NUC D54250WYK/7260HMW why is 802.11n range so short ?

[LLeon4]

As my early post on 2/1/2014 pointed out, ever since first assembling this NUC with a Intel Wireless-AC 7260HMW, its connection range at 2.4GHz has been very short, so much so, unable to connect to either of the medium distance 2.4GHz APs (4m away thru 1 floor, 1 or 2 walls of a flat block) at either of the 2 locations I live at, yet my Nexus 5 smartphone next to the NUC, connects solid to either AP, as did a Toshiba L850 1D5 laptop with Atheros WiFi card, connects without problem. In 2014 my then 7 year old laptop with old Intel 3945 Wifi-G slightly better than NUC. As a result, I have NEVER been able to use my NUC WiFi for direct internet connection.

The IMEX connections to the 2 antenna fit well. Intel Proset in the NUC still shows TX power 100% 32mW.

Heard others experienced same problem on NUCs. Can you advise the Rx sensitivity of the 7260HMW and what gain (dBi) the D54250WYK internal antenna have ?

I had wondered if the range would be improved by fitting external antenna ? I see external antenna advertised upto 15dBi. Is there any recommended max dBi gain for the external antenna ?.

I find it mystifying a Nexus 5 smartphone with far smaller antenna than NUC, has far better range. Why should that be ?

If after testing, external antenna found to have surplus gain, If its feasable, I want to fix the RP-SMA bulkhead connectors in a good location on the NUC case. Have others found a good location ? If SMA too big, what about fitting a pair of IMEX bulkhead sockets ? ..of course that will add more signal loss.

I wondered if a new driver may fix issue or the mentions of revised 7260 card, but did not find other posts on this forum specifically addressing this issue.

Thank you.

[idata]

Unfortunately, your message was misrouted. We have forwarded your message to the appropriate support group and you should hear back soon. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

[idata]

paul456,

Please, bear in mind that the Intel® NUC Kit D54250WYK has reached end of support. Regarding the Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260, Intel has just released a new driver version: 19.10.0. Which OS are you using on this NUC so we can provide you the drivers for it.Best regards,Aleki

[LLeon4]

Thanks for your reply. Re. D54250WYK having passed end of support, I was unaware of that and so rather shocked when reading a reply to my other post same date on problem of unreliable 3.5mm socket for Skype connection, suggested the solution was an RMA within the 3 year warranty.

Re. the WiFi range problem, the problem I find in diagnosing the cause of the short range, is other than hearing of others experiencing same problem, there is a dearth of relevant spec on the 7260 HMW from yourselves. For example, I recenlty ordered a WEMOS 'computer on module' based on the ESP8266 Wifi chip for nodes in IoT project. The Datasheet on the web for their WiFi gives a table of Tx & Rx dBm for each Wifi Band, from which I see for 802.11n Tx +14dBm, Rx -72dBm, allowing comparison with others. The Datasheet also gives detailed energy consumption data. When I last looked at the 7260 HMW Datasheet, there was no Tx Power, Rx Sensitivity data, all I could find on energy consumption was a statement saying dramatically lower then prev. products. Although I assumed poor range is a hardware problem, either the 7260 having read it was on the 3rd revision, or the internal antenna design, hence my asking if a good solution was to switch to external antenna, and if there was a max recommended gain for a pair of externals, I did ask if software was the cause, but could not find any threads on this forum covering the issue. I would be pleased if you can throw some light on it.

You ask which OS. Everything is exactly the same as my post on 13/12/13 when I first built & installed the Kit. Win7 Pro 64-bit, the latest drivers on your download site, no BIOS update. nothing altered since.

Are you saying 7260 HMW Driver v19.10.0 significantly increase Wifi range ?

The only other thing I will mention, is that due to the gradually worsening connection reliability of the D54250 3.5mm audio socket for Skype, I bought a Plantronics C720 Bluetooth Headset. It did Pair with the 7260 but connection would drop too frequently for me to hold a reliable phonecall. Other than noting its spec stated it worked on the older BT v2 standard, I wasn't sure which end of the pair was the problem. As I am frequently on the move travelling I packed it away. It would be helpful to know if there is a diagnostic utility for Bluetooth connection issues.

Thank you

[idata]

