Intel AC7260 problems

[NK5]

Hi there, I just excitedly bought 3 AC7260 cards for all our laptops in the house cause we upgraded our router to the RT-AC66U and let me tell you I am soooooo NOT impressed with these cards. They are horrible, I cannot keep a consistent connection with my router.

Computer # 1 is a Dell 7720 running windows 8 and all I keep getting is constant unable to access network page errors that only say on a chrome web page:

Error code: ERR_NETWORK_CHANGED

In my intel event viewer I get around 3 lines marked Information..... authenticating wireless profile XXXXX every minute!!!!!! This can't be right???

Computer # 2 is an XPS 15 running windows 7 home and I get the same problems as computer # 1 just not as many chrome ERR pages.

Computer # 3 is an Alienware M18 and it consistantly drops the wireless connection too. I had a bigfoot card in there previously and NEVER had any problems with losing wireless connections.

I'm using all the latest newest drivers on all my laptops and i just can't believe how troublesome these 7260's are. Anyone else actually have a 7260 thats rock solid and if so, how did you do it?

[CDesl]

Hi,

i've the same problems like all others.

The first time i had this problem was when i connected my new Bluetooth Mouse (BT 4.0). With my old Bluetooth Mouse (BT 2.1) it seems to be everything is OK.

If Bluetooth is deactivated there are almost no problems. But if you turn on Bluetooth an connect a BT 4.0 device, wifi connection drops immediately.

Tested on

latest Intel Drivers 29.12.2014

2,4 and 5 Ghz

different Channels

different Routers Cisco RV220W, Zyxel Zywall USG 20W

BT off

BT on

BT on and connected to BT 2.1 Device

BT on and connect to BT 4.0 Device (worst result)

[NNano]

I have no Bluetooth devices so I haven't tried this with bluetooth on. Good to know it won't be better.

Quite bad incompetency by Intel, that the same problems stay forever. Years go by, nothing changes.

I don't see any other alternative than replacing this with another card. What would be the best choice? It must of course have the same type of connectors that it fits inside my laptop.

[NNano]

I discovered, that my AC-7260 completely stops dropping packets while fully loaded, e.g. while run https://iperf.fr/ iPerf benchmark in infinite loop.

I simultaneously benchmarked the network and pinged the router for a really long time (~3 hours) without any lost packets. Remember that without stressing I had a lost packet at a rate of approximately once in 10 seconds.

Reply from 192.168.137.1: bytes=32 time=26ms TTL=128

Reply from 192.168.137.1: bytes=32 time=28ms TTL=128

Reply from 192.168.137.1: bytes=32 time=31ms TTL=128

Reply from 192.168.137.1: bytes=32 time=23ms TTL=128

Reply from 192.168.137.1: bytes=32 time=26ms TTL=128

Reply from 192.168.137.1: bytes=32 time=30ms TTL=128

Reply from 192.168.137.1: bytes=32 time=30ms TTL=128

Ping statistics for 192.168.137.1:

Packets: Sent = 9668, Received = 9668, Lost = 0 (0% loss),

Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:

Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 157ms, Average = 27ms

So, this kind of continuous stressing is definitely impractical solution for the issue, but it makes me wonder why it works this way? Why everything works at full power only? Is this kind of a power saving failure, WiFi driver is programmed to save power while at partial load or idling, and now that fails and leads to lost packets? I already have set the adapter to maximum performance in power settings.

[tvete]

The adapter stops roaming for networks when a constant stream is detected. Try pinging the router when you're streaming a movie from another computer within the network. You shouldn't get any latency spikes just like on iperf.

[NNano]

Maybe, except that I can't stream video, because of sporadic latency spikes.

[tvete]

That sounds to me that the driver isn't recognizing packets that are flagged as a multimedia streaming. WMM should've fixed that and the driver should know if it needs to stop background roaming for networks if a multimedia stream is in effect. See wmm here http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa916767.aspx WMM (Wi-Fi Multimedia)

On my laptop with 7260N windows 7 x64, it stops roaming while streaming so i don't get latency spikes when pinging router. However, if I ping the router while the 7260 adapter is idle, it'll background roam in 3 minutes intervals which is shown by sudden ping spikes.

That's how a perfectly working driver should behave. It'll resume periodic roaming when the network activity is idle but then stops background roaming when multimedia/voip/game streaming is in effect.

[NNano]

Ok, but how about "Request timed out." when pinging the router?

My biggest problem is that I must work over remote desktop connection and the connection obviously freezes every time this happens.

[tvete]

Packets lost meaning connection isn't established. It's either incompatibility with router configuration or radio noise is bad that's it's hard to obtain a reliable connection. IMO the source problem can be many things so it's better to troubleshoot one by one. Start using a different ap and see if it helps.

[NNano]

I finally found the perfect router for my AC-7260 card. It is ASUS RT-AC56U. I have pinged the router for days without any lost packet. It is also quite fast:

Well, I still agree that Intel should fine-tune the drivers for other access points also. It is so pain in the ass to travel anywhere else since, unlike at home, I can't choose the router in hotels and conference places.

[tvete]

I think it's just the nature of the hotel access points as they aren't maintained and have outdated firmware. Luckily mine connects and does not cause disconnects on hotels and public places. You lucky to get mind blowing 70 MB/s speed at home. I only get 50 - 55 MB/s at most out my 7260AC.

[Cde_G]

I have multiple APs at my house, though I mainly use the ATT2WIRE (arguably the most used AP/Router in the US) and this ghetto card will NOT stay connected for more than 30 minutes. I have though (very briefly) seen solid 802.11B speeds out of it. Oh yeah, and a big shout out to Intel for promising repeatedly over the last three months to "contact" me about the problem. Anyone want to take bets on whether or not I've yet to receive even a SINGLE call??

