Antenna wires on NUC 54250WYKH

[CWagn2]

I just completed a warranty replacement of this unit due to a pinched antenna wire. After the swap and getting all up and running again, I still am not getting the expected connection speed with this configuration. I am using an Intel 7260.HMWG WiFi Wireless AC 7260 H/T Dual Band 2x2 AC network card connecting to a Linksys WRT1900AC router.

My question is does it matter where (connection 1 (left), or connection 2 (right)) each wire (black or gray) is connected to the NIC? I have seen other messages like this on other places on the web but no definitive answers.

Thanks!

[DHoga2]

I am not from Intel, but I will tell you my findings. I don't think the antenna wire color matters - one is just one side of the case top and the other is the other side of case top. Since you are using Intel networking card, one possibility is match what the 2820 model of NUC does since it has card/antennas pre-installed. They stuck the grey colored wire to the connection closest to the side of the NUC. As to the pinched, I was frustrated that one of my (four) NUCs arrived that way (wire showing through insulation) but I just used it rather than going through the hassle of warranty return. Initial damage appeared to be due to those metal clips on the side. As to the performance - I do not notice a problem with my nearby AC router - dozen feet or so away on the other side of same room. But all four of my NUCs only see my own router SSID and maybe one or two neighbors. This is a huge decrease from all my notebooks/tablets, all of which see many more neighbors (of course at a low signal level). I'm guessing it is the NUC case/antenna, not the 7260 cards - I just try to not let it bug me. Finally if it matters, my router is Netgear and I make sure to connect to the 5GHz SSID and Windows says the connection is 650 or 702 or 780 (I've never done anything to test those speeds - all I do is test my 45M internet speed limit).

[CWagn2]

I am just concerned about connection speeds at this point. I have set the driver to use only the 5Ghz network as it's less congested, but I am only seeing rates of about 130 Mbps, which seem very low. When I plug in an external USB NIC, I get 867Mbps connections. So, I guess this is just an antenna issue then. I have a different issue with USB in that the NUC fails to recognize the connected NIC after a reboot and I need to connect the NIC to a different port to get it to wake up. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

I saw a product on the internet which would let me attach 2 antenna connections to the OUTSIDE of the NUC that plug into the NIC. These have SMA connectors to allow use of screw on antennas. I may try this once my unit it a bit older (I have only had it for 2 weeks now). Only about 10 bucks for the kit on Amazon.

Thanks!

[Kevin_M_Intel]

Hi guys,

There is in fact a way to connect the antennas. Check below:

• Antenna with the longer grey wire is on the right side.

• Antenna with the shorter black wire is on the left side.

Besides the antenna setup there are some other things you need to take in consideration for performance. You may also try disabling the U-APSD:

http://www.intel.com/support/wireless/wlan/sb/CS-034875.htm http://www.intel.com/support/wireless/wlan/sb/CS-034875.htm

Kevin M

[CWagn2]

Thanks Kevin.

I tried the U-APSD change, setting the property to disabled on the driver and then restarted. No change was noticed. Still seeing 130 mbps instead of the 867 mbps that my external adapter gets. I will leave this and monitor for a few days to see if any thing gets better.

Thanks.

[tvete]

Can you post the results of this command from the command prompt:

netsh wlan show interfaces

This will let me know if the connection is capable of reaching 867 Mbps on the best connection.

[CWagn2]

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7601]

Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Users\Chris>netsh wlan show interfaces

There is 1 interface on the system:

Name : Wireless Network Connection 2

Description : Edimax AC1200 Wireless LAN USB Adapter GUID : XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX Physical address : XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX State : connected SSID : xxxxxx BSSID : XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX Network type : Infrastructure Radio type : 802.11n Authentication : WPA2-Personal Cipher : CCMP Connection mode : Profile Channel : 149 Receive rate (Mbps) : 867 Transmit rate (Mbps) : 867 Signal : 100% Profile : sheep5

Hosted network status : Not available

C:\Users\Chris>netsh wlan show interfaces

There is 1 interface on the system:

