though most of them doesn't confirm about the upgrades). In case I upgrade, I will be happy to assist users with pictures, howto and videos detailing how to upgrade and general FAQs.

Thanks in advance.

[edrickjk]

Antenna is in the lid its possible it would affect the signal when close. I would check in your power sleep setting,its highly possible that your wifi switch to low power when the lid is close .

[Paras Lehana]

Antenna is in the lid - it's possible it would affect the signal when close.

Yes, the two wires from the chip go into the antennas that is in the lid. So, in this case, if I decide to upgrade with a better chip like 9260NGW, would the signal improve given that antennas remain the same? Would the chip itself have any effect?

It's highly possible that your wifi switch to low power when the lid is closed.

I had already checked the settings. Well, Power Saving Mode in Wireless Adapter Settings is set to Maximum Performance. You may be right as I still experience a steep decrease in WiFi connectivity as soon as I close the lid. WiFi works fine if not good even when the lid is slightly open.