AX201 Bluetooth radio, what USB standard is it compliant with / using?

James_Russell · ‎03-02-2023

Hi, the other day I had a couple of laptops with me, one of them sporting an AX201 with a 12th gen Alder Lake-U, the other one a comparable MediaTek MT7921 with a 10th gen Comet Lake-U processor.

While provisioning them and checking it all worked, I noticed the BT radio on the AX201 was working at USB 1.0 speeds (Full-Speed USB, 12 Mbit/s) while the one on the MT7921 signaled USB 2.0 (High-Speed, 480 Mbit/s). Realizing that, I looked around and came across several threads on various forums with people noting their Intel based WiFi+BT combo cards were slow on the BT part, especially when it came to having several BT peripherals connected at the same time. For example, this one.

Since I am considering fitting an AX411 in my system or Killer equivalent, I would like to know if this is indeed the case, the BT part in Intel cards isn't capable of working at higher transfer speeds, whether it is system dependent or how come the described situation was happening. If it is common to several Intel cards, I'd appreciate a list since product descriptions at ark.intel.com don't show anything related (I checked several pages of them).

AX201, details on the right, drivers in use were 22.200.0.2 (15th Dec. 2022):

MT7921, I don't think it's relevant, but drivers in use were 1.930.0.262 (23rd Nov. 2022):

There's no rush, I'd rather the answer be accurate instead of a quick answer that doesn't address the question (e.g., I don't mind waiting if engineers need to be consulted on this).

Thanks for your time, regards.

Steven_Intel · ‎03-03-2023

Hello James_Russell,

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities.

I will do further research about this and as soon as I have an update I will get back to you.

Best regards,

Steven G.

Intel Customer Support Technician.

Alberto_R_Intel · ‎03-10-2023

Hello James_Russell, I just received an update on this matter.

After reviewing the case it is important to mention that Intel uses USB 1.2 ( Technically USB 2.0) – the Bluetooth BW is less than USB bandwidth. So, in this case, we recommend to test the latest OEM drivers available and checking with the OEM also anything related to the killer integration they would like to perform.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

will6 · ‎03-13-2023

Can't seem to find any USB 1.2 specs. Did even exist?

Steven_Intel · ‎03-14-2023

Hello @James_Russell

Were you able to check the previous post?

@will6 it refers to USB 2.0 specifications.

Best regards,

Steven G.

Intel Customer Support Technician.

will6 · ‎03-15-2023

Well, software reports 1.1. Intel says it's 1.2 but refers to 2.0. And software doesn't report 2.0.

That's a little confusing and concerning.

Will Intel ever recognize and help with all the problems we are having with BT?

Steven_Intel · ‎03-16-2023

Hello will6,

We appreciate your feedback and want to let you know that we are to help you with any issues you may have with Bluetooth or with your Intel wireless adapter. Feel free to gather all details about the issue(s) and create a new post in this community in order to provide further assistance.

Best regards,

Steven G.

Intel Customer Support Technician.

will6 · ‎03-17-2023

Hi Steven. Sadly there is no further assistance at all.

We opened threads every month and every month they get ignored.

The problem is simple, no AX BT cards support more than one dualsense controller at once. Every other manufacturer support that.

Why there is no specific BT software log? SSU will never help to debug anything.

Why Intel enginners aren't able to try 2 dualsense at once over the last two years?

It's ok, I just disable Intel ax card on every MB I got with them and use other solution, since there is no interest in solve this.

Here is the actual thread https://community.intel.com/t5/Wireless/AX200-bluetooth-disconnection-with-multiple-game-controllers/m-p/1460592#M45736

Always we get the same nonsense answers. But I'm not angry, just disappointed.

Steven_Intel · ‎03-20-2023

I understand your disappointment, and that is definitely not what we expect you to feel as a customer. I will make sure your feedback gets to the right department. Unfortunately, the team in charge will not be able to provide updates regarding the status of the suggestion.

If you need any additional information in the future, feel free to create a new post, as this thread will no longer be monitored.

Thank you for your understanding.

Best regards,

Steven G.

Intel Customer Support Technician.

will6 · ‎03-24-2023

Thanks