Dual Band Wireless 7260 AC WIFI Problems in Windows 10

[MAbbo]

I upgraded the WiFi card in my Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro almost a year ago to an Intel Wireless-AC 7260 7260NGW 802.11ac Dual Band NGFF Wifi Card, and it's been performing flawlessly until the last week or so.

I'm now experiencing drop-outs in wi-fi every few minutes / hours. The severity is strangely erratic: sometimes these can be be resolved by right-clicking the system tray icon and letting the troubleshooter restart the adapter, but occasionally it's as if the card's not there at all, it's not even listed in the device manager, defying refreshes and sometimes even restarts. Eventually it will come back, only to be as unstable as before.

I have physically removed the card, cleaned the contacts and checked that it's seated correctly and removed and re-installed the drivers with no success

After searching online I found reports on this forum of other issues associated with 7260 cards and Windows 10 updates and wondered if my experiences could be linked, there have certainly been a lot of Windows updates recently.

I'll be very grateful for any suggestions / advice.

[idata]

Hello Kettle,

We understand you upgraded your wireless adapter, and have recently started having issues with network disconnections.Please keep in mind that only wireless adapters installed by your computer manufacturer are applicable for support. - https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005687/network-and-i-o/wireless-networking.html Regulatory Information Regarding Wireless Hardware Installation or UpgradeWe'll be more than happy to take a look at your system and provide any suggestions that we can, but we cannot guarantee a solution.Please download and run the https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25293/Intel-System-Support-Utility Intel® System Support Utility. Making sure that you're connected to your network, select the option to scan everything. Once the scan has completed, please save the report and share it with us.Note: to enable attachments, make sure to use the advanced editor while replying.Best regards,Carlos A.

[MAbbo]

Thanks for your quick response, I've attached the results of the scan.

Any assistance will be greatly received.

Regards,

Martin

[idata]

Hello Kettle,

Thanks for this report. We can see that your signal strength and connection rate are very low for Wireless-AC.a. If you're very far away from your router, or there are walls in between, using the 2.4 GHz band may be a better choice. The 5 GHz band is generally less susceptible to interference, but has a lower range and penetration capabilities.b. If you're close to your wireless router, you may want to check and make sure that the wireless antennas are still securely connected to the adapter. You could also switch them and see if it helps.c. Please download the https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/27123/Wireless-Intel-Wireless-Bluetooth-for-Windows-10?v=t latest drivers for the Bluetooth® Module of your wireless adapter, or disable it from device manager if this isn't something you will use.d. Open your wireless adapter properties from device manager (Right click start menu > Device Manager > Network Adapters > Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 > Properties > Advanced tab) and change the following https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005585/network-and-i-o/wireless-networking.html advanced adapter settings: - Roaming Aggressiveness = 1. Lowest - Bluetooth® AMP = Enabled - 802.11n Channel Width for 2.4GHz = 20 MHz - 802.11n Channel Width for 5.2GHz = AutoWe can also recommend making sure that your VPN software is up to date, as this type of software modifies your wireless driver when enabled. How does the adapter behave if your VPN is disabled?Best regards,Carlos A.

[MAbbo]

Thanks for your reply and your suggestions, I have made the changes o the adapter settings, the router is not far away and the signal is generally consistently strong. I have uninstalled the VPN software in case that was affecting things adversely. Unfortunately these haven't improved stability, over the course of the past couple of hours the device has dropped in and out multiple times, sometimes disappearing from the device manager and only returning after multiple restarts.

Any more troubleshooting recommendations will be gratefully received.

[idata]

Hello Kettle,

Where you able to check your internal antenna connectors? Your last SSU showed a signal strength of 54%, which is not normal unless you're very far from your access point.You could also try a Network Reset:1. Open the start menu and go to settings (gear icon, lower left). Or press the Windows* Key + "i" combination to open your Windows* Settings.2. Go to Network & Internet, and select the Network Reset option. Your PC will restart, so make sure to save and close any important files.Best regards,Carlos A.

[MAbbo]

I'm cautiously pleased to report that this issue now seems to be resolved, at least I haven't had an issue in several days. I'm not sure what fixed it, but I removed, cleaned and reseated the card again, and I also disabledd any powersaving settings for the controller within windows (which I thought were already disabled). I'll see how it goes, but thanks for all your previous input.

[idata]

Hello Kettle,

Thank you for the update. We'll keep our fingers crossed, but if the issue returns, just let us know and we'll continue working towards a solution. Best regards,Carlos A.

[Jrpentland78]

For those of us, or maybe it's just me, with only one computer at my disposal for which the 7260 has been nothing short of a nightmare, how am I supposed to do anything with those links on the machine that needs them if I don't have an internet connection, and seeing as I've been researching tips and repairs and am typing this from my iPhone.

I'm running an Insiders Edition (Reviewer, so all releases I get are approved by MS) of Windows 10 on a Lenovo W541, 16gb memory. And yes I know it's old, it's from 2015, but since I had to sell my new laptop after my divorce, it's all I have and aside from a terrible network adapter, the thing has been a workhorse and I probably have more of an attachment to than is healthy, but that's another topic for an entirely different thread...lol

[ABail2]

I too have been having problems of this nature. I have a Sager gaming notebook built on the Clevo P15SM-A mainboard that is a little over 2 years old, and it came with one installed. I am on my 3rd 7260NGW at this time. Each time I replaced the device, it would work flawlessly for about eight months or so. I exhausted software issues by doing a full wipe and reload, with latest drivers before replacing this first one. The device will show connected, but I will lose all connectivity, or the device would stop responding and not show any available networks to connect to. I would have to turn Windows 10's wifi function off, then back on before it would allow me to connect again. In more extreme situations, I would have to either reboot or remove the device from the device manager and let Windows detect it again. I also booted Ubuntu 18.04 off of a USB drive and experienced disconnects with it too after a little over an hour of being connected.

I thought it was just my laptop, but it seems to be a problem that affects more than me.

[idata]

Hello, Maverick38344. Thank you very much for joining to this thread.

If the troubleshooting steps above did not work for you, please create a new thread explaining your problem. Make sure you include your system configuration and a clear explanation about the issue so we can give you a solution as soon as possible. Antony S.