Laptops AC 9650

tommy_vercetti

Well-Known Member
Skilled
Hi All,

I have a laptop Acer Nitro 5 AN5151-52 and facing issues with the inbuilt Intel AC 9650 network adaptor, it works sometimes, sometimes stop working, sometimes disappears from the device manager so was thinking of changing it, looking for recommendations like should I buy the same or if there is a better model for it.
 

enthusiast29

Active Member
Disciple
Did you try reseating it? Or completely uninstalling drivers and installing latest ones directly from intel?
 

tommy_vercetti

Well-Known Member
Skilled
enthusiast29 said:
Did you try reseating it? Or completely uninstalling drivers and installing latest ones directly from intel?
Click to expand...
Done, uninstalling, reinstalling OS, updating drivers and what not, I have not reseated it as it is a little difficult to open the laptop, but yes that is on my agenda to open the laptop and remove it, clean it and reseat it
 

blackhorn

Member
Recruit
it could just be that, changing network adapters is not that simple, some can have compatibility issues, and info on this subject is decidedly scarce. You'd be better off with a usb dongle, however if you're a bit of a tinkerer, it could be a good opportunity to experiment.
 

Titokhan

Well-Known Member
Disciple
@tommy_vercetti

Although @blackhorn's concerns are mostly justified, here are a few things:
  • Are you on the latest BIOS? Since Intel often bundles new Wireless Microcode (WCOD) updates with the ME firmware, updating the BIOS and/or the ME is worth a try.
  • In case you're determined to upgrade, try to locate a Wi-Fi 6(E)/Bluetooth 5 module like Intel AX200/AX210 or Killer AX1650/AX1675 from eBay to make your purchase future-proof. Fenvi is a very reputed OEM in this regard.
  • Acer doesn't impose any kind of whitelist on aftermarket WLAN modules, which means you can just pop out the existing M.2 card out and install the new one.
 
Last edited:

tommy_vercetti

Well-Known Member
Skilled
Titokhan said:
@tommy_vercetti

Although @blackhorn's concerns are mostly justified, here are a few things:
  • Are you on the latest BIOS? Since Intel often bundles new Wireless Microcode (WCOD) updates with the ME firmware, updating the BIOS and/or the ME is worth a try.
  • In case you're determined to upgrade, try to locate a Wi-Fi 6(E)/Bluetooth 5 module like Intel AX200/AX210 or Killer AX1650/AX1675 from eBay to make your purchase future-proof. Fenvi is a very reputed OEM in this regard.
  • Acer doesn't impose any kind of whitelist on aftermarket WLAN modules, which means you can just pop out the existing M.2 card out and install the new one.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the detailed notes, BIOS is updated to the latest version 1.28 for Acer Nitro 5 AN5151-52, Acer has actually not updated the drivers or BIOS since 2018, I bought this in Jul 2019 from flipkart, in the next few days I will open it and remove the module to check it.
 

Titokhan

Well-Known Member
Disciple
@tommy_vercetti

Welcome!

Note that it is possible to manually update the ME firmware; you don't need to get the update package from the OEM (Acer, in this case). I can help you with that.