HP Elitebook 8470P Upgrade

[RyzenMaster.sys]

I have a HP Elitebook 8470p that I use as my "daily driver" laptop. I've had it for about a year and would like to upgrade a few things, but I have some questions.

I would like to add bluetooth to this laptop. It uses an "Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 AGN" Wifi Card which I believe lacks bluetooth, unless I messed something up with drivers. Does this machine accept any mini pcie wifi card, or would I need a specific one. I am mostly worried about HP having a "whitelist" of supported cards.

The second upgrade I want to make is to install a better display. My laptop is equipped with the base 768p display which is beyond terrible. A 900p panel was optional from the factory, but I am not sure what model this display was.
The current display is an LG LP140WH2 (TL)(F1). I purchased an LG LP140WD2 (TL)(D4) thinking it was a compatible upgrade however when Installed there is a screen door effect and the colors are usually a very red or sometimes blue tint. I am thinking this panel is simply incompatible rather than faulty since the source I got it from said it was tested working.

So in summary I am wondering what WiFi cards with Bluetooth support would be a compatible upgrade for this laptop, as well as what upgraded display would be compatible with this laptop.
Thanks!

 

[mplayerMuPDF]

Unfortunately older HP laptops (I think before 2012) had a WiFi card whitelist. However, I think the *70 series ProBook/EliteBook is the first generation to which that no longer applies but you will have to verify that somehow. Unfortunately, it seems that none of the WiFi cards that the 8470p was offered with have an integrated Bluetooth chipset: https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c03374369

I installed an Atheros AR5B22 (AR9462 WiFi + Atheros Bluetooth combo) in my ProBook 645 G1 (which was the successor to the ProBook 6475b, i.e. the AMD ProBook (less fancy) version of your EliteBook), which was not a factory option for that model (although it is a genuine HP part made by Foxconn).

You may want to consider buying a used slightly newer EliteBook like an 840 G2 with the right options, which would have many advantages aside from not having a whitelist anymore. And it would still be old enough that you could swap over parts such as the 2.5" SSD (assuming you have one installed in the 8470p) to save money.

 

[RyzenMaster.sys]

Unfortunately older HP laptops (I think before 2012) had a WiFi card whitelist. However, I think the *70 series ProBook/EliteBook is the first generation to which that no longer applies but you will have to verify that somehow. Unfortunately, it seems that none of the WiFi cards that the 8470p was offered with have an integrated Bluetooth chipset: https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c03374369

I installed an Atheros AR5B22 (AR9462 WiFi + Atheros Bluetooth combo) in my ProBook 645 G1 (which was the successor to the ProBook 6475b, i.e. the AMD ProBook (less fancy) version of your EliteBook), which was not a factory option for that model (although it is a genuine HP part made by Foxconn).

I find it unusual that the 8470p lacks Bluetooth since my much older Elitebook 8530P has Bluetooth. It also has a much nicer 1050p display than the 8470p.

I will look into that wifi card, thanks. I guess to test for a whitelist I could try an "unsupported" mini pcie wifi card in it and see what happens. Perhaps I could try the card from the 8530p?

You may want to consider buying a used slightly newer EliteBook like an 840 G2 with the right options, which would have many advantages aside from not having a whitelist anymore. And it would still be old enough that you could swap over parts such as the 2.5" SSD (assuming you have one installed in the 8470p) to save money

I don't really want to replace the 8470p since I like many things about it and don't want to pay the cost a newer laptop commands. Besides newer Elitebook like an 840 g2 would have a soldered CPU and without spending a fortune I'd likely be stuck with a downgrade to a low power dual core.

Mine has a pretty stout i7 3720qm and 8gb ram. I did install a 2.5in SSD when I got it as well as a new battery, but otherwise haven't spent any more on it since. A wifi card and screen should be pretty inexpensive I'd think. The display I bought that didn't work out was just $20 including shipping for example.

So I installed a Realtek 8821AE wifi card that I found lying around. I forgot I had this until now. There were 3 antennas attached to the old card, new one only has 2 spots. I figured out through trial and error one and got it working with 5ghz WiFi. No whitelist apparently.

But still no Bluetooth. This card definitely supports Bluetooth, however it does now show up as supporting Bluetooth in windows. When I try to install the bt driver for this card sourced from realteks site, it says it can't find the realtek bt controller.

