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Intel Wireless-AC 9560 160MHz fails to connect to the 2.4GHz WiFi band on home wireless network

markf2748
Novice
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AC 9560 fails to connect to 2.4GHz band in Wireless Modes 802.11b, 802.11b/g, 802.11g, and 802.11a/b/g.

AC 9560 connects normally to 5GHz band in Wireless Modes 802.11a/g, and 802.11a/b/g.

The AC 9560 is in an Intel NUC8i5BEH running Windows 10 Pro 64-bit Version 21H1 with latest updates. 

AC 9560 driver 22.70.0.6 is latest available, freshly installed/re-installed multiple times with all older driver files presumably deleted, reboots, etc..  Same issue was found with 22.10.0.7 and 22.40.0.7 drivers.

Device manager Properties shows “This device is working properly.”  No errors found in the Windows Event Viewer.

WiFi signal strengths measured next to the NUC are strong, with 2.4GHz band signal about 10dB higher than 5GHz band signal.

An external Netgear A7000 WiFi USB3.0 Adapter attached to the NUC connects normally to both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands.

All other devices on the network connect normally to the 2.4GHz band (Win10 laptops, Win 10 workstation, Chromecast Audio devices, phones, etc.) using the same network security key.

Router is Netgear R6220 with latest firmware version V1.1.0.110_1.0.1.  The router works normally with all other devices.  It is set to “Enable SSID Broadcast” with Security Option WPA2-PSK [AES] for both bands and same WPA2-PSK Passphrase for both bands.

When I try connecting AC 9560 to 2.4GHz band, Windows says “Enter the network security key”.  I enter the known valid key.  Message “Verifying and connecting… … …”, followed by “Can’t connect to this network”.  Exactly the same if I push the connection button on the router itself instead of entering the security key manually.  This behavior is 100% repeatable, many many times.

Why does this AC 9560 fail to connect to 2.4GHz band?  Is it a driver bug?  Anything else to try?

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Khun_Doug
Valued Contributor I
4,940 Views

Hi Markf2748,

This is not an uncommon thing with some 2.4 GHz routers and some devices. Some devices, such as smart thermostats, other smart devices, and even specific network adapters, simply are not compatible with some 2.4 GHz access points and routers. I had a similar instance where a smart thermostat would not connect to a Linksys router, but other devices, including laptops and mobile phones, could connect without issue. My friend's wife had a MacBook and it could not connect to the home router. They had to add a special router just for the MacBook to be functional. You are not alone.

You can ignore it in your house and just stay with the 5 GHz band. At some point when you are ready to replace the NetGear router, your new router will likely not have this problem. I have an Asus router and I have yet to find anything that will not connect properly on either the 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz bands.

 

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markf2748
Novice
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@Khun_Doug:  Interesting, thanks.  I have two Google Chromecast Audio devices (1st generation) which exhibit a much more stable network presence on the 2.4GHz band compared to the 5GHz band.  The NUC doubles as a JRiver MC music server, therefore I need it to connect on 2.4GHz to use these Chromecasts reliably.  Also, the NUC can be remotely woken up from sleep over WiFi, but I have not been able to make that happen for the NETGEAR A7000 USB3 Adapter (it always powers off when the NUC sleeps).  Therefore I am trying to use 2.4GHz with NUC's Wireless-AC 9560.

 

The NETGEAR A7000 switches effortlessly between the bands, depending on its Mode setting.  It amazes me that an Intel WiFi device in an Intel NUC does not do the same.  BTW I also set the router on several different 2.4MHz channels and always see same behavior.

(a) Has anyone seen the Wireless-AC 9560 switch bands under recent versions of Win10, or (b) is it always locked onto 5 GHz?  If (a) then maybe I will try resetting my router and start all over again (a lot of work), or even test with another router.  If (b) then Intel needs to debug the driver, especially as I have a long list of devices that play nice with my setup.

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Khun_Doug
Valued Contributor I
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Markf2748,

The adapter will automatically connect to an access point or router on either band, provided the signal is something it can recognize. The router is operating on both bands simultaneously. dual band routers operate this way by design. The issue you are having is the signal from the Netgear router is not recognized by the adapter.

