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Issues with driver 22.110.1 and newer in mixed AX/AC environment

Thomas_I_samohT
1,702 Views

Hello,

I already described the issue I found in a separate thread (https://community.intel.com/t5/Wireless/AX200NGW-not-connect-with-Wi-Fi-6-protocol-802-11ax-in-Win-10-on/m-p/1374117#M41292) but got recommendation to open a separate discussion.

First of all my technical environment:

I am using a Wi-Fi 6 (AX) router (AVM FRITZ!Box 6660 Cable, 2x2 MU-MIMO) together with a Wi-Fi 5 (AC) repeater (AVM FRITZ!Repeater 2400, 4x4). Repeater is also using the WLAN to connect to the router.

I am using 2 laptops with Intel AX NICs:

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 Carbon with Intel AX210 (was shipped with Realteak NIC but I replaced it by Intel)

Lenovo Yoga S740 with Intel AX201

Until driver version 22.100.x everything worked fine. Depending on proximity and signal strength both Laptops connected either to the router with AX or to repeater with AC.

All devices are capable of using 160 MHz channel bandwidth for 5 GHz network. Consequently I get up to ...

2.4 Gbps gross speed when laptops connect directly to the router (net speed limited by my home internet connection: 1.0 Gbps).

1.733 Gbps gross speed when laptops are connected to the repeater, however, the net speed is no more than ~350 Mbps.

Starting with driver version 22.110.1 (also tested for current version 22.120.1) the laptops will no longer connect to the router but only stay connected to the repeater, even in places where signal strength of the router is significantly higher (i.e., in 1.5 meters distance between router and laptop). Of course, the setting "802.11n/ac/ax Wireless Mode or HT Mode" in advanced properties of the driver/device is set to value "802.11ax" on both laptops.

I have already found out the following:

1) On the laptop with AX210 NIC I recently installed a fresh Windows 11 Professional (parallel installation into vhdx) and, immediately after installation, downloaded & installed the newest available Intel Wi-Fi driver 22.120.1 but the issue is the same. This makes me conclude that it is not a matter of "clean driver installation. As soon as I downgrade the driver to 22.100.1 (with cab file from Windows Update Catalog) the issue is resolved.

2) When I change the setting "802.11n/ac/ax Wireless Mode or HT Mode" in advanced adapter settings from 802.11ax to 802.11ac the laptop also connects to the router (of course only with AC speed) - recently tested with the laptop with AX210 NIC and Wi-Fi driver 22.120.1.

 

3) (now set advanced properties back to "802.11ax"...) As soon as I remove the repeater from the network, the laptops also connect to the router (with AX), but this is not a solution for me because in certain areas of our apartment the signal strength of the router is too weak.

The error is perfectly predictable and can be easily re-produced: as soon as I change to Wi-Fi driver version 22.110.1 or higher: no AX connection to the router. Downgrading back to 22.100.1 or earlier: AX connection to the router without any problems.

This is also the workaround that I can perfectly live with for the time being, i.e., to stay with driver 22.100.1.

Overall my observations and tests make me think that, starting with Wi-Fi driver version 22.100.1, Intel changed something that is causing the problem in my environment.

Despite of my workaround I still hope it will be resolved in a future version of the driver.

 

 

 

 

 

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13 Replies
Alberto_R_Intel
Moderator
1,653 Views

Thomas_I_samohT, Thank you for posting in the Intel® Communities Support.


In order for us to provide the most accurate assistance on this scenario, we just wanted to confirm a few details about your system:

Are the laptops new?

When did you purchase them?

Did you make any recent hardware/software changes besides updating the wireless driver that might cause this problem?

Regarding the wireless cards, just to confirm, the Intel® AX210 was purchased separately, and the Intel® AX201 came installed on the computer, is that correct?

Which Windows* version are you using?

Does the problem happen at home or in the work environment?

Please attach the SSU report for both laptops so we can verify further details about the components in your platforms, check all the options in the report including the one that says "3rd party software logs":

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25293/Intel-System-Support-Utility-for-Windows-?product=91600


Any questions, please let me know.


Regards,

Albert R.


Intel Customer Support Technician



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lmeyer
Beginner
1,631 Views

Hi,

 

I’ve basically the same issue:

I am using 4 laptops with the following NIC:

  • Intel AX200
  • Intel AX210
  • Intel AX201
  • Killer WIFI6 AX1650x

With a mix of win 10/11 updated or not.

