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Intel centrino wireless-n 2230 keeps dropping connection.

idata
Employee
53,811 Views

Hi I've been looking through some of the threads but i cant really find an answer to my issue.

I recently got my self a Dell Inspiron 17R SE and it comes with the Intel Centrino wireless-n 2230.

I cant really do much stuff on the internet or play online games as the internet keeps dropping out.

I have updated the driver and still nothing. I really don't know what else to do any help will be much appreciated.

Thanks.

some more information. I know its not the internet as my family can use there laptops/Games consoles without any internet issues.

OS: Windows 8.

256 Replies
jbb
Novice
1,168 Views

Why hasn't Intel come up with a solution. There is overwhelming evidence that this card is not working for its intended purpose affecting many users. Many computers are affected and the thing they have in common is the N2230 card.

Intel pick your game up, this issue has been ongoing for so long and yet no fix. How hard is it to come up with a new driver? and if its hard the resources Intel has they should have been able to fix it.

BPina
Beginner
1,168 Views

I am beginning to think that Intel's solution of "it works fine on Windows 8.1" is merely a ploy to drive sales of Windows 8.1. Intel and Microsoft have had a long relationship. I don't trust Intel anymore. If they really wanted to resolve this issue, they could designate a team to fix it in a few weeks at most. The fact that they havent suggests to me that this isn't simply a driver issue, but rather that it is a *hardware issue*. If Intel admitted to shipping hardware that turned out to be faulty, pressure would mount for Intel to replace the faulty hardware with something that actually worked. I guess in Intel's mind, this would cost too much money.

I think losing tons of customers and potential business will be even more harmful to Intel.

Sayonara, and thanks for nothing.

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jbb
Novice
1,168 Views

Intel has a monopoly and they just don't care because they know they won't lose too many customers to their rival AMD. The N2230 is their base card and it ships with a lot of laptops. Why isn't the problem being given the priority it deserves?

The only Intel response we have is from Joe and he really hasn't provided any fixes.

How long does it take to get an issue like this sorted?

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Jose_H_Intel1
Employee
1,168 Views

At this moment we are working with some volunteers on this issue.

We appreciate your patience and understanding.

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aolda1
Novice
1,168 Views

Amazing, okay thanks for the update but over a year of issues? I'm on 8.1 and have tinkered around and tried and perhaps its alright for a few hours, but, its impossible to download anything as the network card fails. Seriously has to be a H/W issue. Will hang on for a bit longer but its just tempting to rip it out and put a different network card in.

idata
Employee
1,168 Views

Hey guys, while there is issues with the new generation cards drivers (and not just Intel's either), the real problem of dropping wireless is with crap designed "Routers", that aren't designed for the new generation cards.

See my post here for the likely resolution and evidence that it's not really the cards fault....

/message/210160# 210160 https://communities.intel.com/message/210160# 210160

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JSpik
Beginner
1,168 Views

I noticed from my logs that there seems to be a roaming trigger event occurring whenever I lose connection.

I have tried every solution suggested, but what I am about to suggest, I have not seen before.

I figured that by reducing my roaming aggressiveness to be as low as possible, I might reduce sensitivity of the roaming trigger. I think what happens (in my case, at least), is that the NIC attempts to roam to another AP, and then it seems an authentication failure takes place. Perhaps my domain authN credentials are not being transferred through to the new AP?

Anyway, the change to roaming aggressiveness seems to be working for me. From fighting with connections every hour, every day for over two weeks, I have had a stable connection for an entire day.

I am a bit upset that my performance laptop is crippled by a faulty wireless NIC. We supported Intel, but Intel has not reciprocated that support.

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JSchm12
Beginner
1,168 Views

Since putting my roaming to medium-low it has helped really well. ONly one drop in two days from what I can tell. And it came right back on without me even having to run the network trouble shoot.

Ill put it at low and see if that improves it further.

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JClar18
Novice
1,168 Views

I've experienced the same problem with a ThinkPad T420, Win 8.1 and a Centrino(R) Advanced-N 6250 AGN. The connection problems started several months ago. The following appears to have solved the problem for me. I gone over 24 hours on different 802.11n networks without any connection problems.

 

My solution is to revert to an earlier driver. This was accomplished as follows:

In device manager - Update driver:

Select "Browse my computer…"

Select 'let me pick..'

Select one of the earlier drivers. I'm using the following driver:

ver 15.5..3.43 dated 9/5/2012

This driver is working with Win 8.1. I'll update this if problems start again.

