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Intel(R) dual band wireless AC 7260 not working / not found

Mvand22
Beginner
2,375 Views

Hi all,

I have a HP laptop (HP Spectre 13-3000ed Ultrabook, about 1 year old) with a Intel(R) dual band wireless AC 7260 wireless network adapter.

Occasionally, when I start up my computer or wake it up from sleep, I can't connect to the internet because it can't find the wireless network adapter - if I go to the device manager, it is not listed. This happens about once or twice a week. To get it working again I have to restart my computer, often multiple times.

When the network adapter is found, then it works fine. According to device manager the device is working properly and drivers are up to date.

Does anyone know how to resolve this issue?

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ASouz7
Honored Contributor II
1,173 Views

hedgehog,

Disabling the power saving functions may prevent this issue. Here is how you do it:

1 - Control Panel >> Power Option and then set the High Performance and apply to default settings.

2 - Check the Chang Plan >> Change Advanced Power Settings >> Wireless Adapter Settings >>Power Saving Mode and make sure both on battery and Plugged in are set to maximum performance.

Mvand22
Beginner
1,173 Views

Hi, thanks for your answer. I tried what you suggested but unfortunatel it doesn't help.

The problem seems to be getting worse. It's happening now multiple times a day, and not just when I start up or wake up the computer, but also while I'm using it. My internet connection just disappears and the wireless network adapter disappears from the device manager.

Could the wireless network adapter itself be broken, or the connection between wireless network adapter and the rest of the computer?

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ASouz7
Honored Contributor II
1,173 Views

Hedgehog,

There could be many reasons as to why it not working properly.

Is this wireless adapter native to your system or did you remove the original one and installed this one?

In case it is the original one, did you try to contact HP* and check if the have any update that might resolve this issue?

What is your current OS? Did you do any OS upgrade like migrating from Windows 8.1* to Windows*10?

Does this problem occur only in your home network or it just doesn't find any network?

Have you checked your Firewall and antivirus configuration to see if they are not impacting your connections?

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Mvand22
Beginner
1,173 Views

Hi, thanks for your answer again.

- The network adapter is native to the system. I have made no hardware modifications to the laptop. I have also posted this question on the HP forum, so far no suggestions there apart from checking power options etc (which did not resolve it)

- I haven't done any OS upgrade - I am currently using Windows 8.1. Drivers are up to date.

- The problem occurs with multiple networks. As far as I can tell, it is not related to router/firewall/antivirus. When the problem happens, I see zero available networks (usually there are about 10 of them from neighbours etc)

When the problem happens: The internet just suddenly stops working while I am using the computer, and suddenly there are no available networks (the neighbours' networks have all disappeared from the list). I see only my own network with 'limited' connectivity. If I try to disconnect & reconnect from the network, or turn Wi-Fi off & on again, my own network will disappear from the list as well and there are no available networks.

If I then go to the device manager, my wireless network adapter is sometimes not listed there. Other times it is listed, and it says it is working properly (but it is not). I tried disabling it and then enabling it again, and got the error that enabling it was not possible because the device did not exist. Then restarting the computer (usually multiple times) is needed to get it to work again. Another time, disabling and enabling the wireless adapter multiple times actually fixed the problem and no restart was necessary. So it seems sometimes it is relatively easy to get the wireless adapter working again properly.

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ASouz7
Honored Contributor II
1,173 Views

Hedgehog,

In this case that your wireless adapter is original one, Intel always recommend that you use the drivers provided by your computer manufacturer such as the HP*.

As a second option, you can use our latest drivers found in our https://downloadcenter.intel.com/ Intel® Download Center please try the following below: * This procedure requires that you have you computer connected via Ethernet cable

1 - Download and save https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/72252/Intel-PROSet-Wireless-Software Intel® PROSet/Wireless Software according to to your OS and architecture: 32 or 64 Bit.

2 - Go to Control Panel, Programs and Features and Uninstall the current "Intel® PROSet/Wireless Software", if it is installed. When prompted, choose the option to "Discard settings"

3 - In Control Panel, Device Manager, Network Adapters, right click on the Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 and Uninstall it. Make sure you mark the option to "Delete the driver software for this device".

4 - Reboot the PC or scan for hardware changes, check device manager and if an older driver is detected and installed, repeat the actions to uninstall and delete it as well. Repeat this process until the OS does not allow deleting the driver, or until the controller shows as Unknown Device.

5 - Install the Intel® Wireless driver. During the first steps of PROSet/Wireless installation, make sure to customize the installation and install all the 3 driver components.

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