The access point is an Asus ax92u Wi-Fi tri-band 4x4 ac/ax

Using the Intel driver 2.100.1, no problem, all are connected to AX.

I soon as I upgrade to 2.110.1 or 2.120.1 they ALL connect to AC only.

Other devices with non-intel WIFI card connect with AX.

I came to the conclusion that is a driver issue and seems to be a problem of negotiation between AX and AC.

Need some help here…

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Thomas_I_samohT
1,601 Views

Hello lmeyer,

Yes, your issue looks similar to mine.

But there is also one difference. You are only using a router, but no additional repeater?

Because for me, drivers 22.110.1 and 22.120.1 work fine with my router (also in AX mode), when the repeater is not part of the network. But as soon as the repeater goes only, both devices will connect only to the repeater in AC mode. In this case the laptops entirely avoid any connection to the router, even in areas where signal strenght of the router would be significantly better.

Unfortunately, I don't have another repeater that support WiFi 6, so I cannot test, if there would be an issue or not.

Regards

Thomas

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Thomas_I_samohT
1,601 Views

Hello Albert,


Sorry for my late reply. Anyhow, here come the answers to your questions..

| Are the laptops new?

| When did you purchase them?

Lenovo Yoga S740 14IIL is already 2.5 years old.

And the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 Carbon I received in December last year.

But originally both were new, ordered directly at Lenovo.

| Did you make any recent hardware/software changes besides updating the wireless driver that might cause this problem?

No changes. With the Slim 7 Carbon I don't have long term experience, but the Yoga S740 is exactly the same as I when I ordered it.

And regarding SW changes. Of course there are a lot of changes, but the problem also occurrs in a freshly installed OS environment without any 3rd party software installed (except drivers)

| Regarding the wireless cards, just to confirm, the Intel® AX210 was purchased separately, and the Intel® AX201 came installed on the computer, is that correct?

Correct.

| Which Windows* version are you using?

Both run on Windows 10 Pro (v21H2) with all updates. Bot on the Yoga Slim 7 Carbon I had already installed Windows 11 Pro (and still have as parallel installation on virtual hard disk/vhdsk) but the problem is the same in Windows 11.

| Does the problem happen at home or in the work environment?

Both are private devices and I only these in home environment.

| Please attach the SSU report for both laptops so we can verify further details about the components in your platforms, check all the options in the report including the one that says "3rd party software logs":

I am currently not at home, but on vacation. Thus, I only have the Yoga Slim 7 Carbon here, while the other laptop stayed at home. Therefore, I cannot provide both until next week. Is there any way to submit the data securely, not in open forum on the internet?

 

Regards

Thomas

 

 

 

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lmeyer
Beginner
1,579 Views

Hi Thomas, Albert,

 

I fact I have tested with 3 different Asus aX92u in Access Point mode, with different firmware, 4 Intel nic (ac200, ax2011, ax210, Killer WIFI6 AX1650x), 3 PCs (2 Dell, 1 MSI, win10/11)… All combination possible, one change at a time. The result is the same: connect to AX with 22.100, not with the newer driver release.

The only way I can connect with these nics to AX using 22.110 / 22.120 is to disable the 5Ghz-1 (ac) radio. radio.

It is a driver issue as other non-intel devices work flawlessly in AX and with Ubuntu too.

 

Ax210 / Driver 22.100 --> AX --> ASUS ax92u (AP)

Ax210 / Driver 22.110 --> AC --> ASUS ax92u (AP)

Ax210 / Driver 22.120 --> AC --> ASUS ax92u (AP)

 

Regards,

Laurent

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Alberto_R_Intel
Moderator
1,530 Views

Hello Thomas_I_samohT, Thank you very much for providing that information.

 

"I am currently not at home, but on vacation. Thus, I only have the Yoga Slim 7 Carbon here, while the other laptop stayed at home. Therefore, I cannot provide both until next week. 

No problem at all. Actually, if it is ok with you, we can first start working with the Yoga Slim 7 Carbon, and then we can continue with the Lenovo Yoga S740.

 

"Is there any way to submit the data securely, not in open forum on the internet?" Sure, I will send you an email and once you get the chance, you can reply to it with the SSU report. Please verify your inbox.

 

lmeyer, Thank you for posting in the Intel® Communities Support.

 

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

 

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lmeyer
Beginner
1,522 Views
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Alberto_R_Intel
Moderator
1,496 Views

lmeyer, Thank you very much for sharing those updates.

