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AC 7265 wireless adapter: On-going intermittent connectivity issues

AIII
Novice
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On-going issue for me going on 18 months now. Purchased new Toshiba Satellite S55-C5274 latop in May 2016. Came pre-loaded with Windows 10. Wi-Fi performance has been sketchy ever since day 1. There exists a problem of intermittent connectivity with the wireless router. Connection starts out good, but gradually starts getting slower and less responsive until the connection has been dropped (no connection to internet) and must be manually reconnected for the next 10 to 15 minutes. Goes on like this all day and night (no problems with direct ethernet connection)

Switched out wireless routers but problem persisted. Updated wireless drivers and used Intel recommended advance settings, problem persisted. Tried everything imaginable but could never get the AC 7265 to stay connected. Finally gave up after months of trying and started using a Netgear wireless USB adapter. Connection was rock solid with the USB adapter. So I quit worrying about it and continued using the Netgear adapter. Until recently. Laptop fell off the bedside table, demolishing the USB adapter when it hit the floor. Remarkably, there was no other damage, but I had to revert back to the AC 7265 wireless chip. Intermittent connectivity issues quickly resurfaced. Just updated the 7265 driver version to 19.51.7.2 but the problem persists. Windows 10 is fully updated to version 1703. I see I'm not the only one that continues to be beleaguered by this issue, but nothing else has worked and I'm at wit's end on this issue. Very frustrating after 18 months. I could always go to Staples and buy another Netgear USB adapter, but doesn't seem unreasonable to expect the seemingly more advanced 7265 chip to be able to deliver better results as well.Any new ideas?

19 Replies
idata
Employee
1,724 Views

Hello and3rd62,

 

 

We understand you're experiencing connectivity issues while connecting via the Intel® Dual-Band Wireless-AC 7265 on your laptop.

 

 

Based on your description, it's possible that your wireless adapter or it's antennas may be defective and in need of replacement. For this, you will need to engage your computer manufacturer.

 

 

From our end, we always recommend using the latest drivers provided by your computer manufacturer. Only their driver version will take into account features and customizations implemented when integrating the adapter into your system. We can see that you've tried our latest driver, and it did not help. Because of this, we can suggest performing a clean installation of your wireless drivers using the latest Toshiba* driver instead.

 

 

NOTE: Any links provided for third party tools or sites are offered for your convenience and should not be viewed as an endorsement by Intel® of the content, products, or services offered there. We do not offer support for any third party tool mentioned here.

 

 

1. Download and save our the latest wireless driver provided by your computer manufacturer.

 

1. Go to the https://support.toshiba.com/support/modelHome?freeText=1200010656&osId=26 Toshiba Satellite S55-C5274* Support Page

 

2. Select your operating system, then Drivers & Updates

 

3. Filter by: Network

 

4. Download and save the most recent "Intel® Wireless LAN Driver."

 

2. Under Programs and Features in the Control Panel, uninstall any instance of the "Intel® PROSet/Wireless Software." When prompted, choose to "discard settings."

 

3. Go to the Device Manager > Network Adapters > Right click on your Intel(R) Dual-Band Wireless-AC 7265 and uninstall it. Make sure to select the option to "Delete the driver software for this device."

 

4. Clear out your temporary files: Press the Windows* Key + R to open the run box. Type Cleanmgr.exe and press OK. Here you will need to make sure Temporary Files are checked, you may uncheck everything else (unless you're ok with the extra wait) and press OK.

 

5. Install the Intel® PROSet/Wireless Software that was downloaded back in step one.

 

6. Reboot your computer.

 

 

If neither the latest Intel® nor the Toshiba* drivers help, then you may try backing up your data and reseting the OS. However, if this also does not help, it will confirm a hardware issue.

 

 

- https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12415/windows-10-recovery-options Recovery options in Windows® 10 (Expand the Reset your PC category).

 

 

Please let us know if this helps.

