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High latency in games after Windows 10 (7260AC)

smcle3
New Contributor I
9,490 Views

I was requested to re-submit my issue here on the wireless forums regarding high latency in games for the Intel Dual Band AC 7260 wireless adapter. It came from the OEM in my Lenovo Y50 laptop (not installed by myself). I've tried many things in attempts to diagnose and resolve the issue including:

- Resetting the router

 

- Testing multiple games to ensure the latency issue is not within just CS:GO

 

- Plugged in an external adapter (Belkin N300 USB Wireless NIC), this produced better more stable results

 

- Added "ScanWhenAssociated" to the registry (previous known fix for high latency)

 

- Ensured all as many bandwidth eating features in Windows 10 were off such as One Drive Sync, Xbox Streaming Service, Shared P2P updates, etc.

And just a couple hours ago, wiped the entire SSHD in the laptop and did a completely fresh install of Windows 10 Home Edition 64Bit.

 

After the fresh install, the issue 'appears' to be less predominant, but then again, the time of day is 1:30AM and if the issue is lying within interference, it would be coincidental that

my findings on the pre-installed (during Windows 10 installation) driver 17.15.0.5 would not have my ping in CS:GO reach over 70 (perfectly acceptable).

I then proceeded to install the latest driver from Intel's download page (18.12.0.3), when hopping back in game, latency started at 130ms, settled down to around 55ms in about 10seconds and frequently would bounce

between 55-85ms throughout the match with three notable spikes to 130ms over the course of a 25min game.

Since i've done a fresh install, I don't yet have any other games to test at the moment.

 

Side notes that may help:

 

- This NIC has given trouble in the past 2-3months after purchasing the laptop. Using the OEM's driver, it suddenly started dropping connections and completely refusing out right to connect to my university network.

 

- The machine ran Windows 8.1 Pro 64Bit installed by the OEM.

 

- I went through 6-7 different drivers before resolving the issue by installing 17.13.11.5 which was the 'perfect' driver. No more dropped connections, no high latency. This was all on Windows 8.1, and i proceeded using the machine like this for almost a year till now when I had windows update upgrade my 8.1 installation to Win10 home edition.

 

- The issue occurs even with only one other connected to the AP. My phone, which is not being actively used

 

- My ISP, router, etc.. Have not changed since when I had stable performance with this NIC on Windows 8.1

 

- I attempted to use Windows latest driver, Intel's latest driver, and Lenovo's latest driver for the NIC on Windows 10. None helped.

If there are any tweaks/settings I can change within the adapter or another driver I can try installing, please let me know. Wireless is currently the only means im able to play any game online at the moment.

 

Everything was stable on Windows 8.1 and I really hope we can get things working right with Windows 10 too! I know im not alone on this issue as I've been responded to on Steam discussion forums regarding the exact same problem. Some incite on what is causing this issue and how to go about resolving it is much appreciated!

 

Thank you for giving this a read.
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25 Replies
smcle3
New Contributor I
4,025 Views

Quote two other users with the same Laptop but a different OEM installed Wifi Adapter (Intel's Dual Band AC 3160):

"Same problem here. I've tried download the newest driver, disable 5GHz connection, and everything that is possible on my side. It ended up still intermittently high ping to my local router (which means the problem is indeed the WLAN adapter). My laptop is Y50 with AC3160 adapter. I think both Intel and Lenovo need to do something about this, especially Lenovo. It is rather ridiculous that a "Gaming laptop" cannot even perform a proper online game.

In a word, WIN10SUCKS."

 

"On the same boat. I'm usually at 10-20 for TF2 and 20-30 on CS:GO. It was fine for the first couple days. just lag spikes, but now it would constantly be at 400-700 for both games. Wired works fine, but once I go wireless, that's when it spikes. Also a little confused as of why I can stream 1080p 60fps videos on youtube without any problems (haven't tried uploading yet, but downloading is also fine) yet it only affects online gaming.I did see a significant difference in the fps though once I switched, I'd really hate to have to go back."

