Inte AX200 - Peculiar Wi-Fi transmit speed issue with Bluetooth enabled

[trenzterra]

Hi there,

I have a Lenovo ThinkPad X13 with AMD Ryzen 4750U Pro processor and Intel AX200NGW Wi-Fi card. I am on the latest Intel drivers 21.120.0.9 and Intel Wireless Bluetooth 21.110.0.3. My router is the ASUS RT-AX88U with latest Merlin firmware 384.19. I am in the same room as my router so signal is not an issue. Windows 10 2004 OS. I am using 160MHz channel on 5GHz and 40Mhz on 2.4Ghz, so all maxed out there. I am using separate SSIDs for my 5GHz and 2.4Ghz channel.

I am using a Bluetooth mouse.

I am experiencing the following issue with my laptop:

• When I first start my laptop with Bluetooth enabled and Wi-Fi enabled, Windows connects just fine to my Wi-Fi 6 network (over 5Ghz) (let's call this "Home" network) and my receive/ transmit link speeds are 2402/2402mbps, which is as expected. Speedtest results are about 700mbps each way, which is as expected for my 1gbps internet connection.
• However, if I were to switch to another network (doesn't matter whether it is 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz -- basically this is my Wi-Fi extender network running Wi-Fi 5), and then switch back to my Wi-Fi 6 Home network, my receive link speed would be capped at 143mbps although my transmit link speeds are still 2402mbps. Speedtest would then show only 100mbps download speed but 700mbps upload speed.
• After some troubleshooting, I realised this only happens when Bluetooth is enabled and connected to my Bluetooth mouse (I tried both a Dell and 2 different Logitechs with the same result) at the point where I reconnect to my Home network. If Bluetooth is disabled/ not connected to my mouse/ connected to my Bluetooth headset, it will negotiate the full 2402/2402 speeds.
• If I were to disable Wi-Fi and re-enable it (i.e. effectively resetting the network interface), I will be able to negotiate the full 2402/2402 speeds again, even when my Bluetooth mouse is connected. Similarly, the 2402/2402 speeds will last until such time where I reconnect to another network and then go back to my Home Wi-Fi network
• It affects my 2.4GHz Wi-Fi 6 network as well though this is not as noticeable -- my link speed would drop from 300/300 to 144/300.
• If I were to drop my router back to Wi-Fi 5, I get no issues and am able to negotiate the maximum 866/866mbps on 5GHz.
• I have tried various driver versions, and surprisingly, reverting back to 21.40 and earlier versions seem unaffected by this issue. It is only when I upgrade to 21.50 and beyond where this issue surfaces. I noticed that the Bluetooth driver version does not affect things.

Following from the above, I suspect there is a bug in the current AX200 drivers affecting certain Wi-Fi 6 networks. I do not have a spare Wi-Fi 6 router to troubleshoot this, although my other Wi-Fi 6 device (a Galaxy Note 10+) does not experience this issue. I do not think it is a hardware or a RF interference issue, since I am noticing this problem over the 5Ghz band as well (Bluetooth uses 2.4Ghz) and the issue does not manifest itself when dropping back to a Wi-Fi 5 network, or when I revert to an earlier driver version from 2019 (i.e. 21.40 and before)

Is there any way I can escalate this to Intel's attention? Let me know if there is any additional information I can provide.

[trenzterra]

Hi,

I have two more observations to add:

- When using an Ubuntu 20.04 live disc to test, I do not experience this issue. Bluetooth + Wi-Fi 6 works fine, and I get 776mbps/700mbps on Speedtest, with link speed of 2402/2402mbps per my router configuration page.

- The problem on 2.4Ghz is worst than I thought. Whenever I connect Wi-Fi to a 2.4Ghz network, and my Bluetooth mouse is plugged in, it will cap the receive speed at 144mbps, while transmit speed is 574mbps. It happens even when i restart my computer, or disable/ enable Wi-Fi. I do not experience this issue when I drop back to Wi-Fi 4 (maxes out at 300/300) or if I revert back to the old 21.40 drivers (max out at 574/574).

