AX201 speed drops periodically

[Pretender]

I bought a new laptop a few months ago (ASUS ROG Strix G17 G712LWS). And strange things are happening with its AX201 network adapter. I connected a USB drive to my router (Keenetic Extra ll 5Ghz ac), and noticed that the download speed from it can vary from 19 Mb/s to 130 Kb/s several times within 1 minute. It looks something like this: It starts copy, for example, from 9mb/s (within 3 seconds), then - 14Mb/s-16Mb/s-18.8 (about 10 seconds), then drops within a few seconds like this 18.8-15 -12-10-7-5 or lower, hold on for a few seconds and may up to 10Mb/S, then it may drops again or then may up to 18MB/S and then drop again. And if it shows 18Mb/s - then this is the actual speed, the file really downloads faster. It also affects the speed of the internet. When I'm in a game and talking on Discord, sometimes there are lags in the game and at the same time in Discord, for a couple of seconds. I checked the download stability on other devices: Samsung Galaxy A72 is stable download at 15 Mb/s. My friend's iPhone is 15-16 Mb/s. My old laptop MSI with Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265, being in the same place, stably downloads from a USB disk 17-19 Mb/s, without a drops. I tried everything that came to my mind.
-I have tried uninstalling, reinstalling the driver (Older, Latest, ASUS Recommended) with clean install.
-Reset network settings
-Stopped all ASUS network software (Range Boost, GameFirst),
-Changed adapter settings
-Changed the settings of the router (Channel etc.)
-Uninstalled antivirus, checked with Dr. Web CureIt. Disabled the firewall.
-Tried with another USB drive connected to the router.
-Only I did not reinstall Windows.
I also noticed that with any download, the Wireless signal weakens from 67% to 40%, and when the download is finished again 67%. The problem is only on my laptop, although it looks like the AX201 can download everything at the maximum speed possible in my room, but for some reason it periodically drops speed.

Thanks in advance.

[n_scott_pearson]

Have you tried configuring specifically for -AC?
Also, if right near router, should be seeing higher than 67%
...S

[Pretender]

Thank you for respond.

All clients connected to ac. But i don't know how to configure it specifically. It is interesting that even near the router, it can show a good signal, but the speed also drops, but with a smaller amplitude. The laptop is in another room from the router, about 9 meters (30 feet) MSI with Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265 shows an even better signal, but downloads at maximum speed like my new laptop, but  stable 17-19Mb/s. My laptom 19Mb - 130 Kb.

[Khun_Doug]

Pretender,

Please describe your network. What router or access point are you using? And what is your Internet connection, and what upload/download speeds should you be getting from the provider? And finally, how many other devices are simultaneously sharing the wireless?

[Pretender]

Hello.

   I'm using Keenetic Extra ll 5Ghz ac. 100 Mbit/s upload/download from provider.  3 more devices (Samsung TV, 2 smartphones) are connected to my router, all to 5Ghz ac. Even if all devices are turned off, the problem persists.

[Khun_Doug]

Pretender,

Different laptops will have internal antenna designs and placements. It is possible your Asus has an antenna layout that is not optimal. It is also possible your Asus has a defective wireless adapter. Have you tried the laptop on a different wireless, perhaps at a library or friend's house. You could try creating a hotspot with a mobile phone and test how well the laptop holds the signal.

Another test would be to adjust the Channel Width for 5GHz for the wireless. Instead of Auto, change it to use a constant value. Sadly, on my AX200 I can only select Auto or 20 MHz. Your AX201 may offer an option for 40 MHz. But the constant value will be a test to see if the laptop holds a stronger signal.

Lastly, if the laptop is new and under warranty, I would speak with Asus support. Explain the problem scenario and see what they say.

[Pretender]

 I don't know what to assume anymore. I noticed another feature, it can also affect the download speed. I have an Intel 660p SSD installed. When I copy a large whole file, the copy speed starts at 800 MB / s and after a few seconds drops to 300 and after a few more seconds to 90 Mb / s and even sometimes to 30 Mb / s. When I copy a file, at 90 or 30 Mb / s the whole system freezes, I even open the browser for 30 seconds. And if I start speedtest.net, the speed of SSD copying sometimes drops to 15mb / s and the download speed is also about 10 mb / s. I tried to install the latest Client NVMe * Microsoft Windows * Drivers for Intel® SSDs and run SSD Optimizer in Intel Memory and Storage tool, but it's greyed out. I don’t know what to do yet.

