Low wifi speed on laptop with Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265

[CPenz]

Hello,

I've recently bought a new laptop (Asus FX503VD) powered by the above mentioned intel dual band wireless-ac 8265.

Already tried with three different drivers, first which was installed by default, then a newer one, and finally with the latest 2018 driver.

Intel ® PROSet/Wireless Software Version 20.40.0.1365 was also installed in the end, but no changes so far.

At the wifi settings it is connected via 5 Ghz with an Asus AC1200G+ router (802.11n - 300 Mbps and 802.11ac - 867 Mbps).

On the wired connection got 920/500 mbit speed with the desktop pc, so it's not an internet issue.

Signal strength should not be a problem, since the laptop is close to the router.

Would really like to get better speeds then 140 mbps, actually this is why I choose this laptop model with the intel dual ac network card.

I've attached a copy of the SSU text, also a screenshot with the best speed test result (as a sidenote on 2.4 Ghz got only 108/76 mbps).

Please help.

Thank you in advance.

[idata]

Hello Zen18,

We understand you're having performance issues on your system using the Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265.Looking at the report attached, we can definitely there is something strange going on.We can see that you're using the default adapter settings, which are optimized for 802.11ac connectivity from factory. You're also connecting to your router using 802.11ac. However, your connection rate, which is the speed at which your PC is communicating with the wireless router, is very low at only 173.3 Mbps. The expected speed should be much closer to 867 Mbps considering your network configuration.A very important question here is, are the slow download speeds only happening when connected to this network? If the answer is yes, you may want to engage your router support for assistance. If possible, you could test by factory resetting the router, configuring the network again, and testing your connection once again.First, let's try a driver only using a clean installation method:1. Download and extract our latest IT Admin driver package for your adapter: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/27618 WiFi_20.40.0_Driver64_Win10.zip2. Under Programs and Features in the Control Panel, or Apps & Features in Windows* Settings, uninstall any instance of the "Intel® PROSet/Wireless Software." When prompted, choose to "discard settings."3. Go to the Device Manager > Network Adapters > Right click on your Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265 and uninstall it. Make sure to mark the option to "Delete the driver software for this device."4. Clear out your temporary files: Press the Windows* Key + R to open the run box. Type Cleanmgr.exe and press OK. Here you will need to make sure Temporary Files are checked, you may uncheck everything else, then press OK.5. Reboot your computer.6. Go to the Device Manager > Network Adapters > Right click on your Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265 again, this time choose to "Update driver software..." > Select the option to "Locate and install driver software manually." Here you will need to direct the wizard to the location where you extracted the IT Admin package back in step one.Best regards,Carlos A.

[CPenz]

Hello Carlos A.

Thank you very much for your answer.

Tried the clean installation exactly as described, but unfortunately got the same results (around 140 mbps on speedtest), then did a factory reset for the router, configured the network again, and tested the connection, which is still around the same values (for some reason can't get past the 150mbps limit).

No other fast connections around to try, have to stick to mine, would like to mention that the router has the latest firmware installed.

Any other idea that I may try?

Thank you in advance.

[idata]

Hello Zen18,

Being able to test by connecting to a different network would be the best, as this would be the fastest way to find out if the issue is your computer or not.

Since that's not an option, don't worry, we do have some alternatives for you.

We usually recommend one action at a time in order to better pinpoint the root cause.

To see if your connection rate improves, you can run the following command:

1. In the search box on the taskbar, type Command Prompt, press and hold (or right-click) Command prompt, and then select Run as administrator > Yes.

2. Enter: netsh wlan show interface3. Note the radio type (should ideally stay at 802.11ac), and receive/transmit rates.

NOTE: Any links provided for third party tools or sites are offered for your convenience and should not be viewed as an endorsement by Intel® of the content, products, or services offered there. We do not offer support for any third party tool mentioned here.

