Dual Band AC 3165 download speeds limited to 30 Mbps

[DebbyG]

I am unable to get wireless download speeds greater than 30 Mbps on my Dell laptop with the Intel (R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165.  My service provider used a 5G phone to connect to my network today and reached download speeds of 120 Mbps.  So he says it's my network card. I have reached 45 Mbps using my cell phone on my 2.4 G network, but nothing over 30 Mbps (and frequently lower) using my laptop on 5 G. Would appreciate any help.

Here is my SSU scan for the network wireless settings:

"Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165"
Access Point:"92:50:ca:4a:21:c0"
Authentication:"WPA2-Personal"
Availability:"Running or Full Power"
- "Caption":"Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165"
Link:"http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/search.html?keyword=Dual+Band+Wireless+AC+3165"
Channel:"36"
Cipher:"CCMP"
CoInstallers:"Not Available"
Connection Mode:"Profile"
Default IP Gateway:"192.168.0.1"
DHCP Enabled:"Yes"
DHCP Lease Expires:"11-12-2020 05:54 PM"
DHCP Lease Obtained:"11-05-2020 05:54 PM"
DHCP Server:"192.168.0.1"
Driver:"Netwtw04.sys"
Driver Date:"12-03-2019 12:00 AM"
Driver Path:"C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\Netwtw04.sys"
Driver Provider:"Intel"
Driver Version:"19.51.27.1"
Index:"0001"
INF:"oem19.inf"
INF Section:"Install_MPCIEX_DELLM2_3165_AC_HMC_WINT_64_AC"
Install Date:"Not Available"
Installed:"Yes"
IP Address:"192.168.0.12;fe80::69e8:6cb4:bfd:20b7;fd00:9050:ca4a:21c2:a1a3:3cc7:f9d9:dd48;fd00:9050:ca4a:21c2:69e8:6cb4:bfd:20b7"
IP Subnet:"255.255.255.0;64;128;64"
Last Error Code:"Not Available"
Last Error Code Description:"Not Available"
Last Reset:"10-30-2020 10:16 AM"
Location:"PCI bus 1, device 0, function 0"
MAC Address:"84:EF:18:66:75:DD"
Manufacturer:"Intel Corporation"
Media Type:
Net Connection ID:"Wi-Fi"
NetCfgInstanceId:"{370E8C3F-1038-4B6A-BB62-4097828AF663}"
Network Name:"SHAW-4A21C0-5G"
Network Type:"Infrastructure"
Number of VLANs:"0"
PNP Device ID:"PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3165&SUBSYS_44108086&REV_79\84EF18FFFF6675DD00"
Port:"Not Available"
Power Management (Low Power):"Active: Yes, Enable: Yes"
Power Management (Wake On LAN):"Active: Yes, Enable: No"
Power Management (Wake on Magic Packet):"Active: Yes, EnableWakeOnMagicPacketOnly: No"
Power Management Capabilities:"Not Available"
Power Management Supported:"No"
Product Type:"Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165"
Profile:"SHAW-4A21C0-5G"
Radio Type:"802.11ac"
Receive Rate:"433.3 Mbps"
Service Name:"Netwtw04"
Signal Strength:"99%"
State:"connected"
Status:"Enabled"
Team Name:"Not in a team"
Temperature:
Transmit Rate:"433.3 Mbps"
Type:"Ethernet 802.3"
- "Service Bindings"
Client for Microsoft Networks:
File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks:
Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4):
Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6):
Link-Layer Topology Discovery Mapper I/O Driver:
Link-Layer Topology Discovery Responder:
Microsoft LLDP Protocol Driver:
QoS Packet Scheduler:
- "Settings"
*DeviceSleepOnDisconnect:Sleep on WoWLAN Disconnect:"Disabled (0)"
*PacketCoalescing:Packet Coalescing:"Enabled (1)"
*PMARPOffload:ARP offload for WoWLAN:"Enabled (1)"
*PMNSOffload:NS offload for WoWLAN:"Enabled (1)"
*PMWiFiRekeyOffload:GTK rekeying for WoWLAN:"Enabled (1)"
*WakeOnMagicPacket:Wake on Magic Packet:"Enabled (1)"
*WakeOnPattern:Wake on Pattern Match:"Enabled (1)"
ChannelWidth24:Channel Width for 2.4GHz:"Auto (1)"
ChannelWidth52:Channel Width for 5GHz:"Auto (1)"
CtsToItself:Mixed Mode Protection:"RTS/CTS Enabled (0)"
FatChannelIntolerant:Fat Channel Intolerant:"Disabled (0)"
IbssTxPower:Transmit Power:"3. Medium (50)"
IEEE11nMode:802.11n/ac Wireless Mode:"802.11ac (2)"
MIMOPowerSaveMode:MIMO Power Save Mode:"Auto SMPS (0)"
RoamAggressiveness:Roaming Aggressiveness:"3. Medium (2)"
RoamingPreferredBandType:Preferred Band:"1. No Preference (0)"
ThroughputBoosterEnabled:Throughput Booster:"Disabled (0)"
uAPSDSupport:U-APSD support:"Disabled (0)"
WirelessMode:802.11a/b/g Wireless Mode:"6. Dual Band 802.11a/b/g (34)"

[Esteban_D_Intel]

Hello DebbyG,

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities.