 

 

Best regards,

 

Carlos A.
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AIII
Novice
1,724 Views

Thanks for the reply Carlos. I will give this a try later today and see what happens. I truly hope it works, but can't help but be skeptical up front as the wi-fi problem first manifested itself within 15 minutes of connecting the brand new laptop to the internet after unpacking it from the box (back in May 2016). I just wonder if the AC 7265 is not the best choice for Windows 10 since so many others report the same issue.

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AIII
Novice
1,724 Views

Followed your step-by-step instructions to uninstall AC 7265 software, deleted from network adapters, cleared temp files, reinstalled earlier version of OEM wireless networking software, etc. Worked great and was very responsive for about 20 minutes, but as suspected, the connection started getting sluggish, pages not full loading, etc until there was no longer a connection to the internet, Requiring a manual reconnect for the next 15-20 minutes. Same problem since May 2016.

I have not done the system reset and hesitate to do so as I have no problem other than with the wireless adapter. I had previously reset all the network adapters to original settings but to no avail, made no difference. Back to square one. I'll probably just have to go get another wireless USB adapter.

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idata
Employee
1,724 Views

Hello and3rd62,

 

 

Let us know if the OS reset helps.

 

 

Otherwise, our best recommendation is to work with your http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/topics/OEMs.html computer manufacturer. It's likely that your adapter is defective and needs to be replaced, especially considering this has been an issue from the beginning. Even if your system is out of warranty, they should be able to help you get the replacement part.

 

 

Best regards,

 

Carlos A.
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AIII
Novice
1,724 Views

Carlos,

I have seen recommendations on other similar intel community wireless networking threads for users to download and install "drivers only" packages (without the PROset) to resolve intermittent connectivity issues. I don't know if this suggestion ever resulted in a definitive resolution, but might you be able to provide a download link for the 7265 "drivers only" package for use with 64 bit Windows 10?

Also I read on another now locked thread pertaining to the 7265 adapter where Intel tech 'Aleki' advised a user to "check antivirus and firewall configuration as this may impact your connection" .There was no further explanation as to precisely what to check in regard to those configuration settings. Are you familiar with the details of that particular recommendation?

I'm fairly certain Toshiba will say there is nothing wrong with the laptop. I would like to find a resolution, but probably is not worth the hassle of having to ship it off to Toshiba and having to pay top dollar for nothing. Thanks in advance for any additional information you may have on this issue.

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idata
Employee
1,723 Views

Hello and3rd62,

 

 

To perform a driver only install, you need to download and extract the IT Admin version of the PROSet package. You can then point device manager to this folder for it to install the appropriate drivers.

 

 

In some cases, this can be helpful, when the issue is related to our wireless software, not the drivers.

 

 

1. Download and extract our latest https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/27206/Intel-PROSet-Wireless-Software-and-Drivers-for-IT-Admins?v=t IT Admin driver for your adapter and OS.

 

2. Under Programs and Features in the Control Panel, uninstall any instance of the "Intel® PROSet/Wireless Software." When prompted, choose to "discard settings."

 

3. Go to the Device Manager > Network Adapters > Right click on your Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265 and uninstall it. Make sure to mark the option to "Delete the driver software for this device."

 

4. Clear out your temporary files (detailed on last instructions).

 

5. Go to the Device Manager > Network Adapters > Right click on your Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265 again, this time choose to "Update driver software..." > Select the option to "Locate and install driver software manually." Here you will need to direct the wizard to the location where you extracted the IT Admin package back in step one.

 

 

The reason why we sometimes recommend to check your antivirus, firewall, or any VPN software it's because these can often modify your wireless driver. However, in most instances, it's good enough to check that you're using the latest updates for them.

 

 

Since this issue has been ongoing, you've tried several driver versions, and we're not aware of any other identical complaints, we suspect it's hardware related.

 

 

If you do talk to your OEM, let us know how it goes.

 

 

Best regards,

 

Carlos A.
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AIII
Novice
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Thanks, Carlos. I'm going to give this a try, but first, two quick questions before proceeding.

1) In reference to the instructions on Line 5, I'm not quite clear on how to update the driver software via the device manager. Would it not already have been uninstalled and deleted as per instructions on Line 3. Therefore not appearing on the list of network adapters in device manager (?)