1. Toggle your router's QoS (quality of service) settings: http://screenshots.portforward.com/routers/Asus/RT-AC1200G_plus/QoS.htm QoS for the Asus* RT-AC1200G plus Router Screenshot
2. Manually set your wireless channel: https://www.lifewire.com/wifi-channel-number-change-to-avoid-interference-818208 Change the Wi-Fi Channel Number to Avoid Interference by lifewire.com
3. Make sure your router placement is the best possible: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/27/wifi-router-placement-tips_n_6943024.html Where To Place Your Router To Get The Absolute Best WiFi Connection by huffingtonpost.com

Best regards,

Carlos A.

[CPenz]

Hello Carlos A.

Looking forward to try the new tips, will do that as soon as I get home from work.

The QoS is surely disabled in the router.

Thank you for your help.

[CPenz]

Hello again,

Back with the updates, the screenshot with the "netsh wlan show interface" command is attached and also a picture with the 5Ghz options in the router, maybe that helps in some way.

After enabling QoS, the speeds will fall back to around 100 mbps, so after a couple tests with the same results and restarts (both the laptop and router) decided to go back and disable it, this way at least getting the original 141/135 mbps speeds.

Here @manually set your wireless channel - does it matter what channels to try, and/or is it necessary to change the bandwith as well (four available options: 20/40/80, 20, 40 and 80)?

In the wireless mode menu we got Auto, N only, N/AC mixed and finally Legacy.

Not sure if I should list all the available control channels as well?

Thanks in advance.

[idata]

Hello Zen18,

It doesn't matter what channel you try, but we do recommend choosing a non-overlapping one (36, 40, 44, 48, 149, 153, 157 and 161). You can try setting the control channel to 48 and the extension to 153, for example.As far as channel width, 20/40/80 will normally allow your router to choose. It should result in your adapter connecting to the highest supported mode (80MHz, in this case). However, for troubleshooting purposes, we can try setting this to 80 MHz. If other devices start having issues, return to the original setting.20 MHz = uses one channel only40 MHz = bonds two channels together80 MHz = bonds four channels together.https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005799/network-and-i-o/wireless-networking.html Channel bonding increases the data rate because data rate is directly proportional to channel bandwidth.Since you're already connecting to 802.11ac, there should be no need to touch the wireless mode.Best regards,Carlos A.

[CPenz]

Hello Carlos A.

Finally we have a breakthrough.

As you recommended the channel bandwith was set to 80 MHz, also the control channel to 48, but the extension channel was left with the 'Auto' option, cannot change that.

Wireless mode also left on 'Auto'.

With these settings the speedtest shows a pretty good jump from 140 mbps to 355 mbps.

It's not the maximum speed, but actually it's much better now, it's a big difference anyways.

In case you got any more tips or tricks, would happily try them, but if not these are pretty good speeds for the laptop.

Thank you once again for your help, I really appreciate it!

Also thanks for the channel bonding link, it's always a good thing to learn something new.

Attached the new settings/speedtest.

Best wishes,

Zen18

[idata]

Hello Zen18,

We're glad to hear that manually setting your channel bandwidth helped.Keep in mind that your maximum download speed is roughly half of your connection rate. Download speed measurements don't account for network overhead (encryption, routing), user congestion and other environmental factors, which is why this is always a smaller number.For more information on why this happens, I've got https://blogs.intel.com/technology/2014/06/throughput-stupid/ another link for you.Do let us know if you need any further assistance, we're always glad to help.Best regards,Carlos A.

[sweeney515]

Hello, I have a desktop PC with the intel Z370 gaming motherboard with the built in Wireless AC 8265 wifi card with antenna. I am only connecting at 173 as shown in screenshot. I turned QoS off in my router and it made no change. I have 400Mb service from spectrum and my xbox that is connected directly to router does get that speed. I have a brand new Netgear XR1000 wifi6 gaming router.  The best i ever see on a speed test with my desktop is 120mbs. I checked router config and i dont see a place to set 80MHZ channel bandwidth like for this guy you helped. Any ideas for my router?