I understand that you are experiencing some download problems with your wireless adapter. To better assist you please provide the following information:

• When did it start to happen? Was it working fine before?
• Do you remember if this issue happened after a new OS update or Wireless driver update?
• Please provide the model of your laptop
• Is this the original adapter that came pre-installed in your system or have you changed/installed a new adapter recently?
• Have you checked if this behavior occurs on different networks?

Also, I would appreciate if you could attach the complete SSU report to the thread so we can have more information about your system.

Esteban D.

Intel Technical Support Technician  

[DebbyG]

This laptop was bought new and has always gotten download rates between 25-30Mbps (before any software updates).  I initially thought it was a service provider issue. All hardware is still original.  It is a Dell Inspiron 13-5378.  I have not tested it on another network, but I have tried a different laptop on my network.  A Dell Inspiron 15-5378 with a Qualcomm QCA61x4A 802.11ac adapter gets 278 Mbps download on my network.

I've attached the full SSU report.

[Esteban_D_Intel]

Hello DebbyG,

Thank you for your response and the information provided.

After reviewing the SSU report, I noticed that you are currently using an outdated wireless driver and also your operating system can be upgraded to a later version.

I consider those steps are important to ensure top performance in your device.

First, as you may know, when talking about laptops it’s worth mentioning that Intel provides generic versions of software and drivers. Your computer manufacturer may have altered the features, incorporated customizations, or made other changes.  

I would recommend the installation of the drivers provided by your laptop manufacturer, in this case DELL*. You can find them in the following link.

In case you have more questions about the OEM drivers, the customizations performed by DELL* or guidance in their website I would recommend checking with DELL* for further assistance.

Please let me know if you notice an improvement after the installation of the driver to version: 21.70.0.6.

Esteban D.

Intel Technical Support Technician 

Links to third-party sites and references to third-party trademarks are provided for convenience and illustrative purposes only. Unless explicitly stated, Intel® is not responsible for the contents of such links, and no third-party endorsement of Intel or any of its products is implied.  

[Esteban_D_Intel]

Hello DebbyG,

Were you able to check the previous post?   

Please let me know if you need further assistance.   

Esteban D.  

Intel Technical Support Technician   

[DebbyG]

I did update the wireless driver to the Dell version 19.51.27.1 (as opposed to the Intel 19.51.27.1 that was already loaded).  This did not make any difference to the ~25 Mbps download speeds.  As Windows 10 version 20H2 was only released last month, and I have had this issue for a long time (thinking it was a service provider issue), I highly doubt that this version is going to suddenly increase my download speeds.  The other Dell laptop I have tested has the same Windows 10 version as my laptop and it is lightning fast with the Qualcomm network card.

I was hoping you could see something in my network card settings that I could change, but apparently they must be ok.  Or whether there was some developer type commands to communicate directly with the network card, as I believe there must be something at the firmware or hardware level.  Since my warranty is long gone, unless you have something else to suggest, I will have to live with it until I get another computer or brand of network card.

[DebbyG]

I owe you (Esteban) an apology.  I really didn't think updating to Windows 10, version 20H2 would help.  However, I did do the update yesterday (it took more than 12 hours to complete!).  I am now getting download speeds of up to 230Mbps!!!  My upload speeds are only 16Mbps, which is still slow.  But obviously I am very happy with the download speeds. 

[Esteban_D_Intel]

Hello DebbyG,

Thank you so much for your response.

No problem, we really appreciate your patience throughout this process and for always keeping us updated.

I’m glad to know that your computer is working as expected after the update of your operating system.

Keeping the operating system up to date, and ensuring the usage of the appropriate driver for your device will always ensure top performance of the system.

Please let me know if you need further assistance and I’ll be more than glad to continue with the assistance.

If not, please let me know if you would like to proceed with the closure of your inquiry.

Esteban D.

Intel Technical Support Technician  

[DebbyG]

Hi Esteban,

My internet service is supposed to be download (up to) 300Mbps and upload (up to) 100Mbps.  As I first noted, they did come out and test my system and showed I was getting close to those speeds. 

Now, with your help, I am getting the correct download speed, but my upload of 16Mbps is quite slow.  I don't upload a lot (photos sometimes), but if there is anything you can think of that might improve that, I would appreciate it.  If not, I am still very pleased to have much better download.

Thanks!

[Esteban_D_Intel · Accepted solution]

Hello DebbyG,

Thank you for your update.

In this situation I would recommend the following:

1. To determine that this is not a problem with the network, testing your laptop in another network would be recommended. Then, we can compare upload and download speeds between both networks.
2. In terms of software such as drivers, we can determine that the computer is using the latest drivers that are validated for the device. As a recommendations for the future, I would strongly recommend to download of any driver/firmware directly from the laptop manufacturer. Hopefully a future release may resolve this behavior.
3. To ensure top performance, I would recommend checking with your router manufacturer for any firmware or configuration to perform on their side to ensure proper functionality of the device.

The use of an Ethernet connection will increase both speeds in case you are interested.

I hope this final recommendations help to answer your concern.

Esteban D.

Intel Technical Support Technician  

[DebbyG]

Thanks for your recommendations Esteban.  I will go through these.

As my main concern was the download speeds, you have addressed them completely.  I'm happy to close off this issue and thank you for your help.

[Esteban_D_Intel]

Hello DebbyG,

Thank you for your response.

Then, we will proceed with the closure of this inquiry.

If you need any additional information, please submit a new question as this thread will no longer being monitored  

Esteban D.  

Intel Technical Support Technician