2) Within the folder of extracted AC 7265 driver files, which would be the specific file to select to invoke the install process ?

I will hold off on proceeding with this for the time being.

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idata
Employee
1,723 Views

Hello and3rd62,

 

 

Yes, the driver will have been deleted, but Windows® 10 will always install their generic base driver automatically (unless we disable this automatic behavior using registry editor). But this is OK, it won't affect anything as it's a much older driver.

 

 

As for the install process, the wizard will allow you to select the folder and press OK without needing to specify the specific file. It will then read the available driver INF files and compare them to your hardware ID to install the correct one.

 

 

Best regards,

 

Carlos A.
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AIII
Novice
1,723 Views

Carlos,

I have the AC 7265 "drivers only" package installed, version 19.51.7.2

So far it seems okay, but I'll know for sure by later tomorrow (Thursday)

Can you please confirm whether or not I have the advanced settings configured correctly for optimized performance?

1) 802.11n channel width for 2.4 GHz: 20 MHz only

2) 802.11n channel width for 5.2 GHz: Auto

3) ARP offload for WoWLAN: enabled

4) Fat Chanel intolerant: disabled

5) GTK rekeying for WoWLAN: enabled

6) HT mode: HT mode

7) MIMO Power Save Mode: Auto SMPS

8) Mixed Mode Protection: RTS/CTS enabled

9) NS offload for WoWLAN: enabled

10) Packet Coalescing: enabled

11) Preferred Band: 2.4 GHz

12) Roaming Aggressiveness: lowest

13) Sleep on WoWLAN disconnect: disabled

14) Throughput Booster: disabled

15) Transmit Power: highest

16) U-APSD Support: disabled

17) Wake on Magic Packet: enabled

18) Wake on Pattern Match: enabled

19) Wireless Mode: 802.11a/b/g

Some of the above settings I selected based on recommendations I read about on other Intel community wireless networking threads. Others I have not a clue about, and just went with the default settings. Thanks in advance.

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idata
Employee
1,723 Views

Hello and3rd62,

 

 

I usually disable all WoWLAn and "wake on..." settings, but this won't necesarily make any noticeable difference.

 

 

Everything looks ok. Just keep in mind that HT Mode limits your adapter down Wireless-N (but increases compatibility with legacy devices), while VHT (Very High Throughput) Mode enables Wireless-AC functionality. It's important match this setting to your wireless router in order to achieve the best performance.

 

 

We hope the driver-only actually resolves your issue, let us know.

 

 

Best regards,

 

Carlos A.
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AIII
Novice
1,723 Views

After 18 long months, success at last!

After installing the drivers only package and adjusting the 7265 advanced configuration settings late yesterday afternoon, I had no wi-fi disconnects for the remainder of the evening and well into the early morning hours. I ran it hard up until around 0300 hours, jumping from one web site to another, keeping multiple tabs open, Outlook running, watching videos, etc. There were no problems at all. Wi-fii was still very fast and responsive when I resumed testing around 0900 hours. (Previously, mornings were always the worst, after the system had been idle during the overnight hours) I did have one disconnect later on Thursday morning. Pursuant to your last suggestion, I further tweaked the advanced configuration settings by disabling all of the WoWLAN settings. Restarted and resumed testing. Have not had a single disconnect since that time. That would be a total of ZERO disconnects as opposed to dozens of disconnects that would have otherwise been experienced. The issue actually does seem to have been resolved by installing the drivers only package. I'm guessing there must have been some sort of conflict between the PROSet wireless software and the Toshiba software (?)

Thank-you for your help in this matter.

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AIII
Novice
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Glad I didn't have to send it back to the OEM for repair. I strongly suspect it would have been returned with a note that there was nothing wrong with it. Not to mention the fact that it was out of warranty and would undoubtedly have cost a pretty penny for them to tell me there was nothing wrong with it!

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idata
Employee
1,723 Views

Hello and3rd62,

 

 

What an odd situation. We're definitely glad to hear it has been resolved.

