AC-3160 speed and strength issues.

[kwhee]

Please help.

I have a new Dell 5000 14" laptop computer. The computer has windows 8.1 and an AC-3160

Dual Band wireless card. I have VerizonFIOS. Right away I noticed a Wi-Fi speedand strength issue. The bar displaywould quickly go back and forth between 1-2 bars and full bars. I also noticed slow connection speeds. I updated the driver via the Intel site to thelatest available.

If I am within about 5 feet of the router the speeds are

25-40 MPs. When I am farther away thanthat the speed drops to 1-5 MPs. I havesat at our kitchen table, which is on the same floor and about 20 feet from therouter, with this computer and 2 other laptop computers and the other computersget 25-40 MPs but this one only gets 1-5 MPs from the exact same location.

In looking on the internet I see that with the AC-3160,

other owners are seeing the same condition. This is not an acceptable situation to have to be within 5 feet of therouter to achieve appropriate speeds. Ihave called Dell but this does not seem to be their issue.

What do I need to do to get this Intel Wi-Fi card working as

advertised?

Thank you.

[Jose_H_Intel1]

Hi hkyfn, I empathize with you since this is, of course, a behavior we would not expect from a brand new system.

This is very likely a problem with the antennas considering such poor signal strength when your system is very close to the router.

I suggest using a tool like inSSIDer 3* to monitor your signal strength. It will be good if you get between 0 to -30 dBm when near to the router but something over -70 dBm is not acceptable at 5 feet.

If indeed it is an antenna issue I recommend you contacting DELL* again.