Intel(R) Wifi 6 AX201 slow connection and zero network usage in task manager!

[Marco96]

Hi

I have already tried any sort of driver reintallation with clean procedure, in safe mode with OEM files but I was not able in any way to get this stuff working well so posting here is my last chance. The problem is that from a few days I'm experiencing a really abnormal behaviour of my internet connection, it is heavily unstable, I can perform two speed test within 5 minutes and getting two different results with huge drops in bandwidth like from 120 Mbps to 5 Mbps. I'm getting crazy because I'also tried to install the last driver version since I'm running on Windows 11 but nothing changed and more, another syntoms I noticed happenenig is that in the task manager, the network usage percentage doesn't work any more it is stucked. 

It'is not a problem of router, any other device works well, I don't know if it could be a bug of Windows 11 but I have been using that OS for at least 2 month and as I remember I have never met this problem.

The steps that I have already done are:

-Clean intallation of driver both OEM and latest itel driver version

-Reinstallation in-place of windows 11

-Driver installation in safe mode

-Windows Troubleshooting

-Windows Network Reset

-Network reset form cmd

Nothing worked, what can I do?

In the attachments, a speed test comparison on the same wifi with my smartphone, a screenshot to show the network usage issue, and the reporto of ISSU

[AndrewG_Intel]

Hello @Marco96

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities.

In order to check this behavior further, could you please provide the following details?

1- Is the Intel® Wi-Fi 6 AX201 the original wireless adapter that came pre-installed in your system or did you integrate/install it on the laptop?

2- Do you remember if this issue happened after a new Windows update or Wireless/Bluetooth driver update?

3- How far are you from the Router? Are there objects or walls that may be blocking the signal?

4- Have you checked if this issue happens testing only the laptop and the router? (no other wireless devices connected to the wireless network during this test).

5- Is your Router compatible with the AX WiFi Standard? Please provide the Router maker and model:

6- Have you tried a different router or Access point for testing purposes? Maybe one that is AX compatible? Have you rebooted your router and modem? Please provide details.

7- Is this happening with both Wireless bands? (2.4GHz and 5GHz?)

8- Is the issue occurring only with Windows® 11? Did it work fine with Windows® 10? Have you checked with MSI* Support regarding compatibility with Windows® 11? (On their website*, we noticed this message: (*Specific devices that require a dedicated driver for Windows 11 will be released soon").

Best regards,

Andrew G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Marco96]

Firstly, thank you for your answer. 

1-Yes it'is the original one, I tried also to buy a replacement of the same card but nothing, same issue

2-No, It' is happened suddenly but any way I have tried several driver versions, non of them working

3-Exactly 15 cm over the router, it is under the desk

4-Yes, but any way I have always used my PC since I bought it (2 years ago) without network problems so why should it depends on this?

5-No it'is AC (the model: TIM HUB Smart Modem Plus Technicolor DGA4132 modello ADSL VDSL EVDSL FIBRA) but as before, never had problems untill now. I have 3 different routers in the house to extend the wifi range, everything works well with other devices but my PC has the same behaviour with all of them

6-Already answered in 5, and more I tried with my smartphone hotspot, nothing

7-Yes

8-I noticed the warning, but since the first release of windows 11 I used the PC not experiencing this problem, It is something happened recently. I rolled back to the first release of windows 11 to test eventually the updates but even in this case nothing same issue. 

A further test that I did was to use USB tethering with my smartphone connected firstly to wifi (same router) and then to data connection,  same issue with this method and this makes me belive that the problem is the OS because during the USB test I disabled the Wireless card.

It's starting to grow the idea that a clean Windows 11 installation is needed or more a rollback to Window 10

[AndrewG_Intel]

Hello Marco96

Thank you very much for your response and for all these details, we really appreciate that.

Just to make sure we cover all the possibilities, could you please review the following settings and apply them if necessary?

1- In this case, if you are connecting to an "ac" network, we recommend you change the Advanced Wi-Fi adapter settings to "VHT mode or 802.11ac". Please refer to the following link for instructions, section "802.11n/ac/ax Wireless Mode or HT Mode": >> Advanced Intel® Wireless Adapter Settings

Using the same Advance settings, please test by enabling and disabling U-APSD (or WMM-Power Save or WMM-PS)

2- Please also check the Recommended Settings for 802.11ac Connectivity

3- Check with your router/modem manufacturer for firmware updates or if you need to change the network configuration for the router to improve Wi-Fi speeds when working with AX Wireless cards.

Best regards,

Andrew G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Marco96]

Thank you for your answer

I want to let you know that I have partially solved the problem with a little application called TCP Optimizer. This app changes some system and registry keys values to optimize the TCP management and after having applied the optimal values suggested by the app itself, it seems that the network works well again. Or better, there are still some strange behaviours like the network percentage usage in the task manager which doesn't work properly, it seems like it is "not real time" even with high update rate but at least doing a speed test I can get again the full bandwidth and I'm able again to download, before any download ended in a fail. Little curiosity, the problems have always affected the download speed, the upload has always been normal.

[AndrewG_Intel]

Hello Marco96

Thank you for your response.

We understand that the issue seems to be solved ("able to get again the full bandwidth and able again to download") after using a third-party tool to tweak TCP/IP parameters in Windows. Is this correct? If yes, let's monitor the behavior for some days. Please feel free to share any other feedback. If necessary, we will be following up in some days to see how it goes.

Regarding the "network percentage usage in the Windows® Task Manager", since that is a utility/component of the Operating System (OS) the best would be to check/debug it further with Microsoft® Support. However, we would say that the relevant fact to focus on is if you feel that the download speed is working as expected while browsing the web.

For any other inquiries, please don't hesitate to contact us back.

Best regards,

Andrew G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[AndrewG_Intel]

Hello Marco96

We are checking this thread and we would like to know if you need further assistance or if we can consider the behavior with the bandwidth solved.

Best regards,

Andrew G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[AndrewG_Intel]

Hello Marco96

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

It has been a pleasure to assist you.

Best regards,

Andrew G.

Intel Customer Support Technician