My Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265 does not automatically connect to 2.4GHz WiFi, when the SSID of the WiFi is same with 5GHz, and the 5GHz WiFi signal is poor.

[SCHIN22]

OS: Windows 10.

Intel WiFi driver version: 19.51.26.1

Advanced setting for the driver in Device Manager:

Preferred Band: No Preference

Roaming Aggressiveness: Medium-High

Information:

The distance between my laptop and the WiFi router is about 1 floor. My laptop was located at upper floor, while the WiFi router was located at lower floor.

The SSID for 2.4GHz and 5GHz are the same. The password also the same.

Other devices:

My Android smartphone, which support both 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFi, will connect to the stronger WiFi network. This mean it will connect to the stronger 2.4GHz WiFi when the 5GHz WiFi signal is poor. No need to apply any setting.

My laptop WiFi issue:

If the SSID of the 2.4GHz WiFi and 5GHz WiFi is the same, even when the 5GHz WiFi signal is very poor and the 2.4GHz WiFi signal is still very strong, the internal Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265 of my laptop will keep connected to the 5GHz WiFi. I can see the connected WiFi band through Windows setting.

I would like my laptop to use the 5GHz WiFi band when the 5GHz WiFi signal is very strong, but switch to the 2.4GHz WiFi when the 5GHz WiFi signal is poor, just like what my smartphone did.

How to solve this issue?

[AndrewG_Intel]

Hello SCHIN22

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities.

In order to check this behavior further, we would like to gather more details of your system configuration. Please kindly provide the following information:

1- Is the Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265 the original wireless card that came pre-installed in the laptop or is did you installed the wireless module into the laptop?

2- Did this configuration and auto-reconnect setting work fine before? Please provide details.

3- Please run the Intel® System Support Utility (Intel® SSU) and attach the report to this thread.

3.1- Download the Intel® SSU and save the application on your computer.

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

3.2- Open the application 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".

3.3- To save your scan, click Next and click Save.

3.4- To attach a file, you must click the “Attach” option on the bottom left-hand corner of the response box.

Regards,

Andrew G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

A Contingent Worker at Intel

[SCHIN22]

To Intel,

1. The Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265 came preinstalled with my laptop.
2. The issue occur after I upgrade Windows 10 from version 1903 to version 1909 (upgrade by using Windows Update, not clean install).

After asking question, I had just reinstalled Windows 10 1909. I will try to monitor the issue for at least a few days to see whether the issue occur again or not.

[AndrewG_Intel]

Hello SCHIN22

Thank you for your response and for the details provided.

We noticed you are monitoring the behavior, please let us know if the issue has stopped after reinstalling Windows 10 1909.

Should you have additional inquiries, please let us know.

Regards,

Andrew G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

A Contingent Worker at Intel

[SCHIN22]

To Intel,

The problem still occur after reinstall Windows 10 version 1909.

The WiFi Analyzer app (https://matthafner.com/wifianalyzer) which I installed from Windows store detected that the 2.4GHz WiFi stronger than 5GHz WiFi. But, my computer still connect to 5GHz WiFi.

Sometimes, have to wait longer for the computer to connect to 2.4GHz WiFi.

Attached here with Intel System Support Utility report.

[AndrewG_Intel]

Hello SCHIN22

Thank you for your response and the information provided.

We understand that the issue persists after reinstalling Windows, and we noticed the laptop is running the generic driver for Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265, version 19.51.26.1

We would like to recommend you to test using the customized driver for your laptop provided by Acer*, version 19.51.11.2. Please follow these steps to perform a clean install of the driver:

1- Get the latest Wireless LAN Driver from your computer manufacturer's website*:

https://www.acer.com/ac/en/ID/content/support-product/7582?b=1

2- Disconnect from the Internet so no new drivers are automatically installed by Windows Update.

3- Uninstall the Intel® PROSet/Wireless Software and driver from Windows® >> Apps & Features.

When prompted, choose to discard settings.

4- Uninstall your wireless driver (if still present) from Device Manager.

Windows* with an inbox driver may natively support some wireless adapters. You can't uninstall an inbox driver (you won't see the "Delete the driver software for this device" option). Proceed to the next step if you start seeing the same version of the driver installed automatically after it’s uninstalled.

• Go to Device Manager.
• Expand the Network Adapters category.
• Right-click your Intel Wireless Adapter and choose to uninstall it.
• Make sure to select the option to Delete the driver software for this device.

5- Restart your computer.

6- Locate the driver you downloaded back in Step 1. Run as administrator, and follow the wizard to completion.

7- Set the Preferred Band to "No Preference"

8- Reconnect to the Internet and test the behavior.

