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Intel Dual Band Wireless AC 7260 Windows 10 drivers?

OPetk
Beginner
6,449 Views

Will Intel update their Intel Dual Band Wireless AC 7260 for Windows 10 with new updated drivers? I brought one and haven't installed it yet, I'm waiting for Windows 10 to come out first then install my new wi-fi card, but I want to make sure that Windows 10 will work perfectly with this wi-fi card.

28 Replies
ASouz7
Honored Contributor II
2,940 Views

Oblivion2500,

Intel does not comment or provide support to products that are not officially launched yet. We recommend to wait until this product is launched and then you can look at our support webpage for any update, here is the link: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/75439/Intel-Dual-Band-Wireless-AC-7260 Intel® Download Center - Please rest assured we are working to provide support as soon as it is launched.

OPetk
Beginner
2,940 Views

Windows 10 is out now today, will this wifi card work fine with Windows 10?

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RBind1
Beginner
2,940 Views

Intel has uploaded drivers for Windows 10 (v18.11.0.8), I just tried them with no joy. Your mileage may vary, you might be luckier than me.

I'm currently sitting here with 3 Intel M.2 cards (7260 & 7265), none working. 2 cards give the infamous Code 10 error and the other doesn't find any networks with latest driver. Mind you, all work at 866Mbps when booted in Linux live disk.

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ASouz7
Honored Contributor II
2,940 Views

Oblivion2500,

If you're looking for software & drivers for Windows* 10, there are already 17.15.x software & drivers (inbox) for 7265, 7260, 3165, and 3160 adapters included in the operating system update. Check with your OEM or system manufacturer for newer software and drivers for your particular system. We provide OEMs with all of the latest software and driver updates well before we post generic versions on download center. We will post generic versions of any software and drivers updates for Windows 10 when they become available.

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ASouz7
Honored Contributor II
2,940 Views

rnb5500,

This Code 10 error is basically saying that Windows*, for one reason or another, cannot communicate properly with one of your programs/hardware. Please take a look at the links below. Additionally, you can also look here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/310123 https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/310123

http://www.intel.com/support/wireless/wlan/sb/CS-011644.htm Intel® Wi-Fi Products — Regulatory information regarding hardware installation or upgrade

http://www.intel.com/support/wireless/sb/CS-006192.htm Wireless Networking — Installation error when installing or swapping Intel wireless adapters

http://www.intel.com/support/wireless/wlan/sb/CS-031167.htm Intel® Wi-Fi Products — Why doesn't my laptop recognize my new Intel wireless adapter?

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RBind1
Beginner
2,940 Views

Yeah... I'm past that having read the many 7260/7265 related threads between here, Dell and NotebookReview.com forums. Unfortunately, the links provided aren't very pertinent.

The first link to Microsoft and Code 10 suggests the Common Resolution is to update drivers. Check and double check, I've tried nearly every driver from 17.0.0.34 to 18.11.0.8. Then tells me to troubleshoot "Incompatible, outdated, or corrupted device drivers." Ouch, Microsoft points the finger back at Intel.

The second link speaks nothing to compatibility or operability, only legality and only in very vague terms. Here we have "Installing these adapters.. may be illegal." and "..the party installing the device is responsible for those approvals." Very well, I take full responsibility for any legal consequences.

The third link pertains to swapping an Intel adapter in a computer that either did or did not previously have an Intel adapter. Specifically, a manufacturer imposed "whitelist" of approved adapters. But in my case, I don't receive either error mentioned (boot error or Unknown device). And all my adapters work with Linux, ruling out any BIOS-related hardware incompatibility.

The fourth link is rehash of links 2 and 3, along with letting me know Intel doesn't provide support for its own Wireless Adapters. Really, "Installing or upgrading the various Intel® Wireless Adapters by end users is not supported by Intel."

No, I'm satisfied that fix is just use Linux day-to-day while I periodically try updated drivers. I'm hopeful one of the OEMs will release a fixed driver, I think they'll have to given how ubiquitous the problem seems to be.

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RBarb7
Beginner
2,940 Views

I have an HP Spectre 13t-3000 Ultrabook laptop with the Intel AC 7260 dual-band wireless. I used Microsoft's compatibility check before installing Windows 10 and it said everything was compatible. I upgraded from Windows 8.1. However, as soon Windows 10 finished installing, the Intel AC 7260 was no longer working. In Device Manager it says the card is working properly but the card does not "see" any wireless networks. All my other devices in my house are working fine with the router that I've been using for many months.