paul456,

In order to learn more about the Intel® NUC Kit D54250WYK end of support, you can check this link: http://ark.intel.com/products/76977/Intel-NUC-Kit-D54250WYK Intel® NUC Kit D54250WYK or if you have specific questions about this Intel® Product and its capabilities, you can ask here: /community/tech/nuc/content Intel® NUC CommunityRegarding the Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260, the new drivers contain a lot of fixes and optimizations in order to provide best experiencing possible taking into consideration the type of network setup you have. The router plays an important role as well.Since you are using Windows*7, here is the link to latest driver package version 19.10.0. In this package, the driver version for this adapter is: 18.33.3.2 - https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/26242/Intel-PROSet-Wireless-Software-and-Drivers-for-Windows-7-?product=75439 Intel® PROSet/Wireless Software and Drivers for Windows 7* - File name: Wireless_18.10.0_PROSet64_Win7.exeRegarding power/energy consumption, actual platform battery life savings will vary depending on your specific operating system, hardware and software configuration as informed here:http://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/documents/product-briefs/dual-band-wireless-ac-7260-bluetooth-brief.pdf Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 - PRODUCT BRIEFAs for Tx and Rx, this is what we have available: http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/network-and-i-o/wireless-networking/000005725.html Different WiFi Protocols and Data Rates Unfortunately there is no documentation related to dBm information.On this adapter, WiFi* and Bluetooth* share the same antennas so you may experience slowness if Bluetooth* is being used at the same time. Since Bluetooth works in 2.4GHz, our recommendation is to use 5GHz while using Bluetooth*.WiFi- range depends on the environment and other obstacles such as cordless phones, microwave oven, metal...etc. that might cause interference. In cases like this, it's advised to use third-party tools of your trust to identify which wireless channel is less crowded and migrate to it as this may improve the range. Please make sure the antennas are well connected and check the configuration of your router and also check for firmware updates.Check out these links as they may have information that might help you improve your experience.http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/network-and-i-o/wireless-networking/000005493.html Quick Checks to Improve or Fix Wireless Connection Issueshttp://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/network-and-i-o/wireless-networking/000005585.html Advanced Intel® Wireless Adapter Settingshttp://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/network-and-i-o/wireless-networking/000005544.html Recommended Settings for 802.11n ConnectivityWe hope this helps you to resolve this situation with the WiFi range.Best regards,Aleki

[idata]

Paul456,

We haven't heard from you since our last interaction so we would like to know if there is anything else we can do to assist you.Best regards,Aleki

[LLeon4]

Thanks for your suggestions. I have been away from base quite a bit. Also, I have an RMA for the NUC on another matter on which I was advised instead of repair you replace, and to remove ram, ssd, wifi before sending. I mentioned the longstanding problem of poor Wifi range asking if at same time they swop the 7260HMA for what I read is the 3rd version of it. I was told the replacement case has an improved internal antenna system, so checkout the new antenna before considering the 7260.

I have just compared my settings in PROSet Advanced tab, and only 2 diffs between mine and default: I had started with all on defaults, but on discovering the Range problem, thought to alter 2.4GHz Channel width from Auto to 20MHz, and Roaming aggressiveness from Medium to 6.Medium Plus, but seemed to make no difference. I have no control over the remote (1 floor+2walls) AP at either of the 2 bases I use. Although both locations are on the common Ch.6, as I said, my Nexus 5 smartphone with much smaller antenna has no trouble connecting, as did a Toshiba L850 1D5 laptop. I note it warns not to use WEP or WPA-TKIP encryption for data rates >54Mbps. I use Authentication WPa2-Personal, Encryption AES-CCMP. Might that affect Range ?

In my UK location I normally use the Nexus 5 as AP & 3G internet access positioned 1 m from the NUC. PROSet AP Connection Details report AP Signal Strength -42 to -47dBm and 'Speed' = 72Mbps. Is this normal, and does it throw any light on the problem ?

If I bring the Nexus 5 to 18 inches from the NUC both on same desk, PROSet reports -47 to -53dBm

(the Nexus is permanently on mains-power.)

In your 'Quick Checks to improve or Fix Wireless Connection Issues', only the previously suggested 'have you the latest driver' may be relevant. Although there are other APs on 2.4GHz Ch.6 they are much further away than 1 floor+2walls & no other electronic equipment or uWave ovens operating within above range. Might the make of internal SSD make a difference ?

Not that I can control either of the remote AP's, curious WHY you recommend using ONLY Ch.1, 6, or 11 in 2.4GHz band ?

It maybe next week before I can return the NUC-i5 as its in heavy use when I am here, and last time I briefly switched on my backup NUC (2820BayTrail) in case this one went down, it would not boot. (I switch it on every 6 months to check it still works) Once I get an alternative machine running I will return this NUC to take things forward.

Best regards

[idata]

Paul456,

Answering to your question, the reason channel 1, 6 and 11 were suggested is because these are usually less crowded channels so the level of interference is minimum. Additionally, you can try the following steps that might improve your connectivity.1. Got to control Panel >> hardware and sound >> Power Option and set it to High Performance and apply to the default settings.2. Change Advanced Power Settings >> Wireless Adapter settings >> power saving mode and make sure both on battery and Plugged in are set to Maximum Performance3. Go to Device manager , right click on the adapter, select Properties, then select Advanced tab and disable U-APSD.4. Set the wireless mode to 802.11a/b/g according to the support mode of your router.5. Set Roaming Aggressiveness to Lowest.6. Set the Ad Hoc QoS Mode to WMM disabled.7. Disable Bluetooth* if not in use.Let us know if this helped you.Best regards,Aleki

[idata]

Paul456,

We haven't heard from you since we've sent you our last recommendation so we would like to know if the suggestions we have sent you helped you to resolve the situation.Best regards,Aleki