My intel dual band ac3168 has download speeds capped at 30mb, how can I resolve this?

[PPime]

Here's my system report.

[AdrianM_Intel]

Hello PPime

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities.  

• Is this the original wireless card that came with the system? Was the wireless card changed?
• Was it working at a higher speed before?
• What should be the expected download speed?
• How far away is the computer from the router?
• What is the model of your router?
• Have you tested a different network?
• What is the speed when it's wired connected?

Upon checking the official website of your computer I can not see drivers for Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 3168 only for 

Intel Centrino Wireless Bluetooth 4.0 Adaptor and Realtek NIC Driver.

Regards,

Adrian M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[PPime]

Hi Adrian,

Here are the answers to your questions:

• Is this the original wireless card that came with the system? Was the wireless card changed?

Yea, this is the original wireless card. I haven't changed the card.

• Was it working at a higher speed before?

It was a higher speed yes.

• What should be the expected download speed?

I have a 400MB connection, so I think it should be much higher than 30MB.

• How far away is the computer from the router?

The router is downstairs and my PC is upstairs, but I've tested my phone and other laptops upstairs, and they get much faster download speeds than my PC.

• What is the model of your router?

Netgear R6900P

• Have you tested a different network?

Yea, on my old router. Didn't have this problem. I don't have that router any more and it was quite old.

• What is the speed when it's wired connected?

I haven't tried that yet, as I don't have a cable and I can't move my PC downstairs or the router upstairs.

[PPime]

Here's the Intel AC 3168 I have. It should be able to provide a much faster connection.

[AdrianM_Intel]

Hello PPime,

Thank you for your input.

You might try the following steps:

You might try the following:

Access the advanced adapter settings in Windows® 10

1. Right-click Start in the bottom left corner.
2. Click Device Manager.
3. Click the > sign to expand the Network adapters entry.
4. Right-click the wireless adapter and click Properties.
5. Click the Advanced tab to configure the advanced settings.

• Change Channel Width for 5GHz/20Hz
• Make sure your Access Point (AP) or Wi-Fi router supports the 5 GHz frequency band and configured for 11ac mode.
• You can try Advanced Intel® Wireless Adapter Settings and change the settings like 802.11n/ac/ax Wireless Mode or HT Mode.
• Make sure your router has the latest firmware R6900P

You may also try a clean wireless driver installation:

Step 1: Get the latest driver 19.51.28.1.

Disconnect the computer from internet access while doing the installation to avoid Windows* automatic updates.

Step 2: Uninstall your Wi-Fi driver. 

Windows* may have an inbox Wi-Fi driver for your wireless adapter. 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. 
• Restart your computer. 

Step 3: Driver installation. 

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

Best regards,

Adrian M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[PPime]

Hi Adrian, I tried those things but the speed remains the same.

[AdrianM_Intel]

Hello PPime,

Thank you for your reply.

This might be related to the router configuration or the distance between the computer and router and it seems that the behavior started to happen after the router was changed for a new one even if other devices have faster download speed it could be due to different technologies and customizations performed on the hardware by the system manufacturer of the devices,  Actual wireless throughput and/or range will vary depending on your specific operating system, hardware and software configurations

After changing the bands from the router, channels, advance settings on device manager, clean wireless driver installation, the same behavior happens we will recommend you to contact the ISP service, they might guide with specific settings that can help you to increase the wireless signal and performance.

Regards,

Adrian M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[PPime]

Thanks. I tried TCP optimizer and that seems to have fixed the issue!