AX210 does not prefer strongest signal AP

Vortex-5 · ‎10-14-2022

I noticed that the intel AX210 has a really bad "smart" behavior when it chooses which AP to connect to in a multi AP setup.

Instead of picking the AP with the strongest signal strength it tries to always pick the AP with the highest advertised data rate.

This is problematic because instead of picking the AP literally right in front of it. It will pick an AP down the hallway.

Then when you start a video call on zoom or meet what will happen is the card will suddenly realize that it made a mistake and find the AP right next to it and will decide at that moment that it should roam.

Sadly there's no option in the wifi card to adjust the weighting so signal strength plays a bigger factor on it deciding which AP to associate to.

I miss the older intel wifi cards that behaved a lot more consistently in this matter. It always did a good job of associating with the closest AP after you toggled on / off the wifi.

This new card will revert to picking the AP on another floor with week signal until it once again realizes it made an oopsie and goes back to the AP right next to it usually causing a stutter in the middle of a presentation / web video meeting call.

This is on a Lenovo P15 Gen 2 with intel driver 22.160.0.4

edit: Looking at this form there appears to be other reports of this behavior and they referenced that a much older driver 22.40.0.7 seems to have addressed the issue for them.

AndrewG_Intel · ‎10-17-2022

Hello @Vortex-5

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities.

In order to review this further, could you please provide us with the following information?

1- Is the Intel® Wi-Fi 6E AX210 the original wireless adapter that came pre-installed on the system? Or did you integrate it on the computer?

2- The driver or software for your Intel® component might have been changed or replaced by the computer manufacturer and the recommendation is to use the customized drivers from the OEM to avoid losing features or customizations. Is the behavior the same if you use the drivers provided by your OEM Lenovo?

3- Is this behavior happening at home, office environment, or both?

4- When did the behavior start to happen? Did it work fine before at any time? If so, do you remember if this happened after a new Windows update or Wireless/Bluetooth driver update?

5- Router/Access point(s) brand and model:

6- Run the Intel® System Support Utility (Intel® SSU) to gather more details about the system:

Download the Intel® SSU and save the application on your computer
Open the application, check the "Everything" checkbox, and click "Scan" to see the system and device information. The Intel® SSU defaults to the "Summary View" on the output screen following the scan. Click the menu where it says "Summary" to change to "Detailed View".
To save your scan, click Next and click Save.
Once you have saved the file (.txt file), please attach it to your reply.

To upload and attach a file, use the "Drag and drop here or browse files to attach" option below the response textbox.

Best regards,

Andrew G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

AndrewG_Intel · ‎10-20-2022

Hello Vortex-5

We are checking this thread and we would like to know if you need further assistance. Please do not hesitate to contact us back if you have additional inquiries.

Best regards,

Andrew G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

AndrewG_Intel · ‎10-25-2022

Hello Vortex-5

We have not heard back from you so we will proceed to close this thread now. If you need any additional information, please submit a new question as this thread will no longer be monitored.

Best regards,

Andrew G.

Intel Customer Support Technician