 

[mplayerMuPDF]

I find it unusual that the 8470p lacks Bluetooth since my much older Elitebook 8530P has Bluetooth. It also has a much nicer 1050p display than the 8470p.

I will look into that wifi card, thanks. I guess to test for a whitelist I could try an "unsupported" mini pcie wifi card in it and see what happens. Perhaps I could try the card from the 8530p?

I don't really want to replace the 8470p since I like many things about it and don't want to pay the cost a newer laptop commands. Besides newer Elitebook like an 840 g2 would have a soldered CPU and without spending a fortune I'd likely be stuck with a downgrade to a low power dual core.

Mine has a pretty stout i7 3720qm and 8gb ram. I did install a 2.5in SSD when I got it as well as a new battery, but otherwise haven't spent any more on it since. A wifi card and screen should be pretty inexpensive I'd think. The display I bought that didn't work out was just $20 including shipping for example.

So I installed a Realtek 8821AE wifi card that I found lying around. I forgot I had this until now. There were 3 antennas attached to the old card, new one only has 2 spots. I figured out through trial and error one and got it working with 5ghz WiFi. No whitelist apparently.

But still no Bluetooth. This card definitely supports Bluetooth, however it does now show up as supporting Bluetooth in windows. When I try to install the bt driver for this card sourced from realteks site, it says it can't find the realtek bt controller.

Glad to hear your 8470 isn't affected by the whitelist. Unfortunately, I think that the AR5B22 would not be a good option for you since I believe they are not supported on Windows 10 (Atheros never released a driver for their ath9k series AFAIK but I am not a Windows user so it may be worth double checking), even though these are great cards for Linux. Your options are limited if you want 5 GHz and especially Bluetooth as well for a HH Mini PCIe slot (as opposed to newer M.2 2230/NGFF slot). I think Broadcom may be your best option for Windows. I actually have 2 BCM(9)43228s (HH Mini PCIe) lying around that were pulled from an EliteBook 745 G2 and my ProBook 645 G1 respectively, which are not ideal cards for Linux but they are dual band (support 5 GHz) and I believe they also have integrated Bluetooth. Actually, it appears based on the specifications I linked to earlier that the 43228 was a factory option on your 8470p as well.

 

[RyzenMaster.sys]

Looking at the factory documentation I see the BCM43228 was indeed an option however I noticed right below it.

I googled it and saw this module looked awful familiar. My Elitebook 8530p was purchased with a bad motherboard. Cheapest way to get a board ended up being to buy an entire new base and swapping everything over. I recall of the parts I swapped over was a dedicated Bluetooth module.

I should have the original Bluetooth module from the 8530p still sitting around with the old base. I'll have to see if this module is compatible, I'm betting it is since it should just be USB 2 internally.

Will have to look at this tomorrow.

Okay the module is definitely different for the 8530p and 8470p

Genuine HP EliteBook 8470p Bluetooth Card With Cable 6017B0290301 for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Genuine HP EliteBook 8470p Bluetooth Card With Cable 6017B0290301 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

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I think this is the one I need.

 

[RyzenMaster.sys]

With some help elsewhere I think I also figured out the deal with the display. The panel I bought is compatible, however apparently there is both a "1 channel" and "2 channel" version of LVDS, 2 channel LVDS being capable of higher bandwidth than single channel, almost like single and dual link DVI.

The factory 768p display in the 8470p is 1 channel LVDS, and because of this the display cable is also only one channel. The 900p display I installed needs 2 channel LVDS, and because the cable is only one channel, it cannot display the image correctly.

I looked on HP partsurfer and found there is indeed a different display cable part number for the 768p "HD" and 900p "HD+" equipped models.

So I went onto eBay and purchased the PN 686018-001 display cable. Hopefully this solves my issue.

 

[mplayerMuPDF]

Looking at the factory documentation I see the BCM43228 was indeed an option however I noticed right below it.

View attachment 281153

I googled it and saw this module looked awful familiar. My Elitebook 8530p was purchased with a bad motherboard. Cheapest way to get a board ended up being to buy an entire new base and swapping everything over. I recall of the parts I swapped over was a dedicated Bluetooth module.

