Intel AC 7260 Wifi Card Blue Screen Crashes when turning on 5ghz or 802.11ac on windows 10

[mike7]

Hi I'm in windows 10 64bit I've been trying to find a solution for this for weeks now now.

Any attempt to use 5ghz or 802.11ac results in the wifi card dropping out and the system becoming unstable and needing a reboot or i get a blue screen. Some BSOD are "Kernel Security Check Failure" and "Bugcode_NDIS_Driver". In 2.4ghz it's more stable but also becomes unstable sometimes when using high bandwidth.

I've tried the latest driver 18.33 by downloading Intel proset 21.10.1.

I've tried rolling back to 3 stock drivers from microsoft 17.xx. 

I've configured the wifi card in power management to not turn off.

Everything maximum performance in power plan.

There seems to be a driver issue with windows 10 which causes the wifi card to shut down or freeze up.

All other devices on network are fine I've verified it's not the router.

Thank you.

Mike

[Sebastian_M_Intel]

Hello mike7, 

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities.   

In order to better assist you, please provide the following: 

1. Run the Intel® System Support Utility (Intel® SSU) and attach the report generated:  

• Open the application, check the "Everything" box, and click on "Scan" to see the system and device information. By default, Intel® SSU will take you to the "Summary View".   
• Click on the menu where it says "Summary" to change to "Detailed View".   
• To save your scan, click on "Next", then "Save".   
• Use the option under the reply window to attach the report to the thread (Drag and drop here or browse files to attach).  

2. Are you having issues with Bluetooth also? 

3. Is this the original adapter that came pre-installed in your system or have you changed/installed a new adapter recently? 

4. Were you able to have your wireless connection in a normal/expected performance before? If yes, did you make any changes before the issue started?  

5. What steps do you use to set the 5GHz band or 802.11AC? Please provide the details and step by step to replicate this behavior.  

Regards, 

Sebastian M  

Intel Customer Support Technician  

[mike7]

Thank you for responding. I've attached the file.

I have used some bluetooth devices and I don't see any issues at all with that.

I purchased this wifi adapter some months ago after my original Atheros one was having similar connection issues but it happened like once every 4 hours and I never got a bluescreen, I don't know when exactly the issue started with my old adapter because I always used ethernet cord on my laptop for a long time but it seemed like a issue with windows 10. 

To connect to 5ghz I just use the default windows wifi interface, my router is an asus ac-1900  rt-ac68u I don't have issues with any other device.

I also checked the antennas and swapped them and reseated the wifi card but same result.

It drops or stalls out from full bars on wifi even right nexto router to no internet or it will still show full bars but the wifi interface will be somewhat frozen and not show any other nearby connections after that. Pretty much it seems the wifi driver crashes. Also when this happens and I shutdown or restart windows, it stays on the restart or shutdown screen and I have to hold the power button and do a hard shutdown. Then on reboot after a crash often the adapter will be disabled and I need to manually turn it on.

On driver 18.33 it was constant disconnects on 2.4ghz, and 5ghz almost immediately and sometimes BSOD randomly. One thing that helped a little bit in the 18.33 driver version was this: https://www.reddit.com/r/intel/comments/anat2r/intel_wireless_ac_7260_windows_10_disconnecting/ (setting wireless mode 802.11ac/n to "802.11n", it atleast let me connect 5ghz for 5 minutes.)

Currently on the microsoft installed 17.15.0.5 a few days now and i uninstalled proset software, the 2.4ghz works much better now but on 5 ghz it crashes after maybe 30 minutes to 1 hour. Under load or during speed test it fails faster. If on 5ghz i do a speed test I get 80/40 but almost always fails on the first or second test the adapter crashes.  I noticed that this version of the driver is missing the wireless mode 802.11ac/n option in advanced settings to select 802.11n to see if there's an improvement. Sometimes it will allow me to reset the adapter by running the troubleshooter but most of the times I need to reboot.

I read somewhere to try 17.13.11.5 but I can't find this driver anywhere. Is there somewhere to download different driver versions without the problematic Proset software so I can try one at a time?

If it helps I also found some people with issues and symptoms similar to mine on this card.

https://www.reddit.com/r/intel/comments/aav4ft/intelr_dual_band_wirelessac_7260_disconnecting_on/

https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupport/comments/beozne/intel_wireless_n7260_windows_10_adapter_issues/

https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupport/comments/db1nnl/issue_with_my_intelr_dual_band_wireless_ac7260/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Windows10/comments/hlbrbo/wifi_constantly_drops_when_watching_youtube_videos/

Thank you.

[n_scott_pearson]

@mike7,

You are running driver version 17.15.0.5. The latest for Windows 10 is 18.33.17.1, which is provided by PROSet/Wireless package release 21.10.1. Here is a link to the download page for this release: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/28621.

Note that the Bluetooth drivers should be considered a pair and installed/uninstalled/reinstalled together. Here is a link to the download page for the corresponding version of the Intel Wireless Bluetooth package: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/28622.

Hope this helps,

...S

[mike7]

@n_scott_pearson @Sebastian_M_Intel 

18.33.17.1 with Proset is the driver  I've tried the most since it was the newest one but it was completely unusable for me full of disconnects. I was getting various bsod I thought I had a hardware or system file failure but I never had a blue screen before on this system at all so I ran all memory tests and verified windows files using /sfc scannow but i've found no issue.

