Identifying Bluetooth Chip

[onthemove]

The bluetooth connection on my laptop is driving me up the wall. My mouse is very jerky, and if I try to connect to my hifi, the audio is constantly glitching.

But if I hold the laptop up by the base, it can sometimes improve significantly. Sometimes if I put it down again very gently it can stay good, until the laptop is disturbed again.

In essence, this seems like possibly a loose connection related to the bluetooth, possibly the antenna(?).

I've done a bit of searching.... on the following image, is the bluetooth chip the square on the middle left hand side, to the right of the "M2X3" and the red circle? With the red line on its left hand side?

https://i1.wp.com/laptopmedia.com/wp-co ... .jpg?ssl=1

I presume the black cables on the top two corners of that square are the antenna?

Am I correctly identifying this, or have I got it completely wrong?

I opened up the case, and found that chip and the cables, and carefully prodded them, but they seem secure, put the cover back on, but the issue is still there - the bluetooth connection can seem very dependent upon holding and 'flexing' the case a little.

If I have got the right chip, I presume it's soldered on the motherboard? Googling seems to suggest previous models had user swappable bluetooth boards, but I guess this is no longer the case with new models?

The Wifi seems fine... I ran a speed test on the broadband (over wifi) and even when the bluetooth is playing up, I still get good wifi / broadband speeds.

The computer is under guarantee, but figured if it was something simple like a cable may just have worked loose it might be an easy fix, and sending off for repair usually results in them wiping the machine, which I don't fancy the hassle of having to reinstall everything if I can at all avoid it.

Thanks.

[servodude]

I presume the black cables on the top two corners of that square are the antenna?

Am I correctly identifying this, or have I got it completely wrong?

It's hard to tell from that resolution precisely what that module is ( can you post the model info - you might be able to find a service manual)
- but it is certainly a radio module of some sort and those cables (it looks like two of them connected) will be tracked to antennas somewhere - probably through the hinge and to near the top of the screen bezel

it's very likely going to be the same module doing service for both the wifi and the bluetooth
- so if you can establish whether your laptop is working on 5GHz or 2.4GHz wifi (the lower normally sharing some frontend with the bluetooth) you might be able to identify if it's likely to be that radio path that's not working

from your description of manipulating the base to get better results it does suggest that it could be the contact on one of those U.FL connectors to the module
if it were me I'd be spudging them while it's running to see if it definitely makes a difference
- if the flexing that helps is in a different location to where that chip is it suggests that there might be a break in the cable - or the fit to the antenna at the other end might be dodgy

I'd be backing up everything anyway so that if you do decide to have it serviced there's one less job to do then
- sd

[Breelander]

A Google image search identifies that image as being for an HP Envy 15 (15-ep0000), the image is used on this page:

https://laptopmedia.com/gb/review/hp-en ... mpressive/

The HP Envy 15 Maintenance and Service Guide is here: http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c06634821.pdf

other manuals: https://support.hp.com/gb-en/product/hp ... 23/manuals

From the maintenance manual (Chapter 1, table 1-1) it appears the Bluetooth/Wifi module is integrated into the motherboard.

Wireless

Integrated wireless local area network (WLAN) with two built-in antenna(s)

Support for the Intel WiFi 6 AX201 ax 2×2 + Bluetooth® 5.0 MU-MIMO M.2 2230 non-vPro MIPI+BRI WW WLAN module with 2 antenna terminals (integrated onto system board)

[Breelander]

....is the bluetooth chip the square on the middle left hand side, to the right of the "M2X3" and the red circle? With the red line on its left hand side?

Looking through the manual I linked to above, on page 53 in the procedure for removing the motherboard, step 3 mentions the WiFi module and has a diagram showing its location. That is the WiFi module and its antennas that you have identified.

3. Disconnect the wireless antenna cables (3) from the WLAN module terminals

NOTE:The #1/white wireless antenna cable connects to the WLAN module #1/Main terminal. The #2/black wireless antenna cable connects to the WLAN module #2/Aux terminal.

[Itsallaguess]

The computer is under guarantee, but figured if it was something simple like a cable may just have worked loose it might be an easy fix, and sending off for repair usually results in them wiping the machine, which I don't fancy the hassle of having to reinstall everything if I can at all avoid it.

