Wireless
Participate in insightful discussions regarding issues related to Intel® Wireless Adapters and technologies
7368 Discussions

Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 constantly drops connection

FBoet
Beginner
7,397 Views

Hey guys,

first of all, thank you for reading my post. I got a massive problem with my Intel AC 7260 Wireless Adapter in my Alienware Area 51 R2.

For some reason, after nearly 3 years of constant performance and no hardware problems at all, the WiFi card of my Area 51 keeps losing Internet Connection.

The strange part is, that the connection to my router is still intact, but the Internet access gets crossed out. I also have a notebook, an iMac and an iPhone connected in the same network and every device works just fine.

To proof furthermore that my router works just fine, I tested LAN connection on the Area 51 and there are no connections drops at all.

Back to WiFi Connection: I searched in some forums and there are some people who seem to have the same problem like me. For example: https://www.alienwarearena.com/ucf/show/1475262/boards/technical-support-1/ForumPost/killer-wifi-keeps-losing-internet-connection Alienware Forum - Killer wifi keeps losing internet connection

What I already tried was:

  • installed latest driver from KillerNetworking (v.1.6.2149) x64
  • installed latest driver from Intel 20.70.0.4 for AC 7260
  • deactivated and activated Wifi Card in device manager
  • deactivated IPv6 (altough it worked 3 years with IPv6 settings on)
  • Power Management -> disabled "Allow computer to turn off this device to save power"

To make it as understandable as possible, I'll try to list the scheme of the problem:

1. WiFi Connection is "stable"

2. Suddenly the current application stucks because the PC has no connection to the Internet. After 10 secs, the WiFi symbol gets crossed out. Windows displays that I'm still connected to the router, but there is no Internet connection. (every other device is still connected and has internet connection though)

3. For 1 sec, the crossed out WiFi symbol changes to a crossed out Ethernet connection Symbol (like I had a LAN cable connected, with connection to the router, but not Internet connection)

4. And 5 secs later, the WiFi symbol pops up again and the Internet connection is back again.

5. Repeat multiple times a day

I can confirm that the connection drops are not coming more frequently when the download/upload-traffic is high. The connection drops in an idle state on the desktop of Windows as well.

Do you have any ideas? Do you think it's a hardware defect?

Keep up the good work!

Best regards from Germany,

Felix

OS: Windows 10 Home 1803 x64

0 Kudos
10 Replies
idata
Employee
3,245 Views

Hello felyyy,

 

Thank you for contacting our community forums.

 

In this case, In order to assist you, please go ahead and uninstall completely all the current drivers including your KillerNetworking ones, and install them again by following the instructions on this link (even if you already have the latest ones):

 

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000022173/network-and-i-o/wireless-networking.html https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000022173/network-and-i-o/wireless-networking.html

 

Here is the link for the latest drivers:

 

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/27989/Intel-PROSet-Wireless-Software-and-Drivers-for-Windows-10?v=t https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/27989/Intel-PROSet-Wireless-Software-and-Drivers-for-Windows-10?v=t

 

As well you may want to try our Recommend advanced settings available at:

 

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000024678/network-and-i-o/wireless-networking.html https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000024678/network-and-i-o/wireless-networking.html

 

If none of these steps work, please go ahead and start your PC in safe mode (with Networking) following these instructions and then monitor the results:

 

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12376/windows-10-start-your-pc-in-safe-mode https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12376/windows-10-start-your-pc-in-safe-mode

 

As well, please access your router and make sure that you do not have any QoS (quality of service) active on it.

 

In addition, please provide me with the .txt file that the https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25293/Intel-System-Support-Utility-for-Windows- System Support Utility will generate. To attach a file, you must click the "Attach" option on the bottom right-hand corner of the response box.

 

 

I hope to hear from you soon.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Regards,

 

Diego S.

 

0 Kudos
FBoet
Beginner
3,245 Views

Hello Diego,

thank your for your answer. I followed your instruction and deleted the Killer E2200 Ethernet device (+ driver) and the Intel Dualband Wireless AC 7269 device (+ driver).

I downloaded and installed the latest driver version 20.70.0 and now I will check how the performance will be.

Thanks for your support, i really appreciate this.

Best regards from Hamburg,

felyyy

0 Kudos
idata
Employee
3,245 Views

Hello felyyy,

 

 

Thank you for your response.

 

I will keep an eye on your thread, please let me know the outcome.

 

 

I hope this helps.

 

Regards,

 

Diego S.

 

0 Kudos
FBoet
Beginner
3,245 Views

Hello Diego,

Thank you for your mail.

Sadly, my problem is still present. After I followed your instruction, my Wireless Network did not reconnected itself for some hours, but I guess that was just luck.

Yesterday, I had the same issue multiple times again.