The one thing to check for your NUC is to be sure you have not inadvertently blocked the 2.4 GHz band. Some adapters have the ability to ignore or disable one of the bands. Your adapter may have that option and, if so, it needs to be changed to allow the 2.4 GHz band to operate.

But I need to emphasize my original point. Not all 2.4 GHz adapters and devices are compatible. I've personally experienced this myself. The only solution for me was to change to a different brand of router. If you find no problem with the settings on the NUC, your NUC is just not detecting the Netgear router.

 

markf2748
Novice
4,843 Views

Hello Kuhn_Doug,

Thanks again for all your valuable insights.  I have not inadvertently blocked the 2.4 GHz band on the Intel adapter.

Note that I can run the NUC using its built-in Intel Wireless-AC 9560 adapter on the 5GHz band, Mode 802.11ac at high speed (R/T 650/650 Mbps) and still communicate with the Google Chromecast Audio dongles (and other devices) operating on the 2.4GHz band.  The magic of a dual band router!  In a sense I'm all set without having the NUC itself communicate on the 2.4GHz band, and without changing routers.

The only impact for me is that JRiver MC + Chromecast seem to be more reliable when both are run on 2.4GHz band, but that is very likely a shortcoming of JRiver's communication with the BubbleUPnP server (which it depends on for DLNA to Chromecast conversion).  Pending more testing, I may need to use a workaround and report it as a bug.

It's still stupid and frustrating that a WiFi adapter and router, both from reputable companies, specified to run in the same 2.4GHz band modes cannot establish communications on that band, as you know.

Cheers

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DeividA_Intel
Moderator
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Hello markf2748, 

  


Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities.   

  


In order to better assist you, please provide the following:  


  


1. Run the Intel® System Support Utility (Intel® SSU) to gather more details about the system.  


· Download the Intel® SSU and save the application on your computer: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/18377/25293/intel-system-support-utility-for-windows.html?product=91600 


· Open the application, check the "Everything" checkbox, and click "Scan" to see the system and device information. The Intel® SSU defaults to the "Summary View" on the output screen following the scan. Click the menu where it says "Summary" to change to "Detailed View".  


· To save your scan, click Next and click Save.  



2. Have you update the BIOS?


3. Have you loaded BIOS to default settings?


3. For testing, have you tried with a different AP (Access Point)?






Regards,    


Deivid A. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 


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markf2748
Novice
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DeividA_Intel
Moderator
4,741 Views

Hello markf2748, 


  


Were you able to check the previous post and get the information requested? Please let me know if you need more assistance.   


  


Regards,  


Deivid A.  

Intel Customer Support Technician  


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markf2748
Novice
4,712 Views

Hello DeividA_Intel,

Thanks for your interest and persistence!  My BIOS and all drivers are the latest available according to the Intel Driver & Support Utility.  The only relevant WiFi settings in the BIOS are checked, so I see no reason to reset the whole BIOS to defaults.  I ran the Intel SSU utility and saved a report, but the support site could not be found when I tried forwarding the report.

After further testing, if I set the wireless properties as follows, then the NUC in fact does connect to the 2.4GHz Band in Mode 802.11g:

802.11 Dual Band --> 802.11a/g

802.11n/ac Wireless Mode --> Disable

With these settings I can choose to connect to either 2.4GHz Band (results in 802.11g Mode) or 5GHz band (results in very low performance 802.11a Mode).

My preference for 5GHz Band is the high performance 802.11ac Mode, so in this case I set

802.11n/ac Wireless Mode --> 802.11ac

which prevents a working 2.4GHz connection to be selected from the Windows taskbar WiFi icon.

So while I finally found settings that work, the driver for Intel Wireless-AC 9650 is very picky, fussy, far from optimal with regard to dual Band operation.  On the positive side, the Intel driver does respond to WiFi WOL, whereas my external USB WiFi does not.

I would not consider this issue fully resolved until the Intel driver is improved to automatically select the optimal Mode available for whichever Band the user chooses from the taskbar.