I tried some of the ideas posted on the Internet such as installing older drivers such as version 17.0.0.34 and the latest driver 18.11.0.8. Nothing has worked. I am unable to use my HP Ultrabook at this point for anything related to the Internet.

Help...

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ASouz7
Honored Contributor II
2,940 Views

richatd757,

As informed previously in this thread, there are already 17.15x software and drivers (inbox) for the Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265, 7260, 3165, and 3160 adapters included in the operating system update. Please, we kindly request that you check with your OEM or system manufacturer for newer software and drivers for your particular system. We provide OEMs with all of the latest software and driver updates well before we post generic versions on download center. We will post generic versions of any software and drivers updates for Windows 10 when they become available.

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RJone9
Beginner
2,940 Views

After spending three hours chatting with my OEM they informed me they hadn't received any updated drivers.

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ASouz7
Honored Contributor II
2,940 Views

Rjonesx,

Please check with them again soon to see if they have any updates. We will post generic versions of any software and drivers updates for Windows 10 when they become available.

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RJone9
Beginner
2,940 Views

I am a driver engineer by profession, not wireless or LAN unfortunately.

My Windows 10 upgrade took out both the Intel wireless and the Realtek LAN. For many reasons I am now thinking the issue is somewhere else in the driver stack. Fixing this might be as simple as changing the correct registry key. That would explain why uninstalling and reinstalling would occasionally clear the issue.

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RBind1
Beginner
2,940 Views

I think you may be on to something here, I had similar thoughts yesterday as I tried a fresh Windows 10 install with my AC-7265ngw. I, too, have a Realtek LAN but it has never been a problem with any of the Win10 installs I've done.

Without installing any drivers, just using the In-The-Box v17.15 drivers on a new install I get Code 10 errors. If I go to Device Manager and change some adapter settings, I think it was, WMM Disabled to Enabled, Roaming Aggressiveness to Lowest, and HT Mode from VHT to HT (limiting Wi-Fi to 300Mbps). Doing this allows the adapter to start, find networks and connect to either 2.4 or 5GHz. I don't know that all those changes are critical other than the last one, HT Mode in VHT only gives me Code 10 errors.

The bad news is that even with these settings after 5-10mins of light browsing the connection dropped. In Device Manager the 7265 adapter appeared fine, but Microsoft ISATAP Adapter and Microsoft Wi-Fi Direct Virtual Adapter both gave Code 45 (device not connected) errors. I tried disabling and enabling the 7265 to see if it'd help, it found my wireless networks again. I reconnected and it caused a BSOD (netwtw02.sys).

Any way, the errors with the Microsoft Adapters even while the Intel 7265 reported to be working properly got me thinking about problems in the networking stack.

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RJone9
Beginner
2,940 Views

I tried changing the settings and there was no change.

i went out and purchased a netgear USB micro wifi adapter. According to device manager it installed correctly but the installation cannot detect the adapter at the end of the installation.

After seeing three network adapters produced by three companies I am pretty convinced this is an OS issue. I just wish we had access to the software engineers since they probably have encountered is during their driver port to Windows 10.

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smcle3
New Contributor I
2,940 Views

My driver installed fine and my connection for videos, steaming, downloading are all okay. But my ping is insanely stupid in games. I've tested CS 1.6 and CS:GO. Both games have me over 700ms constantly and its COMPLETELY unplayable in the sense my character wont even move because the ping is that high. Im also using the Dual 7260AC card and i've tried the latest driver from Intel's website alongside Lenovo's driver page for my laptop (the Y50). I've also tried multiple servers to confirm that the issue is not serverside. 9/10 people are all well under 120ms. Im the only person sitting over 700ms.

This is ridiculous. I feel like upgrading to Windows 10 was the worst decision I ever made, already knowing how terrible drivers were in 8.1 for this piece of hardware, I went through about 7 different versions before finding one that wouldn't drop connections. Now, ive got a totally stable connection but the ping in any game is so high its unbearable.

Intel, I'm begging you for a fix ASAP. It really sucks coming home after a long days work to be unable to play any games due to the poor quality of your drivers. I can confirm its not just one game. And i can also confirm its not just my ISP as all other machines in my household are alright. This one computer I actually use to enjoy games happens to be the one with this terrible network adapter thats caused me more trouble than its worth. I really REALLY hope they fix this soon or i'll be forced to go back to Windows 8.1 all because of this one reason.

any help on this would be much appreciated. Here are hopes they reply soon because the original post for this thread is still left unanswered a week later.