So far from the hours of research i've done so far many people online say 18.xx is completely broken for many people in Windows 10 after Creators Update happened in 2017.

Also Windows Update automatically tries to update to 17.15.0.5 to 18.11.0.8 but that driver doesn't work it behaves the same as 18.33.17.1.

I've done some more searching here and found this post here where someone documents the issue very well:

https://community.intel.com/t5/Wireless/AC-7260-Wireless-Card-Fails-with-Windows-10-2017-Fall-Creator-s/td-p/470474/page/2

If this card is still supported through 2021 I'm not sure why a driver issue that has existed since 2017 affecting so many people hasn't been or can't be resolved? I would think a company as large as Intel would stand behind their product.

Right now for me  this driver 17.15.0.5 works great for 2.4ghz it's very stable but if i connect to a 5ghz wifi ssid the issue comes back and the card/driver will crash randomly but I haven't had anymore blue screens with this driver which is good so far. This driver doesn't have the option to use 802.11n only like the newer driver does I wanted to see if that would work.  On the product page I only see the newest driver with Proset which clearly doesn't work. Any way to test the older 17.13 or get release notes for the different versions?

Is there any setting on this driver version which can be changed to make 5ghz stable for me?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Mike

[Sebastian_M_Intel]

Hello mike7,  

Thank you for your reply. 

Just for testing purposes, try a clean install of the latest drivers (both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi):  

• Clean install steps (please follow them to the letter): https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000022173/network-and-i-o/wireless.html  
• Wi-Fi: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/28621/Intel-PROSet-Wireless-Software-and-Drivers-for-Intel-Wireless-7260-Family?product=75439  
• Bluetooth: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/28622/Intel-Wireless-Bluetooth-for-Intel-Wireless-7260-Family-and-Intel-Dual-Band-Wireless-AC-3160?product=75439  

I would like to let you know that the installation or use of Intel® Wireless Adapters is subject to country-specific legal regulations. A Wireless Adapter installed in a system that is being sold on the market doesn't necessarily mean that same wireless adapter can be used or installed in any other systems for the above mentioned reason. As each country may have different regulatory requirements, before you install/change the adapter in a system, you must contact the system manufacturer (OEM) to determine if the adapter you plan to install is approved for use in your system and country. https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005687/network-and-i-o/wireless.html  

I checked the Asus* website and they don't even provide drivers for Windows 10, chances are that you are running into a compatibility issue at software or hardware level. You also need to keep in mind that the antennas being used must be compatible with both the system and wireless card, that is why we recommend you to check with the manufacturer for compatibility. https://www.asus.com/us/supportonly/N53SV/HelpDesk_Download/  

Additionally, you can check the recommended Settings for 802.11ac Connectivity and see if this improves your connectivity: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000024678/network-and-i-o/wireless.html  

Regards,  

Sebastian M   

Intel Customer Support Technician   

[Sebastian_M_Intel]

Hello mike7,  

Were you able to check the previous post and follow our recommendations? Please let me know if you need more assistance.   

Regards,  

Sebastian M  

Intel Customer Support Technician  

[mike7]

Hi @Sebastian_M_Intel 

I tried what you said today and I decided to do a clean installation of Windows 10 today also with the same result and I tried all the drivers briefly again also.

On 17.15 no issues ever with 2.4ghz but on 5ghz it crashes after a few minutes, however when this driver crashes for me I cant bring the card back online while in windows or reset it without doing a hard shutdown.

On 18.xx the card is much less stable with 2.4ghz it crashes sometimes and on 5ghz it's crashes in 1-2 minutes, one positive about this version is that when the card crashes it comes back online or resets itself after 10 seconds but this is also the version that caused random  bsod before for me.

Also I don't think it's the antennas because on speedtest I was getting 90/40 and also since I tried disconnecting and switching the antennas and running the card to test the other day even tried without antennas to see how it would behave.

Considering everything so far and what I've been reading it's definitely a driver issue so I guess I'm stuck using 2.4ghz for now on 17.15. From what I see in many places Intel says it's Microsoft's problem and Microsoft says its Intels problem so I see nothing will get done and we are stuck with these issues.

It's a shame Intel will not fix this issue with the driver that is clearly documented since 2017 and not long from now the card will fall out of support. A few months ago Intel released new drivers for their lineup of wifi cards which included fixes for blue screen issues but specifically excluded this card from the new driver package.

Best,

Mike

[Sebastian_M_Intel]

Hello mike7,  

Thanks for the update. 

As we mentioned before, this is a wireless integration, then the problem seems to be a compatibility issue. This computer doesn't even have Windows 10 drivers for wireless; based on this, we highly recommend you checking with your OEM for compatibility and further help on this matter. 

Regards,   

Sebastian M    

Intel Customer Support Technician   

[Sebastian_M_Intel]

Hello mike7,   

I hope the previous information was useful to you.  

As we suggested we believe that you need to work with your OEM for several factors like compatibility or checking any hardware malfunction either with the wireless card, other components, or the laptop itself. 

We will close this inquiry, if you need further assistance; please submit a new thread and we will gladly assist you. 

Regards,    

Sebastian M     

Intel Customer Support Technician