Thinkpads Forum

It looks as if I have a Chinese knock-off of TP-Link's TL-WN861N wifi card.
This card is meant only for machines with Mini-PCI wifi card slots, like T23, A31, T4x/R5x.
These cards have an Atheros AR9223 chip and run wifi-N up to 300Mbps.

I try to install it under 32-bit Windows 7 Pro/SP1.
This card should appear in Control Panel/Device Manager/Network adapters.
Currently it won't, it appears in Control Panel/Device Manager/Other devices.
Regardless, if you have one, find it, right-click on it and select Properties.
Once in there, click on Details, then on Device description.
A list of options shows up.
I'm interested in Hardware Ids and Compatible Ids.
Click on Hardware Ids, and a few lines starting with PCI\VEN will show.
Put the cursor anywhere on those lines, right-click and click on Select all, right-click again and click on Copy and finally paste them (Ctrl-V) in your reply here.
Do the same for Compatible Ids.

This particular card shows:
Hardware Ids:
PCI\VEN_128C&DEV_0029&SUBSYS_2091128C&REV_01
PCI\VEN_128C&DEV_0029&SUBSYS_2091128C
PCI\VEN_128C&DEV_0029&CC_028000
PCI\VEN_128C&DEV_0029&CC_0280
Compatible Ids:
PCI\VEN_128C&DEV_0029&REV_01
PCI\VEN_128C&DEV_0029
PCI\VEN_128C&CC_028000
PCI\VEN_128C&CC_0280
PCI\VEN_128C
PCI\CC_028000
PCI\CC_0280

The above VEN_128C points to Retix Corp.
All the Atheros drivers that I know, all have VEN_168C which points to Atheros Communications Inc.
The above DEV_0029 indicates an Atheros AR9223 chip, which would be correct.
But the above SUBSYS_2091128C is totally UNknown.

I have contacted TP-Link about this VEN_128C, but they play ignorant and stupid, claiming the card is too old (??? produced in March 2011) and is no longer supported...
They sent me a Vista driver with VEN_168C and completely ignored the VEN_128C.

That's why I would like YOU to post your TL-WN861N read-out here.

The real TL-WN861N has these IDs: (thanks George)
Hardware Ids:
PCI\VEN_168C&DEV_0029&SUBSYS_2091168C&REV_01
PCI\VEN_168C&DEV_0029&SUBSYS_2091168C
PCI\VEN_168C&DEV_0029&CC_028000
PCI\VEN_168C&DEV_0029&CC_0280
Compatible Ids:
PCI\VEN_168C&DEV_0029&REV_01
PCI\VEN_168C&DEV_0029
PCI\VEN_168C&CC_028000
PCI\VEN_168C&CC_0280
PCI\VEN_168C
PCI\CC_028000
PCI\CC_0280

The differences are marked in BOLD.
My (wrong) card has all 128C where the (right) card has all 168C.
Or go one step further and it's a 2 where there should be a 6.
I need someone (like Xenomorph perhaps?) who can tell me how to change just that one byte (?) inside the card-chip to make it work.

Have you seen what SIV says about the card?

I gave up on the wireless N card option for the T4x and earlier machines and settled for wireless G. i know that is not the answer you are looking for but I took a gamble on a wireles N card and found the driver for it but the results were not good. I know that is not the answer you were looking for but wireless G is 15mb down and probably close to the same up. If you are lucky 18mbps down in optimal conditions.

SIV reports the same VEN_128, nothing out of the ordinary, except, it does not show me which driver(s) are not (or incorrectly) installed.

I found a possibility to "rebrand" wifi-cards http://www.tonymacx86.com/hp-probook/11 ... guide.html
It's a Windows program to modify Atheros (VEN_168C) wifi cards so they can run under MAC-OSX.
I managed to partly 'fix' that, so the program now also runs with VEN_128C, but it needs another parameter, which I haven't found yet.
All I need is for that program to READ the wifi-chip into a file, then I modify 128C into 168C, and the program WRITEs it back.

I know it's probably faster to get another wifi-card, but I've got my mind set to do this!

Hi RBS.