Additionally, we noticed that there are 2 newer BIOS versions available for your laptop (1.16 and 1.15).

https://www.acer.com/ac/en/ID/content/support-product/7582?b=1

As a suggestion, you may check with ACER® support team if those BIOS versions may include fixes or improvement regarding Wireless functionality intended to improve the Wireless card/software performance.

If the issue persists, please confirm the following information:

1- You mentioned the SSID and password are the same for both bands 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. Are these SSID coming from the same Access Point device (AP)?

2- Access Point / Router brand and model, as well as the firmware version:

3- If you move closer to the AP, Is the behavior better?

4- How long do you have to wait for the computer to connect to the 2.4GHz Network?

Regards,

Andrew G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

A Contingent Worker at Intel

*Links to third-party sites and references to third-party trademarks are provided for convenience and illustrative purposes only. Unless explicitly stated, Intel® is not responsible for the contents of such links, and no third party endorsement of Intel® or any of its products is implied.

[SCHIN22]

1. It is the same AP.
2. The router is D-Link DIR-842 hardware version C2 provided by my internet service provider. Firmware version is 3.01TM.
3. Haven't try moving closer but my smartphone with the same distance has no such problem. I had tried to use WiFi Analyzer app ( https://www.microsoft.com/en-my/p/wifi-analyzer/9nblggh33n0n?activetab=pivot:overviewtab ) to analyze WiFi. The app can detect 2.4GHz and 5GHz. When my laptop still connected to the 5GHz WiFi, the app detect that 2.4GHz WiFi is stronger.
4. It takes very long time for my laptop to switch from poor signal 5GHz WiFi to better signal 2.4GHz WiFi. Sometimes, it does not switch until I disable WiFi and enable WiFi again. Sometimes, I have to disable and enable WiFi a few times in Windows to connect to the 2.4GHz WiFi.

[AndrewG_Intel]

Hello SCHIN22

Thank you for your response.

Since you replied back with additional details we requested, we believe that the issue persists after trying the clean install of the driver using the driver provided by ACER®. Is this correct?

We would like to recommend you to check in the Router Settings for an option (or a similar one) regarding "short or long preamble" and test setting it to "Short preamble". You may check with D-Link support team or with your ISP (Internet service provider) for additional details on how to check if this setting is available.

Also, we tried to check for firmware details regarding your Router model "D-Link DIR-842 hardware version C2". However, it seems that there are different revision numbers (C1, C2, C3, etc.). We found this link but we are not sure if this refers to your specific Router revision number that shows firmware version 3.01 as the latest one available:

*https://www.dlink.com.sg/dir-842/#firmware

In this case, we would like to suggest you check with your ISP and/or D-Link if this is the latest firmware or if there is a newer one available that may help to improve this behavior.

Feel free to report back the outcome of the steps.

Regards,

Andrew G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

A Contingent Worker at Intel

*Links to third-party sites and references to third-party trademarks are provided for convenience and illustrative purposes only. Unless explicitly stated, Intel® is not responsible for the contents of such links, and no third party endorsement of Intel® or any of its products is implied.

[AndrewG_Intel]

Hello SCHIN22

We would like to know if you were able to check our previous post and the recommendations. Feel free to share the outcome of the steps.

Regards,

Andrew G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

A Contingent Worker at Intel

[AndrewG_Intel]

Hello SCHIN22

We have not heard back from you and we are wondering if the issue is solved after trying all the steps we recommended. If the issue persists, and since you mentioned it started to occur after a Windows® upgrade from version 1903 to 1909, we recommend you to check this issue further with Microsoft® support to see if it is triggered by a specific feature or setting in the new version 1909, as well they may assist you with steps to try a rollback to the previous version 1903.

Additionally, you can also check with ACER® support to see if the laptop requires a newer customized driver to work properly with the just upgraded version of Windows® 1909.

Best regards,

Andrew G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

A Contingent Worker at Intel

[SCHIN22]

I ended up changing the SSID of 5GHz WiFi, making it different with 2.4GHz WiFi.​

[AndrewG_Intel]

Hello SCHIN22

We would like to know if the workaround you performed by changing the SSID of 5GHz to a different one and using 2.4GHz resolved the issue. If not, we recommend you contacting your Access Point (AP) or ISP vendor for additional guidance on how to configure recommended settings like setting "Short preamble". Additionally, it may be needed a repeater for better signaling due to floor differences between AP and where the laptop is located due to the range is lower in the 5GHz band.

Regards,

Andrew G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Wanner_G_Intel]

Hello SCHIN22

We have not heard back from you, so we will close this inquiry. If you need further assistance, please post a new question.

As suggested by AndrewG_Intel, we recommend that you contact the Access Point (AP) or ISP vendor if the issue persists.

Wanner G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

A Contingent Worker at Intel