I should have the original Bluetooth module from the 8530p still sitting around with the old base. I'll have to see if this module is compatible, I'm betting it is since it should just be USB 2 internally.

Will have to look at this tomorrow.

Okay the module is definitely different for the 8530p and 8470p

Genuine HP EliteBook 8470p Bluetooth Card With Cable 6017B0290301 for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Genuine HP EliteBook 8470p Bluetooth Card With Cable 6017B0290301 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

I think this is the one I need.

looks like a dedicated Broadcom BT module. I did not know those existed.

With some help elsewhere I think I also figured out the deal with the display. The panel I bought is compatible, however apparently there is both a "1 channel" and "2 channel" version of LVDS, 2 channel LVDS being capable of higher bandwidth than single channel, almost like single and dual link DVI.

The factory 768p display in the 8470p is 1 channel LVDS, and because of this the display cable is also only one channel. The 900p display I installed needs 2 channel LVDS, and because the cable is only one channel, it cannot display the image correctly.

I looked on HP partsurfer and found there is indeed a different display cable part number for the 768p "HD" and 900p "HD+" equipped models.
View attachment 281323
So I went onto eBay and purchased the PN 686018-001 display cable. Hopefully this solves my issue.

Congrats on the new 900p display. I have a 1600x900 display in my ProBook 645 G1 as well (it was a surprise when I got it because it was not listed in the eBay ad) and the backlit keyboard option and it definitely is very, very nice compared to the 768p poverty spec LOL (with which I am very familiar from two other HP business laptops).

 

[RyzenMaster.sys]

900p display and cable is in. Photo doesn't show a good representation of what it looks like in person.

The resolution upgrade was more significant than I expected considering it's only 900p, but it makes a noticable difference. The screen is also noticably brighter, which is very nice. Although it could be due to the brightness, the colors seem a bit better as well, although contrast is not really any better than the old display.

Sadly the viewing angles are still pretty poor, not really an upgrade there.

I did get a Bluetooth module, however I tried to install it and the connector wouldn't fit. Apparently HP put this same exact module in a bunch of different machines but the connector was not always the same for some reason, so I have another one on the way, this time with the correct connector.

 

[coltlv1994]

It is worth mentioning that the mini pcie slot for WiFi card on Hp 8470p has no USB wiring.

Look at pin 36 and 38.

Three possible options:
1. Wiring it to the bluetooth module;
2. Wiring it to any free USB port;
3. Wiring it to ExpressCard USB port.

If you can remove its whitelist on WWAN slot, you may wiring it there.

 

[RyzenMaster.sys]

It is worth mentioning that the mini pcie slot for WiFi card on Hp 8470p has no USB wiring

I'm not sure why HP would do this, considering some of the factory wan cards had Bluetooth built in, but I've seen this before.

If you can remove its whitelist on WWAN slot, you may wiring it there.

I guess there's no easy way to do that other than soldering and hacking to get it to work, which I'd prefer not to do.

I got the correct factory BT card installed now, and it worked immediately when I turned the laptop on.

Range isn't great, no real antennas. But it works for audio and that's all I care about.

So that's a success. Got a brighter higher resolution display, slightly faster wifi, Bluetooth, and replacement CMOS battery.

My CMOS battery repair is pretty low quality. The original was 2 tabs spot welded onto a cr2032 with plastic shrinked around it, and it fit into a cutout below the optical drive. The repair was to tape the tabs onto a new cr2032 and shrink it in heat shrink, but the heat shrink makes it too thick to fit where it belongs. So it's double side foam taped to a mostly bare spot of the motherboard. It works just fine, old battery was reading 0.12v, I measured it out of curiosity.

I could have bought an appropriate new CMOS battery pack for it, but this was free and those aren't.

 

[coltlv1994]

I guess there's no easy way to do that other than soldering and hacking to get it to work, which I'd prefer not to do.

It requires proper soldering and shield; even you managed all this, you still may get very unstable BT. That's a big shame for HP that have no USB IF on WLAN mini PCIe slot. I have tried my own 8470p, installed ac-7260 wifi+bt combo card, and system cannot see the integrated BT device.


You could although, soldering another antenna on the bluetooth module and place it in right place. The original module has really poor coverage since it has a very small antenna. I was told that after soldering another antenna, you got better coverage. Could worth a try.