I purchased six of these recently and have three of them installed in various T-series lappies...I checked all of them and the paste below is typical of what I found:

Hardware ID

PCI\VEN_168C&DEV_0029&SUBSYS_2091168C&REV_01
PCI\VEN_168C&DEV_0029&SUBSYS_2091168C
PCI\VEN_168C&DEV_0029&CC_028000
PCI\VEN_168C&DEV_0029&CC_0280

Compatible ID

PCI\VEN_168C&DEV_0029&REV_01
PCI\VEN_168C&DEV_0029
PCI\VEN_168C&CC_028000
PCI\VEN_168C&CC_0280
PCI\VEN_168C
PCI\CC_028000
PCI\CC_0280

(From a T43p, Win 7 Ultimate x32.)

Good luck getting the problem fixed!

Regards.

Dave

I have bought dozens of these cards over the years, it's only this one card that has the error VEN_126C in it.
All others have/had VEN_168C (as they should).

I bought 4 cards on 5/20/15 and 2 more on 7/6/15.
All 6 of them came from eBayer tiguyco http://www.ebay.ca/itm/161127899311
It was one of the two 7/6/15 cards that's giving me all this grief!
That card had been in its sealed box until I opened it a few days ago.

After contacting and emailing them a few times, TP-LINK keeps denying they made such an error.
They also keep refusing to put me in contact with a technician.
Instead they keep trying to ward me off with nothing-saying emails from some secretary.

Update: the case has been escalated and I'm now waiting for RMA instructions...

After returning the MiniPCI card with an RMA, TP-Link was so kind to offer me an alternative from their current program,
since the TL-WN861N is no longer produced.

I chose (and received) their TP-Link AC450 Wireless Nano USB Adapter, Archer T1U.


A very interesting option of this dongle:

TP-Link wrote:By switching the Archer T1U to Soft AP mode, you will be able to turn any PC or laptop with a wired connection into a Wi-Fi Hotspot.
This allows you to provide a Wi-Fi connection for all of your other mobile devices.

http://www.tp-link.com/en/products/deta ... r-T1U.html

Case closed as far as I'm concerned, since I don't have this card any longer.

Hi RBS .... I found 2 TL-WN861n cards on the net .... I wanted to Mount them in a T42p and on a T43p ... would I have to do any kind of BIOS mod to get them to work?
If I change the cards will Fn+F5 still work??
P.S. I've asked RBS the question since he's installed so many of these cards, but naturally anyone that knows, can answer. Tks in advance.

AFAIK this particular card of mine was the only one to come up ever with the wrong data on it.
For anything under T43/R52 you only need to apply the NO-1802 mod.
From T43/R52 upwards you'll need a modded BIOS to overcome the 1802 error.

Thank you RBS. I was altering my first post while you were responding to me .... Will Fn+F5 still work if I change the cards?

I will reply to myself ..... NO! the Fn+F5 does not work.
QUESTION: is there a way to make it work? Maybe by changing the driver? at the moment I'm using the TP-Link driver supplied with the card. Would using an ATHEROS driver have any effect on the Fn+F5 function?
P.S.: I've already modded the BIOS.
EDIT:.... Just read on another post that this is a known problem... Case closed HERE.

RealBlackStuff wrote:After returning the MiniPCI card with an RMA, TP-Link was so kind to offer me an alternative from their current program,
since the TL-WN861N is no longer produced.

I chose (and received) their TP-Link AC450 Wireless Nano USB Adapter, Archer T1U.


A very interesting option of this dongle:

TP-Link wrote:By switching the Archer T1U to Soft AP mode, you will be able to turn any PC or laptop with a wired connection into a Wi-Fi Hotspot.
This allows you to provide a Wi-Fi connection for all of your other mobile devices.

http://www.tp-link.com/en/products/deta ... r-T1U.html

Case closed as far as I'm concerned, since I don't have this card any longer.

How is this ones performance?

No idea, it's still in its box in a drawer, as I don't have an AC router (yet).
Check this http://www.wirelesshack.org/review-tp-l ... apter.html and other reviews.

I know I'm late to the party, but I believe the original issue here was just a defective card. I have seen these errors before, where the card reports a wrong device ID (one bit is off, as the difference between 168C and 128C), and of course will not be recognized by the OS, because it thinks it is a different device.