Bottom line – appears Intel issued an updated driver that introduced a problem when connecting to 802.11n mode networks.

JSchm12
Beginner
1,168 Views

Where did you locate the earlier driver?

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JClar18
Novice
1,168 Views

They were on my computer. This computer is several years old & has 'accumulated' older drivers. I believe the older drivers are retained when updating to a new driver.

Three Intel & one Microsoft drivers are shown in the 'select network adapter' after selecting 'Browse my computer for driver software'.

Sill working great - get my normal 300 Mbps cnnection.

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JSchm12
Beginner
1,168 Views

Im sorry - I should have been more specific.

Was there a particular subfolder on the C-Drive they were stored or did you just search for them?

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JClar18
Novice
1,168 Views

I didn't specify a directory. Windows identifies the available drivers as I described above.

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BYeun1
Novice
1,168 Views

http://www.intel.com/support/wireless/wtech/proset-ws/sb/CS-034041.htm Intel� PROSet/Wireless Software — Intel� PROSet/ Wireless Software Downloads

Here is a link to previous releases.

I'm not quite sure if the previous releases are more stable than the latest but so far it seems to be working, although it might just stop working like previous "solutions" or give you really low speeds. Good luck trying to fix yours either way.

I couldn't find the 15.5.3 driver there so I used the 15.5.6

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JClar18
Novice
1,168 Views

Still no problems w the 15.5.3 driver. I'm using a different adapter type (6530), thus the difference in drivers.

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NDuy1
Beginner
1,168 Views

Issues N-2230 flutter waves wifi on Dell audi 5420 & Vostro

i use driver lasted for N2230 but flutter waves wifi, i searched on internet, seem issues the problem comes from the manufacturer, or the fault of intel? some forum, and some said article to issues card N-2230 error. I sit next to modem wifi (Standard N-300Mbps) but signal wifi very flicker

I used window 8.1.

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BYeun1
Novice
1,168 Views

Downgrading the driver seems to have provided better performance than the newer one. Performance from the 15.5.x driver does not drop out as quickly, but fluctuates every second. Though even with the fluctuations, the download and upload speed is still better than the new driver.

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JSchm12
Beginner
1,168 Views

After putting the roaming setting to LOW in the wireless card properties I no longer have any issues. I would advise others to do the same.

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aolda1
Novice
1,192 Views

Tried the low setting got quite good results once or twice i lost connection. Woke up today and its dropping more than ever twice while on here, Abysmal....what now? medium setting? roll back drivers? sit in loft? buy a new router? rejig all settings again? wait for intel? use network troubleshooter every minute? the choices are endless but the only real option left is buying a new card.

MBoon1
Beginner
1,168 Views

I think I found a solution. In device manager, click on "network adapters", then double click on "Intel Wireless-N 2230". Go in the "Power Management" tab, and un-check "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power". I had the problem for half a year, since I got my laptop. I just did this solution, now I am using Wi-Fi! Hope this helped you guys too!

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JAlle51
Beginner
1,192 Views

Finally found a guaranteed fix. Change your wireless adapter to anything but an intel manufactured card. I've continually had the same issue of wireless connection going limited or dropping since getting my HP Ultrabook over a year ago. Started with centrino wireless-n 2230 from HP and continually had limited connection. Had to reset wireless adapter every 10-20 min. Ended up returning pc for repairs which resolved until I updated to windows 8.1 and the same thing started happening again. tried every available driver for 2230 with no change. Ended up purchasing an Intel wireless-N 7260 hoping the newer card would be better. No change on windows 8.1 7260 had exact same issue. tried all fixes I could find online, every driver available from microsoft or intel and still no better performance. Connection would drop every 20 min or so. Decided to try non intel card. Replaced my wireless adapter with a Qualcomm Atheros card three days ago and my connection issue is completely gone. Didnt have to mess with settings, install any drivers or do any troubleshooting. Installed new card reset pc and it's golden. So relieved to not have to worry about not being able to use my pc because of this super annoying issue. Save yourself the headache, spend $15-$20 on newegg or ebay and put the intel card in the garbage where it belongs. Best $20 I ever spent. Sorry Intel. Love your processors but holy crap. Don't sell these cards if they dont work. Pretty sure I loose WiDi not having Intel wireless card but I'll be much happier having a stable connection using an HDMI cable for external monitors.

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