Intel Wifi 6 AX200 keeps losing Internet Access (shows connected to the Wireless Network but "No Internet Access" - losing local ping also) only on Windows 10

[MKrau16]

Subject:Intel Wifi 6 AX200 keeps losing Internet Access (shows connected to the Wireless Network but "No Internet Access" - losing local ping also) only on Windows 10

First of all I would like to say Hello to everybody.

I have an issue, I think not only me, but many others have it with Intel Wifi 6 AX200, which keeps losing Internet (in fact it shows that it is connected to the Home Wifi, but "No Internet Access"). I'm losing Internet Access in most cases when streaming Netflix, Prime Videos or playing Multiplayer games, sometimes when downloading huge files from the internet ex. Steam platform, sometimes when web browsing. Apart that even if Internet works for short time I can see that times to time I am losing 1 package (I can see that in cmd by ping -t)

I made a huge research already and read tons of posts, solutions etc. (from 2019 - until today)

I made also a huge tests on: different Windows 10 versions (on my existing, new portable Windows, and new totally fresh installation - without any other software installed, where drivers were downloaded by system), also I tested different Windows drivers from the very first driver to the latest version of the driver. Also I tried my HP manufacturer recommended drivers - generally all possible drivers I found - NONE of them works fine... keep loosing my Internet connection. This is happening on both Networks 2.4Ghz and 5.0Ghz.

Apart that I did also all possible tests with Driver configurations on Windows 10: switching my drivers to 801.11ac only, disabling other options, enabling other options, disabling Power savings, everything. - Tested on 2.4Ghz and also on 5Ghz - and still the same issue losing Internet Access.

I have also done my modem hard reset and reconfigured it from scratch - Yes I also checked my Internet and modem with my Internet provider. I have tried different channels on my modem, and other configuration settings - still the same issue, loosing Internet Access.

...BUT I made also a test on portable Linux uBuntu version 20.04, and NEVER got disconnected - during streaming videos, web browsing, downloading huge files - yes, I tried to kill my Internet with so many ways and GBs of data, but Linux never have up - I never lost a connection and never lost 1 single package. 

I have 4 other devices connected to this network and NONE of them have this problem, only my laptop with Intel Wifi 6 AX200. All other devices reach maximum speed on my modem which is ~ 300 - 330 without any issues, of course they have a different Wifi chipsets - but it proofs that Wifi modem works fine!

Modem Details: CGNM-2250-SHW

My modem supports 802.11ac 2.4Ghz (20/40Mhz) and 5.0Ghz(20/40/80Mhz - default for 5Ghz).Internet speed send by provider is 300Mbps dn and ~16Mbps up.

The only solution to make my AX200 working (somehow) stable in Windows 10 is to setup Advance\Channel Width for 2.4Ghz and 5.0Ghz on 20Mhz Mode (forced from Auto to 20Mhz)...but this is NOT the best solution I like - because in this case my speed will decrease and be limited to 100Mbps-ish and will never reach ~330Mbps download like other devices.

Dear Intel, please find a fix for this issue - if the same Network Card on the same laptop with the same spec can work under Linux without any single small issue on full speed... I am sure there has to be something wrong with the Intel WiFi 6 AX200 Driver for Windows.

[aythesus]

I use the AX200 from TPLink Archer TX3000E. It's been a headache since TPLink only provide driver from last year 21.10.1 (2019-08-16). With that old driver only get me with 802.11n connection type shown in Task Manager > Performance.

Just updated with the latest driver from Intel 21.120.2.1 having this high hope but it's just not working for 5GHz SSID network. It's broadcasted by my NETGEAR RAX20. I already raised a support ticket to them but it seems the issue is in the card driver.

After reading some comments in this thread, I move the channel manually from AUTO to 20MHz in card advanced setting and working well now.

I'm hoping that Intel would read this and get us proper update as we know Wi-Fi 6 supports channels widths of 20, 40, 80 and 160 MHz in the 5GHz band. And yet I only able to utilize the 20MHz and it's not a winning solution.

[BionicAlice]

From reading through the posts and from my testing with two different AP (Unifi In-Wall HD and Unifi In-Wall 6) also tested with an asus RT-AX88U router.

I came to the conclusion that the ax200 and ax201 do not work well with lower channels. This was tested in different sites as well to make sure it is not some random interference. As soon as I moved the router/APs to a higher 5ghz channel there was no more random spikes/ complete loss of packet.

I have tested the other suggestions too of turning of Mu-mimo and at least for the latest driver 21.120.2.1 on lower channels this lowered the random ping spikes on lower channels. On higher channels Mu-mimo seems to work fine ( At least for the last 2 hours ).

There has been an improvement from the drivers 21.110, this was showing actual packet losses not just high latency. The driver before that 21.90? was even worse. So it is headed in the right direction. But not there yet.

This was all tested on a fresh install of windows 10.

Edit: I have no idea it worked for a bit and then it just stopped working.  No new programs loaded. Nothing changed. Even tried restarting but its back. Its odd that it worked for so long while  I was testing then stopped.

Edit2: After spending some time observing it. It is happening a lot less frequently.  Seems to be down to 1-2 in an hours time when on higher 5ghz channels. Huge improvement for me. Still annoyed it is happening though.

[BionicAlice]

The site decided to delete my post. It knows it has one but even the permalink to it pops up an error.

To summarize my old post:
I found out if  I pick a lower frequency channel for the 5ghz it has more issues. Once switching to the upper channels with the latest driver 21.120. There was less random high latency/packet loss spikes. Instead of happening every few minutes it's down to once or twice an hour.

I tested on 2 Unifi APs and 1 asus router. Also tested the previous drivers 21.90? and 21.100. Those performed a lot worse. Also tried a different site to make sure I did not have some odd interference.