 

 

If there's anything else we can help you with, please don't hesitate to contact us again.

 

 

Best regards,

 

Carlos A.
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AIII
Novice
1,723 Views

Hello! Back with the latest update. Unfortunately, after the initial glimmer of hope, the intermittent connectivity issue started back up again (after installing the 7265 driver only package). The first day and into the next day was good, but for the past several days, the disconnects have been occurring at the rate of every 15 minutes or so.

I've continued to experiment with various advanced configuration settings for the 7265 wireless chip. I selected 20 MHz only for the 802.11n channel width for 2.4 GHz, however I noticed that oddly there is no option for 802.11n in the wireless mode settings. My router is almost always running 11n mode as per AT&T recommendation. So in an effort to more closely match the wireless mode settings between devices on the home network, I changed the router wireless mode to mixed 11b/11g and selected the corresponding setting for the 7265 adapter. I also changed the router wifi security from WPA2-PSK (AES) to WEP-open. Rebooted the router and connected with the new settings. The problem seems to have gone away (again). The indicated maximum network connection speed dropped from 144 mbps in mode 11n to 54 mbps in mode 11b/g, BUT there have been no disconnects or problems loading web pages since making those changes earlier this morning. (I'm still using the latest version AC 7265 drivers only package.)

Is there any reason that you know of that the disconnects would be occurring with the router running in mode 11n, but not occurring when running in mode 11b/11g ? At first I considered the implausible explanation that the 7265 adapter might not be compatible with 11n wireless, but if that were the case, then why is there the option for specifying 802.11n channel width? A bit confused but still trying to sort it out.

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idata
Employee
1,723 Views

Hello and3rd62,

Wireless standards are backward compatible. However, this is not always optimal. This backward compatibility works better when it's an older adapter connecting to a newer router/AP, not the other way around.

To counter this, it's best to limit your wireless adapter to the maximum standard supported by your Access Point.

When it comes to your advanced settings, 802.11n is called HT Mode. This setting should give you the following options:

1. Disabled

 

2. HT Mode: High Throughput Mode, enables 802.11n.

 

3. VHT Mode (default): Very High Throughput Mode, enables 802.11ac.

HT Mode combined with the highest Wireless Mode (5. 802.11a/b/g) will assist compatibility with 802.11n access points.

Best regards,

Carlos A.

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AIII
Novice
1,723 Views

Thanks for that information. I did have the 7265 card settings on HT when the router was running 11n, but running mode 11n inexplicably seems to be related to the on-going disconnects that occur every 15 minutes or so.. I'm going to stay in 11b/11g mode (VHT) with WEP-open security for a few days and see what happens. So far so good, but I thought the same a few days ago as well, Lol

Best Regards

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idata
Employee
1,723 Views

Hello and3rd62,

 

 

Hopefully it remains this way. But you may need to consider replacing with a similar model from your OEM. Let us know if anything new happens or you have any questions.

 

 

Best regards,

 

Carlos A.
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AIII
Novice
1,723 Views

I think it's safe to say the issue has been resolved by permanently switching to wireless mode 802.11b/11g mixed with VHT enabled. Also have throughput booster enabled and no SMPS for Mimo Power Save Mode. I pushed the system hard over the week-end and have not had a single disconnect since making these changes on Friday. Wi-fi is still fast and very responsive on Monday afternoon. First time the Intel wi-fi has ever stayed connected this long since purchasing and setting up this computer in May of 2016! AC 7265 adapter on my Satellite S55-C5274 laptop in conjunction with my Netgear 7550 router is for some unknown reason unable to operate in mode 802.11n without the hassle of having to deal with the disconnects every 15 minutes or so. Not sure if installing the driver only package was a factor or not, but don't feel compelled to make any further changes at this time, Lol. Not sure what I'm going to do with all my free time now that I don't have this issue to deal with every day!

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idata
Employee
1,723 Views

Hello and3rd62,

 

 

Thanks for the update! We're glad to hear the issue has been resolved.

 

 

If there's anything else we can provide assistance with, let us know.

 

 

Best regards,

 

Carlos A.
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