 

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DeividA_Intel
Moderator
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Hello markf2748, 



Thanks for the update, 



Seems to be that you have good control over the settings, however, in order to check this inquiry I will need you to attach the report that you saved from the Intel® System Support Utility to your response.


Once I received the report I will check internally the situation and check the changes asked could be made.




Regards,   


Deivid A. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 


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markf2748
Novice
4,670 Views

Looks like Intel SSU report contains registry information which might compromise system security, so I do not want to send the whole report and I certainly do not want to post it publicly.  What is the minimum information you need?

The report from yesterday (9/23/2021) when I was experimenting around contains many lines indicating failure of the Intel Wireless-AC 9560, such as:

...#SSU#...
#Logs#System Messages#Included
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Intel(R) Wireless-AC 9560 160MHz : The network adapter has returned an invalid value to the driver.


-------------------------------------------------------------------
The server {AB8xxxxxxxxx} did not register with DCOM within the required timeout.

Intel(R) Wireless-AC 9560 160MHz : Has determined that the network adapter is not functioning properly.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Intel(R) Wireless-AC 9560 160MHz : Has encountered an internal error and has failed.

 

5007 - TX/CMD timeout (TfdQueue hanged)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Intel(R) Wireless-AC 9560 160MHz : Has determined that the network adapter is not functioning properly.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Intel(R) Wireless-AC 9560 160MHz : Has encountered an internal error and has failed.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Despite these reported errors, the adapter functions perfectly normally during daily WiFi operation (with the exception of the topic of this post).  How much is due to a bad driver as opposed to a real hardware failure that does not manifest itself in daily operation?

I re-ran the SSU report tonight (9/24/2021) and saw the same errors while connected to my 5GHz Band in Mode 802.11ac, which has been operating normally all day long.

These errors from SSU identically match clusters of errors in my Windows System Event Viewer.   Unfortunately the SSU does not extract their date and time which would give you a better picture of their significance.  I note there were very few (2x 5005, 1x 5007) reported in the last 24 hours.

 

 

 

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n_scott_pearson
Super User
4,639 Views

You can use the Private Message (PM) feature to send the file privately to Deivid or any other Community's account. This does prevent the volunteers from being able to assist with its analysis, however.

To send a PM, simply click on the Message icon (which looks like an envelope and is near the right-hand end of the Communities banner. Then, click on the Create New Message icon (which looks like a pen and paper icon) to open the new message dialog. Drag the SSU report file into the Drag and drop here or browse files to attach box to attach it to the message.

Hope this helps,

...S

P.S. I have complained about the fact that the SSU report contains personally-identifiable information, but the SSU team responded that they believe that it is ok as it is. Shame on them. Obviously, they need to take some additional security and privacy training.

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DeividA_Intel
Moderator
4,598 Views

Hello markf2748, 


  


Thank you for the information provided 


  


I will proceed to check the issue internally and post back soon with more details. 


  


Best regards, 


Deivid A.  

Intel Customer Support Technician 


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DeividA_Intel
Moderator
4,545 Views

Hello markf2748, 



In order to help you further, I would like to confirm the following:



1. Does this behavior occur when running default values? Try to load BIOS to default settings:

- Press F2 during boot to enter BIOS Setup.

- Press F9 to load defaults.

- Press F10 to save and exit BIOS Setup.


2. Have you tried a clean installation of the wireless drivers?

- Driver: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/18836/28955/intel-wireless-technology-based-driver-for-windows-10-64-bit-for-intel-nuc.html

- Steps: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000022173/wireless/intel-wireless-products.html



If none of the steps above worked, I recommend you to get in contact with us directly for warranty options. You can use the link that better works for you:


- US, Canada: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/contact-support.html#@11 


- Europe, Middle East, and Africa: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/contact-support/emea-contact.html 


- Asia-Pacific: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/contact-support/apac-contact.html 


- Latin America: https://www.intel.la/content/www/xl/es/support/contact-support/lar-contact.html 






Best regards, 


Deivid A.  

Intel Customer Support Technician 


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