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RJone9
Beginner
2,940 Views

Three hours with my OEM. Five hours on the phone with Microsoft technical support. A visit to the Microsoft store. Estimate of needing seven days with the techs. No joy.

I gave up and rolled back.

And ended up with a functioning windows, except almost everything was rendered black on black. The task manager rendered properly but nothing else.

So I imaged my upgraded SSD from the original disk image and was back. Although everything was a few weeks out of date.

Then I uninstalled my Cisco VPN and upgraded to Windows 10 again.

IT WORKS! The network is fine. As I suspected the problem was not with the Intel or Realtek drivers. It was elsewhere in the network driver stack.

I would recommend anyone with issues uninstall VPN or virus software and see if that makes a difference.

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BB4
New Contributor II
2,940 Views

ProSet 18.12.0 for Windows 10 is now up.

How about the corresponding Admin Sets, fellas?

(Sorry to be a broken record about this, but those files are the support that some of us go to when you update a driver. Thanks!)

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BB4
New Contributor II
2,940 Views

I'm confused by the posts about new drivers by JohnS on the Overview page. They're described as "generic", but they link to end user .exe self-installing files. The term "generic" to me means "zip" files of vanilla driver and cab files", not ProSet installers.

The IT Admin link doesn't have these yet for 18.12.

Intel guys, what do you call those Admins files, and can you tell me why they always lag in being posted when you release a new driver publicly?

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John_S_Intel
Employee
2,940 Views

Sorry for the delay GattoNero, I will post the IT Administrators downloads today.

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John_S_Intel
Employee
2,940 Views

What I mean by "generic" is that we post reference drivers on download center, but only after we have provided these same files to the OEMs. Maybe "reference" drivers is a better term to use than "generic" drivers. When I say generic, I what I mean is non-OEM specific.

 

 

OEMs always get our software/drivers before we post them for public consumption. This gives the OEMs time to validate any new updates on their platforms that have our wireless adapters installed. In some cases, the OEMs may customize the software/drivers that we give them and they post them on their own support or download sites. In some cases the OEMs simply repackages, renames, or bundles our "reference" or "generic" software/drivers as their own software/drivers and they post it to their support or download web sites. And in some cases the OEMs have the software/drivers from us but decide not to post every single version we give them whether they customize our software/driver package or not. It is really up to the OEM to provide their customers with software and drivers that they have validated and verified to work with the systems they have integrated our adapters into. In any event, the point is that OEMs get our software and drivers well before we post the generic, non-OEM specific versions on our download center site. Customers should be going to their OEM or system manufacturer for software and drivers for our wireless adapters.

 

For the Intel NUC, where the wireless adapter is either pre-installed or bundled with the NUC, we are the OEM. Intel NUC customers should expect to get Windows-based software and drivers from Intel.

 

For all other systems (laptops, ultrabooks, tablets, desktops etc), where the OEM pre-installs or integrates the wireless adapter, the OEM is responsible for testing and validating any wireless software/driver we give them for functionality and features and for regression testing. And the OEM is responsible for ensuring system regulatory compliance for whichever countries the systems are sold into. And as such, the OEMs should provide the specific software and drivers that are meant for each system on a model by model basis.

 

As for the "IT Administrators" software/drivers, these are the .zip files that IT administrators prefer to use rather than the self-extracting .exe files that consumers prefer to use. We typically provide a direct link to the IT Administrator downloads rather than make them publicly available.

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smcle3
New Contributor I
2,717 Views

Is this to say intel is aware of the issues regarding the 7260AC with Windows 10? The latest (current) 18.12.0.3 still has flakey connections and high latency (possibly packet loss) in games. I was forced to purchase a 3rd party external NIC to get acceptable connection for my laptop rendering my internal wireless useless since not one single driver from intel has fixed the issue. My ping with the cheap $25 Belkin N300 usb NIC is a solid 300mbp/s with no connection drops and about 40ms latency in games. With the 7260AC, over 700ms in games and its dropping skype calls every 5-10mins.

This was never the case for me in Windows 8.1. The last stable driver I had used in Win8.1 was 17.13.11.5 and it was perfect. No drops, low steady latency in games. Never spiking over 120ms unless I was on a server far away.

Im literally begging for a fix to this as the problem has rendered internal wireless in my $1500 laptop completely useless. As a student, im sure someone here can relate to my frustration.

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