Google results for the keywords above gave me very little reading material, so any pointers to information would be great too. Any hardware based amelioration I can do? Is this an antenna issue instead, as in that, are the antennas are better suited for b/g rather than a/n? Is the reduced signal strength an expected behavioural difference between the 2 cards? Previously weak B/G signals are no longer registering on the 6205, and even the strong N signals (as indicated by my phone) are listing wit weak signal strengths. After the change of cards, I find that the 6205 reports much lower signal strengths for all types of networks as compared to the 2200. A quick check on the localized Amazon (EBay is dead in India now, unfortunately) got me a Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 within USD 12 and 4 days, which is installed and working almost fine. This dual-stream (2x2) dual-band 802.
Setup instructions, pairing guide, and how to reset. For Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 Delivering premium Wi-Fi performance and exceptional Intel-only functionality for an ultra-mobile experience.
I didn't want to face the same issue with my x230, which is quickly turning into my primary workstation (over my T480). User manual instruction guide for Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 62205ANHU Intel Mobile Communications. I've noticed that in the last couple of years (2017 onwards), most instances of new WiFi installations use the 802.11n standard routers, leading to wifi access problems with an old backup phone, which supported just 802.11b/g. When I tried to share my 4G data via a phone hotspot, I discovered that by default my phone uses the 5GHz band (I think it's the 802.11n standard?) for creating a hotspot, and is thus invisible to the 2200 which is for 802.11b/g. My x230 came with a Intel Centrino Wireless N 2200 WLAN card.