[trenzterra]

Curiosity got the better of me and I bought an Intel AX200 for my desktop as well (running over PCI-E) to troubleshoot. My desktop is using an Intel Core i5 6600K with Gigabyte Z170X-UD5-TH3 motherboard. I experience the exact same issue with my laptop.

So I guess this is most likely to be a driver bug? Especially given that it works fine on earlier driver versions, as well as the default version that Windows installs (21.10 -- signed by "Microsoft"). Appreciate it if this could be fixed.

[Esteban_D_Intel]

Hello trenzterra,

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities. 

I was checking your post and I can see you are experiencing a really interesting situation with your Wireless adapter and its performance when the BT is enabled.

To better assist you and further investigate this for you please run the following tool and attach the reports generated.   

Intel® System Support Utility (Intel® SSU) Download link 

1.       Open the application and click on "Scan" to see the system and device information. 

2.      By default, Intel® SSU will take you to the "Summary View".   

3.       Click on the menu where it says "Summary" to change to "Detailed View".   

4.       To save your scan, click on "Next", then "Save".   

Additionally, I would appreciate if you could confirm the following information:

• Was the device working fine at certain point? What changes were made prior to this behavior?
• Have you tried your laptop with a different network? If so, do you experience the same behavior?
•  Please provide the link where you download the earlier version of the drivers.
• Just to confirm, the issue persists even when the 5.0Ghz band is used, correct?

Esteban D.

Intel Technical Support Technician  

[trenzterra]

Hi Esteban,

Thank you for reaching out. I attach the SSU for my laptop and desktop which are both experiencing the same issue. To add, I have tried 3 Bluetooth mice with the same issue: Dell WM527,  Logitech G604 and Logitech M585.

And to answer your questions below:

• Was the device working fine at certain point? What changes were made prior to this behavior?
• A: I wanted to do a test of my network speed as part of my tests to make sure everything in my laptop was working fine. Then, I noticed that my download speeds were significantly lower than my upload speeds and I started to troubleshoot the issue one by one. The laptop is pretty much a clean install from two weeks back. The only thing I did was to install certain programs that I use (Firefox, Photoshop, Lightroom) and Windows updates. For my desktop, meanwhile, I decided to buy an AX200 adapter in any case both to troubleshoot the issue and because I wanted to get a Wi-Fi card for my desktop in any case and the AX200 is pretty much the most reputable option out there.Both my laptop and desktop are exhibiting the exact same behaviour, so I doubt it is a system configuration issue.
• Have you tried your laptop with a different network? If so, do you experience the same behavior?
• A: I tried connecting to my Wi-Fi extender which is a TP-Link Deco, with no issues. However, that was a Wi-fi 5 network. Subsequent to my posts, I also purchased a Xiaomi AIoT AX3600 router which is also Wi-Fi 6. Somehow, I do not experience the issue with said router. This has gotten me a little confused... it could perhaps be a router-adapter compatability issue, but I am leaning towards Intel being able to fix or pinpoint the problem since it was working fine with an earier driver.
•  Please provide the link where you download the earlier version of the drivers.
• A: To clarify, I first reverted to the 21.10 "Microsoft" drivers which came with my Windows installation. This worked fine. Thus, I decided to diagnose the issue and worked up all the way to the version where I started experiencing issues. 21.40 was the last verison which I experienced no issues, and I downloaded it here: https://www.station-drivers.com/download/intel/wlan/intel_wlan_21.40.2.2(station-drivers.com).zip
• Just to confirm, the issue persists even when the 5.0Ghz band is used, correct?
• A: Yes, correct. For 5Ghz, I have no issues when I restart the laptop. However, when I connect to the 2.4Ghz band of my router, and then connect back to 5Ghz, I start experiencing the issue and it does not go away until (i) I connect back to the router with my Bluetooth mouse switched off or (ii) when I disable/ enable the network adapter. For 2.4Ghz, I start experiencing the issue right away.