When trying out turning off mu-mimo i noticed the packet loss less frequently and that my speeds had gone up quite a bit for download, upload stayed similar.

[cwash]

I have a Razer Blade Stealth 2020 and Netgear Nighthawk AX12 (RAX120) and have been experiencing similar problems since I unboxed the laptop.  It has an Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 adapter.  When I initiated a large download or started to consume a bit of bandwidth, or sometimes just periodically (on the order of a few times per hour), the WiFi would drop out in Windows 10.  Ubuntu Live ISO had no problems, and neither did Windows 10 when I used an external RealTek 802.11 AC USB adapter.

I figured it was an issue that involved interference, because I noticed another device would get knocked off of my network at the same time.  Usually one that I was close to, either a Google Nest Home if I was in my office or a Samsung Smart TV if I was in the living room, though that is just anecdotal.  I've never tried to access a different router or network, but the issue seemed to happen regardless of router settings or WiFi settings that I tweaked.  I am sure I tried all varieties of suggestions in this thread over the course of the last few months.

I was able to finally upgrade to the latest "May 2020" Windows 10 (v2004) update which was finally pushed to me this week, and I was hoping that would help solve issues but I didn't notice a difference. 

Today I was able install the latest driver version mentioned in this thread (v21.120.2), and the issue appears to be substantially mitigated after updating to this version of the driver.  I will have to continue to use and test further... but thought that I would mention my experience for others.

Good luck to others on this thread, it appears that things are finally moving in the right direction.

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/29849/Windows-10-Wi-Fi-Drivers-for-Intel-Wireless-Adapters?product=189347

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/downloads/eula/29849/Windows-10-Wi-Fi-Drivers-for-Intel-Wireless-Adapters?httpDown=https%3A%2F%2Fdownloadmirror.intel.com%2F29849%2Fa08%2FWiFi_21.120.2_Driver64_Win10.exe

[CSR]

Hi All,

As promised i'm back a few days later and happy to report i've had ZERO connection issues after disabling MU-MIMO on my Netgear R7000P router.

MU-MIMO is the devil and this wifi card is the devil's friend.

I'm still not even on the latest driver version because I don't want to jinx myself and ruin a good thing. I'm running on v 21.110.2.1 and have the adapter mode set to AC since my router doesn't support AX anyway .

Hope this helps anyone.

[Peter2020]

Still have issues after disabling MU-MIMO on my TP-link C6 router.

The AX200 drops connection to the router. When I disable the adapter and re-enable it, it connects back immediately.

Windows 10 Home 2004 19041.508

Intel AX200 Driver version  21.120.2.1

[cwash]

Just following up again, the latest drivers appear to have resolved my issue, I haven't seen any issues since the upgrade.

[HGTAN]

I have exactly the same problem. I have to switch of AC/AX mode and force it to 802.11n to use the 5G WIFI.

[HGTAN]

Update:

I just use the latest driver and have to go to router WiFi to set 5G channel bandwidth to state 20M or 40M or 80M, then it is OK.

Auto mode will failed.

[BenS1]

Hi all

I'm having very similar problems too with my new Lenovo laptop (AX200). In my case not only am I getting connection drops but a speedtest shows that I'm getting about 1mb/s down and 0.1mb/s up (Compared to 36mb/s down and 6mb/s up normally) and ping times up to 3000ms!!

My other non AX200 laptops all work fine and get full speed, but I do have another AX200 laptop (And Acer Nitro 5) and that has the exact same issue.

In both cases I've noticed that if I turn on Mobile Hotspot on my phone (And disable Mobile Data, so it's using my home Wifi) or my Range Extender (Which has a different SSID) then I get full speed on both of the AX200 based laptops! 

Obviously when using the Mobile Hotspot or Range Extender the data is still going through the same router, just with one extra hop in the middle. 

This suggests to me that there is some compatibility issue between the AX200 and my router (BT Home Hub 5, probably the most common router in the UK).

My concern is that I need to be able to use my laptop at various customer sites, so it's obviously not reasonable to say the solution is to change any settings on the routers. I can't ask big corporate customers to change their router settings for me when I got to site!

I hope a solution can be found, but so far no OS, Driver or Settings updates have helped.

One other question, has anyone else noticed that sometimes the AX200 problems can take out the whole network. i.e. all other devices suddenly lose their connections too? Kind of like the AX200 is swamping the signal or something?

Thanks
Ben 

[Movo]

Hi

I have had this issue as well and resolved it as follows:

1. Uninstall previous drivers
2. Download the latest drivers for Intel AX200 
3. Once the drivers are install logon to the router for your WIFI
4. All routers have different configs, bur for my router I have to go into the WIFI settings for the 5ghz AP
5. Set the country to USA
6. Set the 5ghz channel to channel 161
7. Save and restart the router
8. Connect to the 5ghz network

I have had this running for a few days now and did not get any drops in the internet connection on 5ghz. Previously my channel was set to 48, and the country was set to South Africa (which is where I am) and the internet dropped constantly on 5ghz with the AX200. I'm not sure why this only happens on the AX200 as all other wifi devices worked perfectly on channel 48, this is something intel needs to look into.

[Alberto_R_Intel]

Thank you for posting in the Intel® Communities Support.

Just to let you know, if any of the peers viewing this thread still have issues with the Wireless connection, please submit your inquiry on a new thread, the reason for this is that every scenario is different even if the same product is being used, so for us to better assist you and in order to try to fix the problem, please submit a new thread:
https://communities.intel.com/community/tech

Let me apologize for any inconvenience.

Regards,
Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician
A Contingent Worker at Intel