AX201 - WiFi drops every 5-10 mins

[MeNLtd]

I have Lenovo C940 14 inch. FHD i7

My Modem/Router is Hitron CODA 4582 (Its a Dual band ac modem/router)

I have two bands network 2.4 GHz and 5GHz at home.

I never face an issue with WiFi on any other device i own (mobile, another laptop, smart TV, phone, smart devices).

The WiFi (Intel AX 201) keeps dropping the internet every 5-10 mins and after dropping, it will not connect back to the same network for atleast 1 min, and if i try manually to connect to the same network it will give an error "Can't connect to network". It does connect with the other network but will drop again after 5-10 mins and the cycle goes on. 

However sometimes after dropping the connection, it stops reconnecting automatically to other network and i have to click connect to the WiFi network.

If i keep only 1 WiFi network on "Connect automatically" mode, it resume connection with same network after 1 min of idling. 

When the WiFi drops, the error for WLAN Event viewer is:

 FailureReason The driver disconnected while associating. 

 ReasonCode 229378 

Here is what i have tried so far:

1. Got my c940 replaced with another c940

2. Reset network adaptor in Windows

3. Tried updating drivers via Lenon and via Intel's website. None of the driver versions released since Sep 2019 solved this.

4. Clean-up and Fresh install of WiFi drivers

5. Reset Network settings in Windows

6. Reset Windows OS

7. Fresh installed Windows

8. Reset Router

9. Tried bunch of options in the WiFi driver's advanced options

10. Tried bunch of options on my router including changing bands on router and also on WiFi driver

11. Looked up forums for WiFi 6 issues and intel ax201 issues and tried all suggested fixes if not already tried in above points

12. Last but not he least, Pulled out hair off my head

I know someone will say the router will need to be AX compatible. but i have tried disabling ax mode in WiFi driver and used other modes one-by-one and WiFi dropping still persisted. The WiFi card is supposed to be backwards compatible. I do not see the point in buying a $400 AX router/mesh when all other devices work just fine. 

Finally i bought $40 ASUS AC 53 Nano and life is great again. 

If you have another solution to make intel's AX201 work for a similar issue, please provide your response.

[DaisyJ_Intel]

Hello MeNLtd,

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities. 

It is great to see the research and the steps you have already performed. Please attempt the suggestions and share the details requested below.

• Is this the original wireless adapter installed in the computer?
• In fact, the router used does not support the protocol required for the wireless adapter. 

1. Please try to disable AX or change to other protocols and check the router configuration to see the behavior.
2. Verify the advance settings of the wireless card in this link.
3. You might change the channel width from Auto to 20 Mhz as explained in the previous link as well.

• Please provide us with the Intel® System Support Utility logs by following the next steps: 

1. Download the software. 
2. When finished downloading it, open it. 
3. Mark the box "Everything" and then click "Scan. 
4. When finish scanning, click "Next." 
5. Click on Save and attach the file to your post. 

Reply at your earliest convenience.

Best Regards, 

Daisy J. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[MeNLtd]

Hello Daisy,

Thanks for your response.

• Yes, Lenovo c940 is shipped with intel's AX201. I just started using ASUS AC53 Nano from yesterday (2nd April) since AX201 was not behaving well.
• Router is old but I read before my purchase of Lenovo c940 that AX201 is backward compatible with older protocols.

I have already tried (as mentioned in point 10 prevously) changing bands to 20MHz and other options and protocols. However i just did it again and WiFi still drops.

After the update to recommended WiFi setting on the link you shared the speed is quite slow slow even when i am sitting next to the router (70mbps) download. I am getting 430 mbps on other devices using 'ac' mode while sitting at the same place.

I have also attached the logs you asked for.

Let me know what you find.

[DaisyJ_Intel]

Hello MeNLtd,

Thank you for your response.

We noticed that in the report provided the Intel wireless adapter is not being recognized, but the Asus adapter is the only one reported.

• Can you please go to the Device Manager and check if the Intel Wireless adapter is shown? If so, can you please provide a screenshot? Can you please confirm the driver version installed?
• Please take into consideration that you are using the Asus adapter. We cannot determine the speed this device can reach. Were you able to have your wireless connection in an expected performance before?

Feel free to reply if you have any additional questions or comments.

Regards, 

Daisy J. 

Intel Customer Support Technician

[MeNLtd]

Hello Daisy,

Not sure about the recognition part but just before i bought ASUS adaptor, i was using ax201 with intermitted connection issues.

I am not concerned about the speed at this time, i will be happy if ax201 gives me stable connectivity.

The driver i have are the latest 21.80.2.1 from intel's website

I have pasted the screenshot below:

[DaisyJ_Intel]

Hello MeNLtd,

We do not see the device manager screenshot. Please attach it using the clip icon when posting to this thread

Best Regards, 

Daisy J. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[DaisyJ_Intel]

Hello MeNLtd,

Were you able to check the previous post?  

Let me know if you need more assistance.  

Best Regards, 

Daisy J. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[MeNLtd]

Sorry, here you go.

[DaisyJ_Intel]

Hello MeNLtd,

Thank you for the information.

We will look into it to verify any additional suggestions and post back in this thread to share our findings.

Best Regards, 

Daisy J. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[DaisyJ_Intel]

Hello MeNLtd,

Please find below some additional suggestions based on the last details gathered. 

• Please look for any firmware update available for your router.
• Test other protocol compatible router or another router to see how this device behaves without the use of the Asus external adapter.
• We cannot provide any conclusive information about the speed reached by the device due to the external adapter being used. We recommend you to check with Asus this behavior and look for their recommendations on how to get the best performance of it.
• You might test the speed reached and compare it with other devices, but once again, the recommendations can be only provided by this external adapter manufacturer. 

Best Regards, 

Daisy J. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[Shay2007]

I have the same problem for long time. when I used Wifi5.

Recently I replace my router to (Xiaomi redmi ax6) Wifi-6 . 

and now I have no dropping for several days already.

It may be a problem with the Intel Wifi ax201 card!! that not support well the Wifi5 tech!

But intel not admit.