Intel AC WIFI 7265 - Limited connection after sleep mode/standby (Windows 8.1)

[VMung]

Intel AC WIFI 7265: I recently bought a DELL XPS 13 9343 running it with Windows 8.1 and I am facing the problem that the WIFI connection is sometimes (not always) shown as a limited connection after waking the computer up from sleep/standby. Restarting the computer or disconnecting the WIFI connection solves the problem. My current driver is 17.13.1.13 (from DELL homepage) but I have also tried version 18.12.1.2 directly from Intel. DELL support can also not help. I have searched on the internet for possible solutions and have tried many things to fix that but without success. I cannot see the tab "power management" in my driver and also in the advanced power settings the WIFI is not visible – so it seems to be blocked. Is this problem known and will it be fixed soon? Many thanks for your support!

[ASouz7]

Hello Vera,

Intel recommends that you always use the drivers offered by your computer manufacturer.

As a second option, you can also try the latest version of our drivers for the Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265 found in our https://downloadcenter.intel.com/ Intel® Download Center - We also would like to inform you that our drivers are generic and may not compatible to your system. Here are the link for our latest drivers: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25276/Intel-PROSet-Wireless-Software-for-Windows-8-1- Intel® PROSet/Wireless Software for Windows 8.1*

*Please install the one that is in compliance to your OS architecture 32 or 64 Bit. Here is how you can do it.

1 - Go to Control Panel, Programs and Features and Uninstall "Intel® PROSet/Wireless Software", if it is installed. When prompted, choose the option to "Discard settings"

2 - In Control Panel, Device Manager, Network Adapters, right click on the Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265 and Uninstall it. Make sure you mark the option to "Delete the driver software for this device".

3 - Reboot the PC or scan for hardware changes, check device manager and if an older driver is detected and installed, repeat the actions to uninstall and delete it as well. Repeat this process until the OS does not allow deleting the driver, or until the controller shows as Unknown Device.

4 - . Install the Intel® Wireless driver. During the first steps of PROSet/Wireless installation, make sure to customize the installation and install all the 3 driver components.

Once you have done all that, please proceed to doing the following:

1 - Disable the Power Saving Functions: Go to Control Panel >> Hardware and Sound >> Power Option >> Set the High Performance and apply to default settings.

2 - Then check the Power Plan settings: Change Plan settings >> Change Advanced Power Plan settings >> Wireless Adapter >> Power Saving Mode and make sure both On Battery and Plugged in are set to Maximum Performance.

3 - You may also check the Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power setting controls how the network card is handled when the computer enters sleep and can be used if a driver misrepresents how it handles sleep states. Windows never turns off the network card due to inactivity. When this setting is checked(enabled), Windows puts the network card to sleep and when it resumes it puts it back to D0. When this setting is not checked(disabled), Windows completely halts the device and on resume reinitializes it. This setting is useful if a network card driver says it supports going to different sleep states and back to D0 but it ultimately doesn't support this functionality.

4 - You can use Device Manager to change the power management settings for a network adapter. To disable this setting in Device Manager, expand Network Adapters, right-click the adapter, click Properties, click the Power Management tab, and then clear the Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power check box.

[VMung]

Dear Aleki,

many thanks for your prompt response.

I have tried driver version 18.12.1.2 directly from Intel and no improvement to my problem. Was there any change regarding this topic between driver version 18.12.1.2 and 18.20.0 that you sent?

As mentioned, I cannot see the Power Management Tab to disable "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" and I can also not see the WIFI adapter in the Advanced Power Settings to turn it to maximum performance. It is simply not visible - neither in version 18.12.1.2 nor in version 17.13.1.13. Do you have any idea why?

Thanks!

Regards,

Vera

[ASouz7]

Hello Vera99,

To disable or enable the network adapter power management setting automatically, click the Download button. In the File Download dialog box, click Run or Open, and then follow the steps in the easy fix wizard. Tcheck this link for further instructions: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2740020 Microsoft* - Information about Power Management Setting on a Network Adapter if for some reason the recommendations provided by Microsoft in their support webpage did not resolve the issue, please contact your nearest Intel Contact Center for live assistance from one of our technicians. Here is the link: http://www.intel.com/p/en_US/support/contactsupport Contact Support

Regarding the differences between one version and the other are the enhancements added. If your drivers are from your computer manufacturer, we recommend that you contact them. Now, is there any specific information you are looking for among the versions?

[VMung]

Dear Aleki, many thanks, I will try that. Just to clarify before, the explanation you sent is for Windows 7 - is it the same for Windows 8.1?

Furthermore, there is one sentence which I do not fully understand:

"Note By default, a value of 0 indicates that power management of the network adapter is enabled. A value of 24 will prevent Windows 7 from turning off the network adapter or let the network adapter wake the computer from standby."

When putting it to "24" I disable both functions (1) turning off the network adapter and (2) let the network adapter wake the computer from standby

However, from other blogs and also from your explanation above I thought I should only disable point 1?

I think point 2 would make sense to keep?

Regards,

Vera

[ASouz7]

Vera99,

Yes it can be applied for Windows 8.1. Now answering your second question. That is if applicable.

[VMung]

Hi Aleki. What do you mean with "if applicable"? What do I need to enter if I only want to clear "allow to turn off the device"?

I tried to do this manually in the registry but anyhow I couldn't find an entry called "PnPCapabilities". Don't know what to do now ... Is this normal?? Is there another way to disable that function? I disabled U-APSD some time ago, is this the same?

Moreover, I found something on http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/SLN294060/EN http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/SLN294060/EN

It seems that with some INTEL wireless adapters and INTEL i5 processor some functions are not available ... ?!?

Thanks for your help!