dual band wireless-ac 3160 wifi problems

JRich13 · ‎07-18-2018

Hello! Like a month ago I started having problems with the WiFi board on mi laptop. It is a Compaq laptop running the latest Windows 10 distribution (1803). In the device manager, the adapter vanishes time to time, so basically it works somedays, some doesn´t I really don´t know the pattern. Rebooting does not always fix this.

So far I have tried to upgrade/downgrade drivers, remove and install back the card itself on the M2 slot and yesterday I reinstalled the OS itslef, after buying a new SSD.

A NOTE: the bluetooth works just fine, and I understand that the same network card is used for both WiFi and Bluetooth, so I wanna believe that the hardware is not dead.

Any guess?

idata · ‎07-18-2018

Hi RazrLatrans,

We understand that you're having an issue where your Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 3160 disappears from device manager randomly, we'll be glad to assist you.

Here are some recommendations we can provide in order to try fixing this issue:

- Perform a https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000022173/network-and-i-o/wireless-networking.html clean installation of the latest wireless drivers.

- Update the BIOS on your system, this since in some cases older BIOS tend to have issues with newer versions of Windows® 10.

- In case the issue persists, we would suggest doing a clean installation of the latest drivers from https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers HP's download page and contacting HP* support even if the issue persists with their drivers installed as well.

We hope you find this information helpful, let us know how the adapter responds after these steps.

Regards,

Leonardo

JRich13 · ‎07-19-2018

Hey! It has worked, partially. I have reinstalled Windows (3rd time) and the WiFi still works randomly. By doing what you suggested, I get the WiFi device back on the device manager list, then playing with the drivers and unisntalling the device and rebooting the computer, I get the WIFI back for a while, and sometimes I get a yellow warning icon on the device too. Could possible be one of the latest Windows updates? I think recalling it did start after one, this weird behaviour. I reinstalled always to the latest Windows. Still annoying, I am relaying on a USB stick for the WIFI

idata · ‎07-20-2018

Hi RazrLatrans,

Thanks for the update, the issue could be related to a windows update indeed, especially since the release of the RS4 build of Windows ® 10 has resulted in some issues with our wireless adapters. Try uninstalling the most recent updates you have installed and then test the adapter. You can also try doing a clean installation of the latest drivers from the manufacturer as well to see if the adapter works better with those drivers.

regards,

Leonardo L

JRich13 · ‎07-20-2018

Thanks, I will keep an eye on it. I do believe it has something to do with the Windows Update, although I am a bit tired of reinstalling Windows or rolling back, so I am going to keep using the USB stick for the WiFi until a miracle patch happens.

idata · ‎07-20-2018

Hi RazrLatrans,

I get you, let's hope Microsoft releases an update soon or you can also test in the future our next generic driver for wireless adapters and see if the issue gets fixed.

Regards,

Leonardo

JRich13 · ‎07-20-2018

Thanks man. Your guide did help actually. Could not fix the problem, but the step by step and troubleshout helped me out discard the possibility that the hardware could be damaged.

idata · ‎07-20-2018

Hi RazrLatrans,

No problem, more than welcome to assist you, that seems right possibly its just another Windows* bug making a conflict with the wireless adapter.

regards,

Leonardo

JRich13 · ‎07-26-2018

Hey! I keep having the issue that WiFi works whenever it wants to work, but wanted to add you more information about it. In the event viewer from the device itself, it says: check picture (sorry it is in spanish)

idata · ‎07-26-2018

Hi RazrLatrans,

Sorry to hear that the issue still appears, at this point my best suggestion would be to perform a clean installation of drivers from HP* and in case the issue persists, I would advise contacting them as this could be an adapter malfunction and they are the ones that would need to warranty the adapter in case its required.

Regards,

Leonardo