You can follow that discussion here:http://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/11/541907867763957891/ High Latency/Ping in games after upgrade to Windows 10? (Lenovo Y50) :: Hardware and Operating Systems

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PLee24
Beginner
4,025 Views

I am having the same exact issues, I have the following and have made changes to channels, drivers, frequency:

Router: Netgear Nighthawk R7500 & R7000

Channels: 149, 153, 157, 161

Frequency: 2.4 & 5

Driver: 18.12.0.3 (Current); 18.11.0.8 (The current Windows 10 64-bit driver as listed by Lenovo)

Hoping a driver release can resolve the issues; when pinging the router - I see gradual spikes to a max of ~200-300 ms., dropping back to 2-3ms. every few seconds. I've tried changing channels, frequency, etc. with no luck. Other devices do not exhibit issues (PC w/ Netgear 5Ghz adapter, Toshiba Laptop, Mac Mini, Macbook Pro, HP Laptop, Dell Laptop). EDIT: I've also dropped Roaming Aggressiveness to Low with no luck.

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JHedr1
Beginner
4,025 Views

I just upgraded to Windows 10, and had a similar (but probably different problem). This is all on a clean install of Windows 10, although I was using Windows 7 previously. I have a Lenovo Thinkpad T430s with a Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 adapter, and I was getting high pings just pinging my local router.

My router is an ASUS RT-AC68U, and the problem was happening on both 5G and 2.4G bands.

I tried the original built-in Windows 10 driver, I tried the latest Lenovo drivers, the latest Intel drivers (Wireless_18.12.0_Dt64), resetting the router, changing the roaming aggressiveness, disabling wireless-N, etc, etc. Nothing seemed to really make a difference.

I found the that the "ScanWhenAssociated" registry tweak fixed my issues completely. I didn't have to add the DWORD it was already there, just change the value. I could ping my local wifi router and all the pings were under 5ms. I wanted to see if there was any other solution that worked though.

After much testing, I found that **turning off the Windows 10 Wi-Fi Sense settings** (I turned both off) seemed to help a lot even without ScanWhenAssociated tweak. I can ping my local router now and out of 100 pings, maybe 5 are higher than what they should be, and no dropped packets at all. I assume that my few high pings are now is the adapter re-scanning for networks. If I open the WiFi popup menu and (I assume) force a rescan of networks my pings will jump.

I hope that either Intel would be able to resolve this in the next driver update (we will see.....)

TLDR: Try to disable "WiFi Sense" in Windows 10 settings.

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smcle3
New Contributor I
4,025 Views

When doing the install I made sure to turn off "connected to networks shared by contacts" but it seems that "Connect to suggested open hotspots" was still left on. Here's hopes this helps reduce latency online. Thank you for the suggestion, I will be testing it shortly.

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DWind1
Beginner
4,025 Views

I have the same issues. Seems like there are a couple of things to disable. Without too much talking: disable WIFI Sense and disable position in Windows 10. With turned off position service, my issues are finally gone.

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smcle3
New Contributor I
4,025 Views

I just tried all of the above and then restarted to ensure changes took effect. No luck, I hoped in an online session for Red Orchestra 2, after about 2mins of game play, my ping went over 400ms, a message saying "speed hack detected" popped up and I got banned from the server. Seriously Intel, you're reading this, HELP US. This is not just annoying anymore, it's a serious issue that's getting users banned from servers.

How the heck can we even confirm someone at Intel is even reading / following this discussion? The issue has been present over a week with intel and lenovo providing no support despite multiple users experiencing this issue across the internet.

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John_S_Intel
Employee
4,025 Views

Have you tried the Windows 8.1 driver version 17.13.11.5 on Windows 10?

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smcle3
New Contributor I
4,025 Views

I attempted to through the only package I could find. The package would run but after it finished, when checking the driver version in Device Manager, it still showed Windows 10's defualt 17.15.0.5.

