Internet on one PC drops intermittently, with no explanation. Tried several things. "Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 3168" has begun resetting

[MThib3]

My internet on my PC at home connected by WiFi drops randomly every few days. I can't figure out any reason why this happens or a pattern. Sometimes it fixes itself after 5-10 minutes, but it works quicker if I disconnect and reconnect to the network. I have tried different browsers and they say there is no internet connection/this site cannot be reached. I am using Windows 10 and an ASrock x370 Taichi motherboard.

Relevant information:

• Internet works on other devices on Wifi.
• During this problem I remain connected to the network. Yet I cannot connect to the local IP of my router, although other computers can (192.168.etc)
• Once this happened while playing a game. I could no longer browse internet and game stopped working, but my Skype call continued for several minutes.
• My router is a Bell Home Hub 3000
• In Windows event viewer I get the following errors, in order:
• "5007 - TX/CMD timeout (TfdQueue hanged)" and "The network interface "Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 3168" has begun resetting. There will be a momentary disruption in network connectivity while the hardware resets. Reason: The network driver requested that it be reset. This network interface has reset 3 time(s) since it was last initialized."

Things I have tried:

• Reset router
• Reset computer
• Assign static local IP
• 2.4ghz vs 5ghz – ODDLY: going from the 2.4ghz to 5ghz network (or vice versa) often resolves the problem. However, the problem still happens on both of them and reconnecting to the SAME frequency network does NOT solve the problem.
• Complete uninstall and install new network driver from the Intel website and from motherboard website (did this twice)

Please help me out!

[idata]

Hello Bob22,

We understand you're experiencing sporadic connectivity issues on your desktop computer using the Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 3168.In most cases, the driver will request the adapter to reset if there are no available roaming options and the received signal quality (RSSI) is low. Based on your description, it's possible that this may be a DHCP problem.Could you please provide us the following reports:1. Intel® System Support Utility report 1. Download the latest Ihttps://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25293 ntel® SSU 2. While connected to your WiFi network, run the scan for "everything." 3. Save and name the report.2. Wireless Autoconfig report 1. Right click your start menu icon and select Command Prompt (Admin) from the list. 2. Enter: netsh wlan show wlanreport 3. Go to C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WlanReport\ 4. Upload the wlan-report-latest.html file along with your reply.3. Has this been an ongoing issue, or did it begin recently?4. By "reset router" do you mean power cycle (off and on again), or factory reset? Same question for "Reset computer."We look forward to hearing back from you.Best regards,Carlos A.

[MThib3]

Thanks for the reply. I've attached for files you asked for. I appreciate the help, please take a look at these and tell me what you think...

This problem has been going on maybe for 3 months. I don't know exactly when it started. I do recall installing some problematic RAM around that time and restarted my computer several times to troubleshoot that, but that has been resolved and its hard to see how that event could be relevant.

By reset router I meant power cycle the router and not bringing it back to factory settings. I have been power cycling my computer as well and no factory reset.

If this was a router or DHCP problem, wouldn't my other 4 computers or 3 phones/3 iPads also have problems?

[idata]

Hello Bob22,

Thanks for these reports.Right off the bat it's fairly safe to discard the DHCP theory. Your subnet mask is 255.255.255.0. That last 0 means that a maximum of 254 devices, or hosts, are allowed. It's unlikely that your router is running out of IPs to hand out. We want to ensure that the default gateway IP address provided and the router IP are not the same. If they are, then we need to change the IP address of router.1. Right click your start menu icon and select Command Prompt from the list.2. Enter: ipconfig3. Check the default IP address, and write this number down.4. Now connect your wireless router as given in instruction manual and go the the Router's configuration page (normally: http://192.168.1.1 or http://192.168.2.1 through your web browser will take you there).5. Compare your default gateway with your router's IP address (the address used to get to the configuration page). If they're the same, change the router's IP. 1. If both are 192.168.2.1, change your router's IP to 192.168.1.1, for example.6. Reboot the modem (power it down and up again).If you're unable to modify these settings in your router, then perhaps factory resetting it and setting up your network back from scratch may be a good alternative.If this does not help, we can try troubleshooting your router by switching to driver only using a clean installation method:1. Download and extract our latest IT Admin driver package for your adapter: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/27618 WiFi_20.40.0_Driver64_Win10.zip 2. Under Programs and Features in the Control Panel, or Apps & Features in Windows* Settings, 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 3168 and uninstall it. Make sure to mark 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, then press OK.5. Reboot your computer.6. Go to the Device Manager > Network Adapters > Right click on your Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 3168 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.Best regards,Carlos A.

[MThib3]

Why is it a problem if my default gateway and the router share the same IP? That's been the case my whole life and my understanding is that this is very typical in home settings. That being said, if this can cause problems I am happy to change it up.

[idata]

Hello Bob22,

I've seem some similar cases where sharing this IP can cause DNS issues. It's not very common, but it may help us narrow down the root cause of your problem.Best regards,Carlos A.

[idata]

Hello Bob22,

We haven't heard back from you in a while. Have you been able to resolve your connectivity issues?

If not, we can also recommend the following adjustments

1. Using our latest drivers, open your https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005585/network-and-i-o/wireless-networking.html advanced adapter settings
   1. Channel Width 2.4 GHz: 20 MHz
   2. Channel Width 5 GHz: Auto
   3. Roaming Aggressiveness: 1. Lowest
2. On your wireless router (https://support.bell.ca/internet/connection-help/manage-wi-fi-on-your-home-hub-3000?step=2# displayStep Advanced Settings):
   1. "Keep a common network name (SSID) and passwords for both 2.4 and 5 GHz bands": Unchecked. This will use two separate SSIDs for each band, allowing you to manually choose which network you connect to, instead of your router choosing for you in a case by case basis.
   2. Channel: Manually choose a wireless channel.
      1. In the 5 GHz band we can recommend channels: 36, 40, 44, 48, 149, 153, 157, or 161.
      2. In the 2.4 GHz band we can recommend channels: 1, 6, or 11.

We hope this helps.

Best regards,

Carlos A.