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AX200 on AC86U 2.4Ghz uses 802.11n instead of 802.11ac.

askan7
Beginner
2,326 Views

This is the only device in my house that does this, it's weird considering it'x a AX capable card.

I've tried forcing 802.11ac on the device advanced settings but it still connects at N speeds. It doesn't matter if the router is using 20Mhz or 40Mhz channels, firmware doesn't matter either, i remember the same happens on stock older firmware.

Older wifi driver, same thing.

This only happens on 2.4Ghz band, on 5Ghz it connects to AC speeds(AC router). I mostly 5Ghz but i find this strange behaviour and shouldn't happen.

Also is it possible for this card to use 1024QAM on AC networks, i know the standard for AC is 256QAM but both router and client support it, it should be able to use it.

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n_scott_pearson
Super User
2,227 Views

From Wikipedia: "IEEE 802.11ac is a wireless networking standard in the 802.11 set of protocols (which is part of the Wi-Fi networking family), providing high-throughput wireless local area networks  (WLANs) on the 5 GHz band."

Note the part that I underlined; -AC only operates on the 5GHz band. -N is used on the 2.4GHz band when -AC is selected. On the 2.4GHz band, some sources call it -AC (even though it really isn't) while others call it -N. 

...S

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Esteban_D_Intel
Moderator
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Hello askan7,

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities.  

To better assist you I would appreciate if you could provide the following information:

  • For how long you’ve been experiencing this behavior? Was it working at a certain point?
  • What options did you change in the Wireless Advanced settings?
  • Is this the original wireless adapter that came with your computer? Or did you install it?
  • Does this behavior occurs in another network/router?
  • Please provide your current driver version.


Additionally, I would like to share with you Recommended Settings for 802.11ac Connectivity.


Have you tried those settings yet?


Esteban D. 

Intel Technical Support Technician


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askan7
Beginner
2,283 Views
  • Always happened.
  • I change no options in the Wireless Advanced settings, but tried setting 802.11n/ac/ax Mode to 802.11ac only.
  • No, i installed it manually, replaced it with an Intel AC8265 that came with the motherboard and is now on an laptop. 
  • I haven't tested this adopter on another 802.11ac network since it's on a desktop and my old router is 802.11n but I have an Intel AC8265 on another computer and it connects to 2.4ghz normally with 802.11ac.
  • Driver 21.120.2.1, but also tried older 21.90.xxx

Another curious issue is that connection is not stable, with 30-100ms ping spikes from time to time when it's using 802.11n and this is on two different routers with both my AX200 and AC8265 clients on different computers. If using 802.11ac ping 192.168.1.1 is 1ms stable for HOURS, spikes to 2-3ms MAX couple of times during 192.168.1.1 -t ping.

I have an ac56-usb client that pings stable 1-3ms for hours without issues on either 802.11n or 802.11ac.

You could say this happens because I'm saturating the link, other wifi clients, interference, poor reception but i can assure you, nothing of that is happening. I know my networking and how to troubleshoot these kinds of issues.

Thankfully this doesn't affect me now because I only use my 5Ghz wifi and that connects just fine with 802.11ac.

 

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Esteban_D_Intel
Moderator
2,247 Views

Hello askan7,


Thank you so much for your response.


Were you able to try the advanced settings recommended in the previous interaction? If so, please let me know if you noticed any improvement.


As you performed this implementation, can you please try reseating the wireless adapter? Please make sure that the antennas are properly installed.


I understand that at the moment we are unable to test another 802.11ac network that would be a great troubleshooting step to isolate the root cause of this behavior.


When you previously mentioned that the adapter reached only 802.11n speeds, can you please provide the current speed and the expected one on this AX 200 adapter.


Additionally, please run the following tool and attach the reports generated.   

    

Intel® System Support Utility (Intel® SSU) Download link 

  

1.       Open the application and click on "Scan" to see the system and device information. 

2.      By default, Intel® SSU will take you to the "Summary View".   

3.       Click on the menu where it says "Summary" to change to "Detailed View".   

4.       To save your scan, click on "Next", then "Save".   


Esteban D.

Intel Technical Support Technician

 


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askan7
Beginner
2,240 Views

Yes I tried the recommended advanced settings, made no difference. I'm running some advanced settings of my own right now, but they're not relevant as i tried with everything default(fresh driver install).

It connects at 144mbps on 2.4ghz band using 802.11n while the router is 802.11ac. But on 5Ghz band it connects normally using 802.11ac link rate 780mbps.

 

 

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n_scott_pearson
Super User
2,228 Views

From Wikipedia: "IEEE 802.11ac is a wireless networking standard in the 802.11 set of protocols (which is part of the Wi-Fi networking family), providing high-throughput wireless local area networks  (WLANs) on the 5 GHz band."

Note the part that I underlined; -AC only operates on the 5GHz band. -N is used on the 2.4GHz band when -AC is selected. On the 2.4GHz band, some sources call it -AC (even though it really isn't) while others call it -N. 

...S

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askan7
Beginner
2,218 Views

I just did some test with iperf3 and those sources that connect to ac on 2.4ghz have higher throughput also they seem to use 256qam modulation. 

This AX200 reports 802.11n on 2.4ghz band and ONLY uses 64qam modulation, on top of that there's ping spikes to router when these Intel adapters use N protocol for some weird reason. Both ac8265 and ax200.

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Esteban_D_Intel
Moderator
2,198 Views

Hello askan7,

Thank you so much for your response.

 

As you previously stated, these wireless adapters were manually installed meaning that we are working with a wireless integration.

 

I would like to inform you that performing wireless integrations is subject to country-specific legal regulations. Before installing or changing the Intel® Wireless Adapter, We always recommends that you contact the system manufacturer to obtain approval, step-by-step instructions, or support. It is worth mentioning that the integration may or may not work due to the following reasons: 

  

1. Hardware/software compatibility issues or dependencies. 

2. Manufacturer limitations. 

3. Driver limitations. 

  

Support article: Regulatory Information Regarding Wireless Hardware Installation or Upgrade 

 

This is important to ensure that the wireless adapter will be fully compatible with your motherboard, antennas in order to reach top performance.

 

After checking the report, we noticed that in both cases the network adapters are working with a signal strenght above 80% and connection to the appropriate standard. So we consider that the speeds that you are getting are expected.

 

On our side, we do not consider that this is related to the drivers/firmware of the device. I would strongly recommend contacting your OEM and check for compatibility and further instructions.


If you need any additional information, please submit a new question as this thread will no longer being monitored  

 

Esteban D.  

Intel Technical Support Technician   


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