 

No need to apologize. "Here is the link to the new thread" Perfect, an agent will further assist you on this matter.

 

Regards,

Albert R.

 

Intel Customer Support Technician

 

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lmeyer
Beginner
1,273 Views

Still no answer on my "new" thread...

Anyone?

Thank you,

Laurent

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Alberto_R_Intel
Moderator
1,419 Views

Thomas_I_samohT, Thank you very much for providing the SSU report from the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 Carbon.


Based on the information shown in the SSU document, currently, as you mentioned, the wireless driver version installed on your computer is 22.100.0.3.


We always recommend to install the wireless driver provided by the manufacturer of the computer, since that driver was heavily customized by them to work with your specific platform. In this case, since the wireless card was purchased separately, that will not be an option.


Even though the Intel® wireless drivers are generic and they do not contain the customizations done by the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer), for testing purposes, we can try on this machine a clean installation of Intel® wireless driver version 22.130.0 following the instructions in the links below:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/19351/windows-10-and-windows-11-wi-fi-drivers-for-intel-wireless-adapters.html?wapkw=ax210

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


Just to let you know, when you install the wireless card on a laptop that is what we called "Wireless Integration", and the thing about that process is that there are a lot of components that come into play, like for example: board, wireless card, drivers, PCI adapters, antennas m.2 ports, all those parts need to be compatible for the proper functionality of the Wireless connection. There is also regulatory information about the "Wireless Integration" that you can verify in the following links:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005687/network-and-i-o/wireless.html

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005846/network-and-i-o/wireless.html


We additionally recommend to get in contact directly with Lenovo Support, to make sure the latest BIOS version is currently installed on your device or, if necessary, to gather the instructions to do that. Also, to check that all the parts are fully compatible, to report this scenario and for further assistance and suggestions on this matter:

https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/


I will send you an email requesting the SSU for the Lenovo Yoga S740.


Regards,

Albert R.


Intel Customer Support Technician


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Thomas_I_samohT
1,411 Views

Thanks for your message. I tested the new Intel Driver 22.130.x already yesterday, but it showed the same behaviour as 22.110.x and 22.120.x Then returning back to 22.100.x - and everything worked fine again.

I will try to do a "real" clean-install (some else provided a more comprehensive and detailed list of how to do this in this or another thread). Or maybe in a free minute I will do a fresh OS installation on separate VHD and directly install driver version 22.130.x.

Concerning BIOS update: only since 1 or 2 days the very first BIOS update is available for this device from Lenovo. I will wait for 1..2 weeks before I install it, just to make sure that it tested appropriately by others

Concering use of Wi-Fi driver from Lenovo: in fact they seem to ship this device also with Intel NIC AX210 (not only the Realtek NIC),. Thus, they will also provide a driver for it on their support/download page. However, this driver is significantly older (version 22.60.0.6) so I would rather stay with 22.100.x which works fine for me (and is newer).

Regards

Thomas

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Alberto_R_Intel
Moderator
1,376 Views

Thomas_I_samohT, Thank you very much for letting us know those details.

 

"so I would rather stay with 22.100.x which works fine for me (and is newer).", Yes, that will be the best thing to do in this case even though the driver provided by them should be the proper one for your device that contains the customizations done by the OEM and it was tested and validated by them for your machine.

 

"Concerning BIOS update: only since 1 or 2 days the very first BIOS update is available for this device from Lenovo. I will wait for 1..2 weeks before I install it, just to make sure that it tested appropriately by others", Perfect, no problem at all, it is very important to have the latest BIOS version installed since it includes the fixes for most common issues that may address the issue that is happening with your system.

 

Regards,

Albert R.

 

Intel Customer Support Technician

 

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Thomas_I_samohT
1,148 Views

Just a small and final update on this topic (even though it is a bit older already).

 

I have replaced the AVM FRITZ!Repeater 2400 (with Wi-Fi 5 / AC) by a AVM FRITZ!Repeater 1200 AX (with Wi-Fi 6).

Now also with newer Intel driver (22.140.0.3) the Laptop (Yoga 7 Slim Carbon) also connects to either the Router or the repeater,  whatever is closer or has better signal strength.

This makes me conclude that the drivers after 22.100 have (had) an issue with the mixed environment of a router with Wi-Fi 6 and a repeater with Wi-Fi 5 only.

Anynow, with the changes in my network I can upgrade to the latest Intel driver, so for me the issue doesn't exist any longer.

KR

Thomas

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