[Khun_Doug]

Pretender,

That does, on the surface, read like something more than a wireless problem. In order to help, please download and run the Intel System Support Utility. The SSU will collect hardware and OS information, but nothing personally identifiable. Once you open the SSU, leave the defaults and click Scan, then click Next, and finally save the report as file. Then please post back and attach the file.

The Intel SSU can be found here: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25293/Intel-System-Support-Utility-for-Windows-

[Pretender]

Hello.

   Attached a file with system information.

  Today I checked around the router. My Lan port on router is 100 Mbit / s maximum. From the cable it pumps stably 9.9 - 10 Mb / s. On Wireless, the download drops constantly. Even near router can be 25 mb / s can be 3 mb / s. Although speedtest.net shows 300 Mbit / s. And other devices download with stable speed. Could it be some kind of software error?

[Khun_Doug]

Pretender,

Was this installation of Windows 10 a clean install, and then all your apps were installed and data copied in? Or was this a clone from a previous system, where the OS was moved from older hardware to newer hardware?

As for disk defrag, it is unnecessary when using an SSD.

Lastly, are any of the speed tests done with the VPN activated?

[Pretender]

Hello again.

   Windows 10 preinstalled with purchase. Not tested on VPN. But I connected my smartphone as a USB modem - the download speed is stable at 27-29 Mb / s.There seems to be no problem with SSD. It looks like there is a problem with the Wireless Adapter. I looked at the download graph and noticed absolutely equal intervals between speed drops. These drops can be predicted from this graph.

[Khun_Doug]

Pretender,

A few notes. At the data rates you are showing, speed wise, you are likely to get the same throughput on 2.4 GHz as you are on 5 GHz. One test you can try is connecting to your 2.4 SSID and use that for testing. The other thing that was pointed out earlier is to change the AX201 to prefer the AC over AX. In the properties for the AX201 adapter, you will see an entry for 802.11n/ac/ax Wireless Mode. I suggest for a second test that you set this to #3, 802.11 ac.

PS - I originally posted this reply on 27 June, but the post didn't go up. I checked, and the reply was still visible as saved text. I hope my reply goes through this time.

[Pretender]

Hello again.

   I reset my laptop to factory. Updated Windows 10 to 21H1, checked the download speed 33-35 stably. Updated all ASUS software. Installed a couple of my programs. And the speed drops again. Removed some programs, disabled Defender and firewall. Still drops. Then unplagged AC Adapter Charger and plaged in, and after few minutes downloading speed up to 33-35Mb / s again. After restarting the laptop, speed drops again. Unplug and plug in AC charger has no Effect. 10 minutes after unplugging from AC download speed up to 33-35 again. So far, the speed is stable even after a reboot. I still did not understand what the problem was, because I could not find patterns in this problem. It's sad, because If this happens again, I won't know what exactly helped now.

PS - Checked 2.4Ghz before factory reset - still speed drops. After reset, the speed is stable on any AX201 settings (802.11 ax or 802.11ac without difference) - 33-35Mb/s.

[Khun_Doug]

Pretender,

In your post you wrote that your speed issue started happening again,  but after you installed the Asus software. Is there something in the Asus suite that manages network speed, or is designed to "help" network performance? Sometimes these tools do more harm than any help they offer. You can try removing the Asus software you installed and see if your speed stays stable.

And again, I encourage you to set the 5 GHz mode to prefer AC (802.111ac). Your router does not support AX.

[Pretender]

  I uninstalled ASUS Software, installed it again, there are no changes yet - stable 30 + Mb / s. At the moment I cannot understand the cause of the problem, it may have something to do with power saving and switching from AC Charger to Battery or something else. Just in case, put "prefer AC" in AX201 properties. Thanks for your help. I will watch the changes, If the download speed drops again, I'll post again.

   P.S. The only ASUS applications that affect the network are Asus Multi Antenna (Range Boost), and GameFirst, they seem to be the only ones. Deleted and installed again - no difference now - the download speed is normal.

[Khun_Doug]

Pretender,

I'm glad your problem seems to be resolved. If you begin to encounter trouble again, I highly recommend removing those two Asus utilities. Many times those "speed up" tools do anything but speed things up.

[Pretender]

Thank you very much for your attention to my problem. I will monitor the download speed. Hopefully the problem won't come back.