Name : Wireless Network Connection

Description : Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 GUID : XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX Physical address : XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX State : connected SSID : xxxxxx BSSID : XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX Network type : Infrastructure Radio type : 802.11n Authentication : WPA2-Personal Cipher : CCMP Connection mode : Auto Connect Channel : 149 Receive rate (Mbps) : 866.7 Transmit rate (Mbps) : 866.7 Signal : 99% Profile : sheep5

Hosted network status : Not available

C:\Users\Chris>

[CWagn2]

When connected with the edimax NIC:

[tvete]

Intel is showing 802.11ac based on the link rate of 234 Mbps (this link rate is not possible with N). Therefore, 802.11ac is working but not optimum since it's not communicating at maximum speed of 866 Mbps. This can be due to many reasons: poor drivers - most likely, interference from motherboard (least likely), poor internal antennas (possible). 5 GHz interference is unlikely since the Edimax can connect at much higher link rate.

My suggestion, flip the antennas on the 7260 connector and see if you get better speeds.

[CWagn2]

I just tried flipping the wires and no change noticed to speeds. Still getting between 100 Mbps and 200 Mbps. on this NIC.

[tvete]

It's likely an antenna problem as most users can get a steady 650 to 866.7 Mbps with 7260AC (not necessarily on the Intel NUC). Try getting a replacement nuc and see if the reception gets better.

[CWagn2]

The NUC has already been replaced as the first one had a damaged antenna wire. I think it's just the placement of the antennas within the box. If I re-orient the box, sitting it vertical with the top facing the router (which is about 40 feet away (and 2 walls), speed goes up to 245 Mbps.

I have ordered a pair of external antennas to mount on the box and that should do the trick. I just need to figure out how to mount them without causing conflicts with anything else in the box (space wise)

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DP64JRG/ref=pe_385040_30332190_TE_3p_dp_1 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DP64JRG/ref=pe_385040_30332190_TE_3p_dp_1

[CWagn2]

Problem solved! Adding external antennas did the trick. Where I am positioned now I am getting the following reception:

This is what my NUC looks like now:

Simply holding it up in the air by 2 feet now gives me 700 mbps also. So, it was a combination of location and sub-par antennas within the NUC.

The antennas shown can be found at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DP64JRG/ref=pe_385040_30332190_TE_3p_dp_1 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DP64JRG/ref=pe_385040_30332190_TE_3p_dp_1

[tvete]

Now your NUC looks like the WiFi packet sniffing device that HackShop sells LOL https://hakshop.myshopify.com/products/wifi-pineapple HakShop — WiFi Pineapple Mark V Standard

Jokes aside, one thing is clear: Intel's engineers should test their WiFi performance to find the best antenna for the NUC so that you don't have to do any DIYing.

[Kevin_M_Intel]

Guys,

Please note that the AC will get 867 Mbps teoricaly when having a perfect environment. I mean having a lot of requirements to make sure the AC adapter can get to that speed and I can confirm it is possible because we have done it but you must meet and check every single details such as blocking the wireless noises, having all drivers on all devices up to date, having a good distance from the router (no interferences between the computer and the router), having all computers connected to AC only, etc…

Internet speed plays a well a good paper on this.

Kevin M

[JOlie]

hi Chrisw214,

I am very interested in your "external antennas trick" especially for my vacancies on campings in France where the signal mostly is very weak and an external antenna usb wifi adapter too often is not accepted by the provider somehow. So I want to do your solution myself. I do like the look too!

My question: how did you make holes in the NUC and do you have some photo's from inside?

thanks, OJ

[CWagn2]

Hi OJ, Sorry for the late reply, I don't get into these forums much.

The installation was pretty must a hack. The hardest part was finding a location where the internal part of the connector would not cause a space conflict with other components within the NUC. Then, just drill carefully.

I am installing an larger SSD today and will take pictures today that show (as best I can) where the holes wound up.

As for antenna performance, works well, but I am not using wireless currently as my work needs all the speed I can get which means gig ethernet. When I was using the antennas, they performed VERY well, getting the max out of the Intel Network 6260.HMWG wireless card. I do have to admit that the antennas do make the NUC look funny, but I prefer performance over looks.

Thanks. Chris