As something to consider - USB bluetooth dongles are relatively cheap and really quite unobtrusive nowadays, so if you don't find a solution that you're happy with, but also don't fancy sending it back under warranty, then it might be worth considering that route as a Plan B, perhaps..

An example here for £8 from Amazon, which isn't a recommendation (although user-reviews do seem good...), but just a link to show you what's available -

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-LINK-UB4A-Bluetooth-Computer-Receiver/dp/B07YLDVM6B

Also - have you made sure that the bluetooth drivers are fully up to date by checking the manufacturers website? If it's a relatively new laptop then there may have been driver-updates since you've bought it...

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[Infrasonic]

I had a similar problem in my W10 desktop and it turned out it was one of the antennae cables wasn't seated properly on the BT module.
They are on a a push fit but it is possible for them to be partially seated - so worth checking properly with a small spudger/ flat head screwdriver.

On my Chromebook I ended up changing one of the Chrome Flags to reduce the BT packet size and that helped with making it all more smooth with less crackles/dropouts. (That flag has disappeared now so was probably incorporated into the new builds.)

As suggested check for BT driver updates on the OEM website (or run one of their bloatware update checker apps).

[GrahamPlatt]

I have an Hp Envy on which I’ve got both W10 & Ubuntu installed. The Bluetooth is rubbish when using Windows, yet rock-solid on Ubuntu. I’ve followed all the Windows troubleshooting advice, to no benefit.

[onthemove]

Thanks everyone for all the responses, in particular the find of the service manuals.

Earlier this morning, youtube in one of it's better moments managed to recommend the perfect video, when I wasn't even thinking about this at the time...

https://youtu.be/LGUwMHjtRmk?t=960

It even includes the guy re-attaching the antenna cables, and it takes him a couple of attempts to attach one of them.

So I've just opened up my laptop again a short while ago, and feeling a little more confident that I was at least looking in the right place, this time I made a little less hesitant effort to push the connectors again, albeit leaving the little square plastic cover in place and pushing through that, rather than directly on the connector.

On the whole, it didn't feel like I was making any difference, apart from feeling a small 'give' at one point, but I wasn't sure if the was just a little slip, or whether the connector underneath did 'do' something.

Anyway, I pushed both connectors as much as I dare, and then closed the case back up again.

Upshot is, it seems to be working a lot better than before. Audio through my hifi seems a lot more stable. Might have a couple of the briefest glitches which may or may not have been related to bluetooth, but on the whole (so far, touch wood) is definitely a lot more stable than it was.

Too early to declare it properly fixed, but so far, it seems to have made quite a substantial difference and now working acceptably, so leaves me reasonably confident as to where the problem seems / seemed to be.

If it does return then I'll have to decide whether to attempt diy again, or whether to bite the bullet and see if I can get it fixed under warranty.

Currently I'm a little nervous that after a few days of moving the PC around it might work loose again, but so far, so good...

To answer some of the questions...

Re. the drivers, I went through the update process a few days ago; they weren't up to date, but updating didn't help.

Re. the bluetooth USB dongle... if the PC were out of guarantee, I'd certainly consider that as a fall back, but would prefer to keep the slots free. It's quite an expensive PC and only roughly 6 months old, so I'd first prefer to have the PC functionality working where possible.

[Infrasonic]

If it does return then I'll have to decide whether to attempt diy again, or whether to bite the bullet and see if I can get it fixed under warranty.

If you return it they'll probably just swap out the motherboard - if the BT is soldered the labour costs of actually sorting out the BT module would be 'uneconomic'...

The antennae connectors should rotate horizontally on the push fits if properly seated, if they are sticky then it may still be an issue.

[servodude]

If it does return then I'll have to decide whether to attempt diy again, or whether to bite the bullet and see if I can get it fixed under warranty.

If you return it they'll probably just swap out the motherboard - if the BT is soldered the labour costs of actually sorting out the BT module would be 'uneconomic'...

The antennae connectors should rotate horizontally on the push fits if properly seated, if they are sticky then it may still be an issue.

Yup
It's normally quite easy to tell if a U.FL connector is mated properly - unless the locking cable ties are holding it in an awkward spot
- warning though they're only normally rated for a couple of dozen insertion cycles - which is why the cables are often tied down for strain relief

-sd