I also took screenshots from the eventvwr, maybe this helps further. If you don't understand the german eventlog, please let me know. I translated the event logs under the Imgur images:

https://imgur.com/a/fXB4XdW Imgur: The magic of the Internet

Do you have any other suggestions? After searching through some online forums with the info of the eventvwr in mind, i found some examples of ppl with the same problem like me.

For example:

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/802-11ac-connection-crashing-intel-7260ac.33265/ https://www.snbforums.com/threads/802-11ac-connection-crashing-intel-7260ac.33265/

Best regards,

felyyy

0 Kudos
FBoet
Beginner
3,245 Views

Hello Diego,

thanks for all your helpful suggestions. I am discussing my case in multiple forums now, but nobody seems to have a solution

My connections drops constantly and nothing seems to help.

BR felyyy

0 Kudos
idata
Employee
3,245 Views

Hello felyyy,

 

 

Thank you for your response.

 

Can you please tell us, which wireless card do you have installed in your system?

 

The Alienware Area-51 R2 can come with the Killer 1435, help us verifying if it is a Killer1535 or Intel ® 7260.

 

Test the following:

 

1. Uninstall all networking drivers and software (for both WiFi and Ethernet).

 

2. Restart and allow Windows* to install the driver.

 

3. Test the WiFi connection to see if the wireless issue persists.

 

4. Install the OE wireless driver from Dell* since https://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/product-support/product/alienware-area51-r2/drivers these drivers are validated

 

5. If the issue returns, uninstall the drivers again, restart.

 

6. Uninstall the wireless driver from Windows and install the driver from Intel ® :

 

(This driver is available as-is since system manufacturers provide validated drivers for their products.)

 

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/27989/Intel-PROSet-Wireless-Software-and-Drivers-for-Windows-10?v=t Intel® PROSet/Wireless Software and Drivers for Windows® 10

 

7. If the wireless issues still persist, the wireless card may be failing. You will need to contact Dell* for the support and warranty options.

 

I hope to this helps.

 

 

Regards,

 

Diego S.

 

0 Kudos
FBoet
Beginner
3,245 Views

Hello Diego,

sure thing. I confirm that my version of the Alienware Area 51 R2 has an Intel ® Dual Band AC-7260 Wireless Card and a Killer E2200 Gigabit Ethernet Controller.

Thanks for your new suggestions. I followed your instructions from Point 6 already, as I uninstalled the device (+ drivers) and installed the newest driver version from Intel (v. 20.70.00).

I uninstalled both devices (+ drivers) again and allowed Windows to install the driver. Sadly, the wireless issue is still there.

I talked to Dell Support yesterday and told them about my problem. After showing them the result document of the Dell SupportAssistent Tool (no hardware problems found), I got forwarded from 2nd to 3rd Level Support.

The supporter tried to convince me, that it's still a software problem, lol. Sure he has to try though. After I presented him the information I collected, the supporter asked me if I worked for Dell in the past, because I was so familiar with their troubleshooting workflow.

In the end, we came to the conclusion, that the Wireless Card is defective. Dell wants to charge me 130$ for a hardware replacement that includes a new Wireless card (model unknown) and an 926DC Antenna.

I think that's a pretty overprized offer. Especially if you consider, that my computer is 3 years "old" and the Wirelss Card was only in use since August 2017. What do you think about it?

BR felyyy

0 Kudos
idata
Employee
3,245 Views

Hello felyyy,

 

Thank you for your response.

 

I understand, especially because it involves money in order to be replaced. Sadly, since it was determined to be a hardware issue our best recommendation is to look directly for a replacement from your computer manufacturer.

 

 

I hope this helps.

 

Regards,

 

Diego S.

 

0 Kudos
idata
Employee
3,245 Views

Hello felyyy,

 

 

Let me clarify Diego's recommendation above.

 

 

You can purchase another wireless card/antenna, however, you any incompatibility issues would have to be confirmed by Dell/Alienware.

 

 

You may want to check out Dell community to see if other peers have tested wireless adapters. I found the following that mentions supported wireless cards for your system, but it's a bit outdated:

 

https://www.dell.com/community/Alienware-General-Read-Only/Alienware-X51-R2-Wifi-card-upgrade/td-p/5554776 Alienware X51 R2 Wifi card upgrade *

 

 

If you decide to test another wireless card, see if the seller offers refund/return options if the wireless card ends up being incompatible; or test a friend's.

 

 

Best Regards,

 

Pat S.

 

 

*The 3rd-party link provided above is for your convenience only and Intel does not endorse any of the contents within.
0 Kudos
FBoet
Beginner
3,245 Views

Hello Pat, Hello Diego,

update status for my case: The new Intel AC-7260 is installed and everything works fine now! I haven't had a disconnect since

It was really "just" a hardware defect.

Thank you guys so much for helping me out, I really appreciate your support.

I always felt that you guys are really intrested in helping me with my problem. Especially, that you really searched for a solution, personally for me. That's not common at all!

Thank you again and have a great week!

Cheers from Hamburg,

Felix

0 Kudos
Reply