[Esteban_D_Intel]

Hello trenzterra,

I will review this report and further investigate this for you.

I will provide an update as soon as possible.

If you have any update, please let us know.

Esteban D. 

Intel Technical Support Technician

[Esteban_D_Intel]

Hello trenzterra,

Thank you so much for your patience.

After checking the reports attached, we can determine that in terms of software/firmware both computers are up to the latest version.

What caught my attention is the fact that the adapter was able to work fine with the Xiaomi* AIoT AX3600 which is also a WiFI 6 router.

I consider that the behavior will indicate that the wireless adapter is working as expected. This does not seem to be related to a possible driver failure/bug.

We would strongly recommend checking with the ASUS* RT-AX88U manufacturer to ensure compatibility, firmware updates, or recommended configuration to avoid this behavior.

In regards to the integration of the wireless adapter into your desktop computer Intel recommends that checking with the system manufacturer to obtain approval, step-by-step instructions, or support. Making sure that the device will be fully supported by the motherboard.

It is worth mentioning that the integration may or may not work or experience performance issues due to the following reasons: 

1. Hardware/software compatibility issues or dependencies. 

2. Manufacturer limitations. 

3. Driver limitations. 

For more information you may want to check the following article Regulatory Information Regarding Wireless Hardware Installation or Upgrade 

That being said, we would recommend checking with the router manufacturer for further instructions or recommended settings to avoid this behavior and reach top performance.

Esteban D.

Intel Technical Support Technician  

[trenzterra]

Hi Esteban,

Thanks for the prompt response. On your advice, I contacted ASUS and went down to the service centre today. I got a 1-for-1 exchange with a newer revision of the RT-AX88U, and unfortunately, it has the same issue. Since I was at ASUS, they also tested an RT-AX58U (a different model) for me, and I, too, experienced the exact same issue.

The technician had his own laptop which also uses the Intel AX200 wireless adapter. I checked his firmware version and it is the same as mine, i.e., the latest, 20.120.0.9. He was also able to reproduce the same issue whenever his Bluetooth mouse is connected (a Logitech M720 Triathlon).

I noted both the RT-AX88U and RT-AX58U both utilise Broadcom chipsets, so perhaps there is a compatibility issue between Broadcom and the Intel AX200 wireless adapter currently (the Xiaomi uses a Qualcomm chipset). However, I am more inclined to believe it is a bug in the current Intel drivers, for the following reason:

• I do not experience the issue unless a Bluetooth mouse (I tried three Logitech mice and a Dell mouse so the brand of mouse shouldn't affect this) is connected. I think this suggests an Intel driver issue, because I should not expect Bluetooth to cause any speed degradation, especially over the 5GHz band.
• I do not experience this issue at all when my Galaxy Note10+, which also supports Wi-Fi 6, is connected to the RT-AX88U. This is irrespective of whether a Bluetooth mouse is connected or not.
• As mentioned previously, reverting to an older version of the Intel driver resolves the issue. This seems to suggest that this bug was introduced somewhere along the way.

Thus, I was hoping that you would be able to escalate the issue further to find out the root cause.

[Esteban_D_Intel]

Hello trenzterra,

Thank you for your response and the additional information provided.

We are currently investigating this behavior.

I will update this thread as soon as possible.

Esteban D.

Intel Technical Support Technician

[Esteban_D_Intel]

Hello trenzterra,

Thank you for your patience.

I would like to provide an update in this case.

After reviewing the information internally, we have the determined that this is a known behavior/issue related to the operating version 2004.

Our recommendation would be to check with Microsoft* or your Original Equipment Manufacturer.

The recommended workaround would be to roll back the operating system to the previous version until Microsoft* works on a solution for this matter as the behavior is not present in previous versions of the Operating System.

That being said, we would strongly recommend checking with them for further assistance on this behavior.

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

Esteban D.  

Intel Technical Support Technician