 

I then thought it may be possible to extract out INF, cab, etc.. files from the package using universal extractor in attempts to manually install 17.13.11.5 (since I couldnt find those files online), but due to the specific extension of the package, I was unsuccessful. My final attempt was compleatly uninstalling the card till it showed up as a generic device in Device Manager. Restarted the computer to ensure it would be a fully clean install attempt. Ran 17.13.11.5's package installer, it did its thing and when checking the version- yet again, 17.15.0.5 (Windows 10 default driver)

How would you recommend going about this? Could you please post either a link to the manual files required for the "have disk" method? Or possibly instructions on how you would possibly get 17.13.11.5 (last known stable driver for this card on my home network), to force install onto Windows 10?

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DWind1
Beginner
4,025 Views

It should work just fine with the actual Windows 10 Version (18.12 I believe). Actually, it should work fine with pretty much any driver version. The key point is that some random feature/application is scanning for WIFI networks occasionally. So far, there could be three common reasons for that:

- the whole ScanWhenAssociated thingy (did not work for me)

- turning off Windows 10 WIFI Sense

- turning off location in quick settings of Windows 10 (Windows is getting you location from the WIFI networks around you). I was able to produce ping spikes with enabling location service. Turning location off finally got fixed ping spikes for me.

Besides those three, try to look for any application that might scan for WIFI networks (maybe a WIFI analysation app or something you installed?)

Good luck

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John_S_Intel
Employee
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smcle3
New Contributor I
4,025 Views

I got 17.13.11.5 installed, the issue persists. At this point im not sure what else to do apart from using my external USB NIC.. I've literally tried everything I could possibly think of including:

- A clean install of windows 10,

 

- Every available windows 10 driver

 

- Installed every single windows update

 

- Force installed the last known stable driver from 81

 

- Turned off nearly every 'bandwidth eating' feature or service Windows 10 has .. guarantee

Literally nothing seems to be resolving the issue. Lenovo on the other hand is yet to respond to the matter and I can almost guarantee they will point the finger at Intel, who may point the finger at Microsoft who may point the finger back at Lenovo or eventually say it's my ISP when im 100% certain it is not seeing as

1) Others are experiencing the same issue. Doubt they live in the same location as me with the same ISP

 

2) Only occurred after their previous Windows 7,8,8.1 machine upgraded to Windows 10

 

3) Other machines in the household are not experiencing the issue

 

4) Issue is virtually non-existent when using an external Belkin N300 NIC

What does one do at this moment? Reverting back to 8.1 would really suck. Im enjoying 10 and the only problem im actually having with it at this very moment is terrible latency in games when using the 7260AC wireless adapter in my Lenovo Y50 laptop. Can anyone recommend a program/software I can use that monitors latency? My reason being, I would like to confirm this issue is not only prevalent in PC video games but also software that uses the internet. If I find that it is not the case, then I can assume it's an issue occurring because of my graphics card. If however, what ever software still experiences high online latency/ping, its quite obviously a setting withing Windows and or the wireless adapter.

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PLee24
Beginner
4,025 Views

Well, happy to say that turning WiFi Sense off resolved the issue for me.

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smcle3
New Contributor I
4,025 Views

I've done that. Currently back to the latest 18.12.0.3, its stable for maybe 15mins, then droped connection. Skype call ended, my ping sky rocketed till the server auto kicked me.

 

Seriously, ive done everything. Its having issues connecting to my home network yet all other devices are doing just fine.
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PLee24
Beginner
4,025 Views

I tried the registry tweak of adding "ScanWhenAssociated" with no luck (Intel AC 7265; Lenovo T450s) - I'll try turning WiFi Sense and report back.

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smcle3
New Contributor I
4,025 Views

How can we know when the next driver may be available? Should we just assume Intel doesn't care enough to attempt to re-produce the problem? Are they aware how terrible this NIC has been in Win7, 8, 8.1, and now 10? Alongside the Dual Band AC 3160 and 7260 , I believe that a cheap $5 non-branded 150mbps USB wifi adapter could hold a stable connection longer than than either of those cards that for some silly reason keep ending up in super expensive gaming laptops.