[MPell5]

I join this community for one reason and one reason only. To express my utter frustration.

This card is absolutely garbage and in the past - God only knows how many - months there has been 0 progress. Every single fricking update brings out the same garbage connection and the same garbage problems. I've been through countless different versions and every single one has the same issue.

Why can't you specialists pin-point this issue? Buy a notebook with your card and try using it for a day! Try playing real-time strategies or even try visiting a website! It's so frustrating to have to deal with this issue every single day I use my notebook.

I bought the MSI GS70. I was so excited because MSI makes a quality product and only uses quality devices in their notebooks. I saw all the specs and thought to my self that this would be a very good investment. And for the most part it has!

Except for this garbage, garbage, garbage (I can keep saying it!), GARBAGE network card.

I've tried so many different scenarios and so many different configurations that I'm truly at the end of my rope.

If it weren't for this notebook being sealed (and losing my warranty if I open it) I would have bought another card months ago to save me this stress.

So Intel, what do you have to say about the countless complaints and countless issues with this device. Don't tell me "it's a work in progress" because obviously there is no progress. If you actually tested your cards before releasing them to the general public, you wouldn't have these issues and potentially ruin your reputation as one of the largest technical firms in the world.

Not that that'll happen, because I'm just a small guy in this world and this device is just a tiny part of the technical industry.

[JBuzz]

Resolved: Intel Wireless-AC 7260 + ASUS Wireless-AC1900 router = FAST

Using an "AC" router I am finally able to get expected 100+Mbps speed from the Intel Wireless-AC 7260 wifi card. T-mobile provided me with a fantastic free ASUS (RT-AC68U) Wireless-AC1900 router through their "Cellspot" program.

Lenovo tech support did a remote session into my machine and updated all the network drivers and power managements settings (again) but was unable to fix the issue. The hardware support desk (great people) then referred me to the software support desk who tried to convince me that the T440s was completely incompatible with any 5Ghz network. Obviously, that is not true.

I still do not know where the limitation lies. Either the Intel AC 7260 is a defective design and is not fully backwards compatible with wireless-N. Or perhaps the Lenovo drivers are bad? Or perhaps it is a Windows bug? At this point I can only tell you all that for me the AC router solved the problem.

[WSnyd]

I am pretty sure that the fault will be found to be with the adapter itself, and probably not solvable by a driver update. I have been having the same issues as many others. I have a Toshiba p55w and the WiFi works great in the same room as the router. I do have an Lynksys e4200, and it is not AC compatible. The router cost me a lot of money two years ago.

What I have noticed is that the Wifi works great in the same room, but put a wall in the way and performance drops rapidly. On the 5ghz band, I can put a wall in between me and the router and maintain performance, but the 5ghz signal doesn't travel far. For me it is not dependent on signal strength, as you can see in the posted pics.

Picture one is same room. Picture two is bedroom (which is really close to the router, but has a wall in the way). Ping times are great on each test. Signal strength is maximum on each test. The laptop is connected to the 2.4ghz band. I have tried all the workarounds, settings adjustments, and have tried the Microsoft and Intel drivers (all versions). And notice how only download speeds seem affected?

This just sucks. Sure I could fix the problem using only my 5ghz band at home, but I cannot use it at work (older router, access point down the hall) and hotels are a miserable experience. I do have a USB WiFi adapter that makes the laptop usable, but I shouldn't have to have a two inch stick sticking out the side of my 1000 dollar laptop.

[MPell5]

Unfortunately Intel does not want to take responsibility.

I'm stuck with using a mini router as a wireless client and connect the ethernet to the LAN port of my notebook (because the company that made that port actually cares about their product). While the crap Intel garbage is stuck to being just a Bluetooth receiver (I'm surprised it actually works).

Next time I think about buying anything Intel, I'm doing my research.

I will be telling people about this product and the lack (most people would say none) of customer support for the thousands of people affected by their negligence.

The little man will prevail.

[tvete]

Sounds like defective card or that the antennas are loose or aren't firmly attached to the card. I get all of my 100 Mbps all the time with 2 walls in between the router and Intel 7260. Try opening the case and check for antenna.

[Cde_G]

Veterans,

You raise a good point. Since there is a very solid "click" when the antennas are snapped into place, and I'm guessing there wouldn't be anywhere near this number of detached antennas. That being the case, Intel should be accepting back all of the defective cards at this time for hopefully fully tested next rev. hardware.

[MPell5]

theveterans, have you tried checking the consistency of your connection? For example, open two command prompt windows. One to ping Google's server, 8.8.8.8 and the other to ping your gateway (for me, 192.168.0.1). Make sure to set the number of times to ping to a high number and the timeout to something like 60 seconds. For example, 'ping 8.8.8.8 -n 99999 -w 60000'.

Do this and try streaming Youtube, watching netflix, playing an online game or something else that requires 100% connectivity.

As an added stress test, try streaming music from a bluetooth device at the same time. When I do all these things, I get ping times of 50-50000ms from my notebook to the gateway, which should always be either 1ms or <1ms.

[MPell5]

Clowngod, if this is the case, someone like me cannot open my laptop as it is sealed by the factory. If I break the seal, I void my warranty. I have 16 months left so I'm not doing that.

[Cde_G]

In that case you should be able to return the entire laptop as the wireless connectivity is non functional. Maybe (depending on the manufacturer) there's a spin of it using a Broadcom or Atheros card?

[MPell5]

I probably would, but is it worth my time and effort? No. Intel should have released a working adapter. I'm not about to send a notebook which I use every day on a 14 day turnaround to possibly or not possibly have the adapter replaced with something functional.