Lenovo L14 + Intel 6E AX210 - AP Roaming Causing Loss of IP

[JoBob]

Hi,

Within our organisation we are currently experiencing wireless connectivity issues on our Lenovo L14 (Gen 2) laptops when roaming APs. These laptops contain an Intel 6E AX210 wireless chipset.

We are finding that at random times when the laptop roams to another AP (same SSID) it will lose its IP; sitting on a 169 APIPA address. Sometimes this comes back within about 5 - 20 minutes; other times we have to switch the laptop wireless off and on. To clarify; when the device has no IP it is connected to the AP which can be seen both with the signal strength on the laptop and it's successful authentication in ISE.

We don't have this issue with our L14 (Gen 1) laptops that have the AX201 chipset.

The only way we have been able to work around this issue, is by disabling all 5Ghz and 6Ghz functionality on the AX210 and forcing it to connect @ 2.4Ghz/g; of course this limits us to 54mbps and this isn't acceptable.

We have also tried updating the drivers to the latest ones release by Lenovo along with the latest ones from Intel directly  (22.150.0.3) and this has made no discernible difference. 

Laptop Details

Lenovo L14 (Gen 2)

Windows 10 Enterprise (21H2) (19044.1766)

Wireless Infrastructure Details:

Cisco 5508 wireless controller

Cisco 3702 access points

[Steven_Intel]

Hello JoBob,

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities.

In order to better assist you with this issue, please provide the following information:

• Was there any driver/OS update or any other change that may have triggered the issue? Or has it been like that since day one?
• Have you checked if the wireless adapters had the recommended configuration for 802.11ax (https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000057574.html)?

Best regards,

Steven G.

Intel Customer Support Technician.

[JoBob]

• Was there any driver/OS update or any other change that may have triggered the issue? Or has it been like that since day one?

its been like this since we bought them; we currently have roughly 200 of these devices with users; many of them are working from home where they essentially only have one AP (their home router) so didn't have this issue and the low number of on-site users meant reports  were sporadic and we spent time looking into AP coverage (not realising the the devices were actually fully connected to the AP, but didn't have an IP). When we recently started to get more consistent reports from people on site (such as directors) who AP hop and move around the building more frequently we managed to troubleshoot and consistently confirm the mentioned device behaviour, 

• Have you checked if the wireless adapters had the recommended configuration for 802.11ax (https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000057574.html)?

Yes we've tried to the recommended defaults.

[Steven_Intel]

Hello JoBob,

Thank you for your response. We are going to work on this issue with the information provided. As soon as I have an update or need more information, I will let you know.

Best regards,

Steven G.

Intel Customer Support Technician.

[Steven_Intel]

Hello JoBob,

Please provide the following information in order to continue:

• Have you tried a clean installation of the latest wireless drivers? You can follow the steps for a clean installation here: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000022173.html and download the latest drivers here https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/19351/windows-10-and-windows-11-wi-fi-drivers-for-intel-wireless-adapters.html
• To clarify, are all users with the laptop affected, regardless if they are working from home or on-site?
• By any chance have you tried with different APs/routers?
• Are the BIOS and AP/router firmware updated to the latest version available?

Best regards,

Steven G.

Intel Customer Support Technician.

[Steven_Intel]

Were you able to check the previous post?

Let us know if you still need assistance.

Best regards,

Steven G.

Intel Customer Support Technician.

[Steven_Intel]

Since we have not heard back from you, we will close this thread. If you need any additional information, please submit a new question, as this thread will no longer be monitored.

Best regards,

Steven G.

Intel Customer Support Technician.