I as a consumer am extremely disappointed.. Processors may be your strong point but wireless and graphics are both pathetic and give you guys a terrible rep. Manufacturers should really smarten up putting such unstable hardware in their machines and marketing them as high-end. If there was no white-list in Lenovo's BIOS, I would happily go out and purchase a broadcom or realtek adapter which many users are saying work flawlessly with Windows 10.

Till then, I'll continue to sit here, waiting for a proper solution or better yet, a proper driver that restores wireless to what it used to be in Windows 8.1

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smcle3
New Contributor I
4,025 Views

There is no way anyone can say this adapter is "ok" when results like this: http://netgauge.ookla.com/share/244983934.png http://netgauge.ookla.com/share/244983934.png

 

Are present on Windows 10 while devices in the same household using the same router that uses the same ISP are receiving 18mbp/s Down 4mbp/s Up (Which is just a little over what our ISP's package offers).

Re-running the test using the Belkin N300 USB Wifi Adapter produces these results: http://netgauge.ookla.com/share/244990496.png http://netgauge.ookla.com/share/244990496.png

Just short of the 16mbp/s Down 4mbp/s Up promised by Bell Canada (ISP). I suppose the lack of optimal speed is due to the USB NIC not being the best

 

quality, also possibly something to do with Win10 since other PC's arent experiencing this.
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GAmin
Novice
4,025 Views

Turning off location services has fixed my ping spike issue on the 7265AC on Windows 10. Thanks for the suggestion!

smcle3
New Contributor I
4,025 Views

Latest Driver from Intel's download page shows 18.12.0.3, while I was able to Install another driver 18.12.1.2 from a download page posted two days ago. Both drivers refused to connect to my home network after installing them, showing "Limited Connection - Unidentified Network". It was not till I opened the adapter settings and forced connections at 2.4Ghz to be "20mhz only" instead of "auto"

Now the wireless card connects to my home network and I am able to surf the web and write this post, however the ping spikes are STILL present in games. Spikes occour every round in CS:GO, which causes insane rubber banding lasting up to 5 seconds. Each round is about 2 mins in CS:GO so I've experienced this about 16 times during a single match. It occours at random and has nothing to do with any specific event taking place in game. I can confirm this as the issue is also present in other games too.

And yes, before you ask:

 

- I have already disabled P2P updates in Windows 10

 

- Disabled Xbox Live Streamer Service

 

- Disabled Coratna

 

- Disabled One Drive

 

- Disabled Location

 

- Disabled auto connecting to other Wifi Hotspots shared by contacts

 

- Cant disable Automatic Updates or Windows Store App updates as this is a setting LOCKED by Microsoft in Windows 10 due to Group Policy.

So now what? I've used apps to track if any other background software is using bandwidth during gameplay and it shows up empty. Also this is on a fresh install meaning the registry couldnt have carried bugs from 8.1. Nor do i have any software active that uses my connection while playing games apart from Steam, which is required for the game to run.

Please help me. It is now almost two weeks dealing with this insane latency issue which is happening in online games only with this network card. I've tried literally everything I can think of which includes a fresh install of Windows 10, and as a result there is no longer a "revert to Windows 8.1" button present since I wiped the HDD to conduct the fresh install.

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JHedr1
Beginner
4,025 Views

mykrode,

How's your ping just on the local network? Try opening a command prompt and running "ping -n 200 192.168.1.1", replacing the last part with your router ip address. What's your ping stats?

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smcle3
New Contributor I
3,617 Views

When doing this I get a "request timed out"

 

However, I believe I was able to resolve this issue last night. My router and 7260AC aren't exactly the most compatible and even on Windows 8.1 I had trouble connecting. The only way the connection is stable was when the adapter was configured with very specific settings.

- Preferred Band 2.4Ghz

 

- 2.4ghz bands operate under 20mhz instead of "auto"

 

and the most important one that I believe resolved the periodic ping spikes:

Swapping WiFi mode from the 802.11a/b/g standard to just 802.11b/g. It seems that either Windows 10, the driver, or my router may have been defaulting to 802.11a which offered slower, less stable connections. not to mention interference. Either way, after doing this, I have not yet noticed any ping spikes in games and have been seeing a constant 45ms on local servers as before.

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