Intel AX201 WIFI, Speed Issues

[diesal11]

Hi There,

I am finding that my PCs onboard WIFI is performing considerably slower than other WIFI devices under the same conditions. I initially noticed this while running an internet speed test. The onboard WIFI appears to be maxing out at about 60-70 Mbit/s down & 20Mbit/s up.

My motherboard is the MSI Z490M Gaming Edge WIFI which includes the Intel AX201 for WIFI & Bluetooth.

I have tested multiple other devices on the same network, including an iPhone 12 and a 2020 MacBook Pro in the same room as my PC. And another PC which lives in a room further from my AP than this PC. All of these devices can download at my networks full 120 Mbit/s capacity.

I then tried disabling the onboard WIFI and plugged a TP-Link AC600 T2U Nano USB WIFI dongle into a USB3 plug on the back of the board. Using this dongle on the computer i was able to download at the above 120 Mbit/s.

So far to try and solve this i have:

- Changed Windows Power settings to Ultimate Performance
- Changed Windows Power settings for Wireless to Maximum Performance
- Updated Intel wireless drivers to latest version (22.0.0.6), I have also tried the MSI provided drivers and face the same issue
- Disabled MIMO Power Saving mode
- Changed 5ghz WIFI channel on the AP to 110, this improved download speeds slightly by about 5Mbit/s
- de- and re-attaching the WIFI antenna to the motherboard.

In all tests, i am connecting to the same AP via 5ghz, all connections are using the 502.11ac WIFI 5 standard.

Lastly, i tried the same test on the same PC but booting from an Ubuntu 20.04 USB i had lying around. From here i was able to achieve my expected 120Mbit/s down. So this appears to be a windows only issue.

Thanks,
Dylan

[Niko87]

I had the same similar problem a week ago with same network card, in my room the notebook did not take well and the connection speed really slow, I finally solved it by moving the notebook to another point in the room and now the problem is gone the connection works at full bandwidth.
If you have your PC near a wall where electric cables pass or the TV antenna, try moving it to another part.
I still think this card needs some optimization or an update that fixes these problems because I have read around that it has caused similar problems to many others.

[Maria_R_Intel]

Hello diesal11,

Thank you for posting on the Intel Community.

To better assist you, please provide us with the below information:

• Which tool are you using to monitor the internet speed? If possible attach screenshots.
• Do you have issues with the speed if you use the LAN connection?
• Was the PC working with a considerable speed before? (meaning that it changed after an update for example Windows update) Please provide details.
• Did you test both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands? Provide details.
• Share with us the configuration you are using for the wireless card. Check this on Device Manager > Network Adapters > Intel Wireless card > Advanced Settings.

Please run the following tool in Windows* and attach the report generated. 

Intel® System Support Utility (Intel® SSU) 

• Intel® SSU Download
• Open the application and select "Everything" >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". 

Best regards,

Maria R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[diesal11]

Hi Maria,

Thankyou for your reply. I have since found a workaround but to quickly answer your questions:

> Which tool are you using to monitor the internet speed? If possible attach screenshots.

I am using the speedtest.net windows app

> Do you have issues with the speed if you use the LAN connection?

No issues through LAN connection

> Was the PC working with a considerable speed before? (meaning that it changed after an update for example Windows update) Please provide details.

Yes, since my original post i have found that the default drivers provided by Windows perform at expected speeds. It is only when i install the Intel provided drivers that the issue occurs.

> Did you test both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands? Provide details.

I tested both bands right nest to the AP and had unacceptable speeds.

As mentioned above, i found that uninstalling all instances of Intel Wireless drivers has solved my issue.

I have attached two SSU summaries. One from when the Intel provided drivers were installed, and one using the Windows drivers.

The SSU report is not for the latest version of the Intel drivers. But i can confirm that upgrading to the latest drivers (22.10.0) did not fix the issue.

It would be ideal in the long run if i could swap back to using the official Intel Drivers. Hopefully a future Driver update can fix my issue.

Cheers,

Dylan

[Maria_R_Intel]

Hello diesal11,

Were you able to check the previous post? 

Let me know if you need more assistance. 

Best regards, 

Maria R.  

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[Maria_R_Intel]

Hello diesal11,

Thank you very much for your response.

There are two different types of drivers, generics provided by Intel and Equipment Manufacturer drivers, that are customized to work with each specific system.

The best thing to do is to use the drivers provided by the system manufacturer or through Windows Update to eliminate the potential impact caused by loading non-custom drivers that may not work properly with your system. In this case, since your motherboard includes the wireless card, they provide the customized drivers, and you should not be having issues with it.

The driver that Microsft installed (the one whit no issues) is version 21.10.2.2 is not listed on the MSI website. The latest version provided by them is the 22.0.0.6, which I understand didn't work.

In this case, the best is to contact MSI directly so they can confirm if the driver installed by Microsoft is a previous version they provided and also confirm why the customized driver is causing issues to your system.

Best regards,

Maria R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Maria_R_Intel]

Hello diesal11,

We have not heard back from you, so we will close this thread. If you need any additional information, please submit a new question as this thread will no longer be monitored.

Best regards, 

Maria R.  

Intel Customer Support Technician