Sporadic but recurring connection dropouts on an Intel 6235 wireless adapter

[idata]

Dear all,

I have the same issues of intermittent sudden connection dropouts as reported by others with the Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235 Wifi adapter and the Intel Proset 15.x drivers!

My system is a brandnew desktop computer with an Intel i7 3770 Quad-Core CPU, an Intel Z77 chipset, an Asrock Z77E-ITX mainboard, 16 GB of RAM, and Windows 7 64-bit.

Previously, I already encountered the issue with this adapter's predecessor, the Intel Centrino 6230 and only managed to resolve it by going back to an older driver version. If my memory is correct, the Intel Proset 14.x version range worked flawlessly, but the 15.x drivers lead to the dropouts (I always use 64-bit drivers).

These can occur randomly after 5 or after 50 minutes. The adapter suddenly disconnects and won't reconnect to the wireless network unless it is reset. The wireless router itself is fine as there are over a dozen devices from all types of brands that connect regularly to it without any problem at all.

The fact that the problem occurs on two different cards (6230 and 6235) leads me to believe that there is a driver problem.

On the 6235, going back to a 14.x driver does not seem to be an option on the table, because the device seems to be only supported by 15.x versions. I already tried going back from the recent 15.2 version to the previous 15.1.1 (after uninstalling through the device manager), but the problem still persists. Now I just went back to 15.1.0 and it's been ok so far, but i'm not very optimistic.

I have tried different changes in the driver settings but with no success. The problem persists!

I'd be thankful for a solution.

Best regards,

Steve

Edited 9/5/2014 by John S. (Intel Customer Support).

The "/message/169514# 169514 Sporadic but recurring connection dropouts on an Intel 6235 wireless adapter" thread will be locked. This thread will remain on the forum for you to reference, but no new posts will be possible on this thread.

The 17.1.0 version of Intel® PROSet/Wireless Software and Drivers has fixes for connectivity related issues with the Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N 6235 wireless adapter. If you are still experiencing connectivity issues after installing the very latest software and drivers and you require further troubleshooting, please contact Intel Customer Support. If you prefer to ask questions, make comments, and/or receive answers on this support forum (Wireless Networking Support Community), please start a new thread or find an existing thread that matches your specific issue with your specific hardware/software.

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[PM5]

I can't believe it 1 year has passed and Intel hasn't solved this s...

I think of all the Intel Centrino card have this problem (mine 2230) , but most people don't know about this forum, don't use WiFi, don't speak english, exchange their notebook or give up and buy USB WiFi.

I think as long as this issue doesn't become public, known computer sites, newspapers, Intel will not take the matter so seriously.

I'm getting tired cause Intel doesn't make Win8 main driver available for download (it works well on basic level). WHY NOT ??? Haho not everyone uses Windows 8 system ! This f*cking Wifi problem has on Win7 too. If Win 8 is required for normal working, why didn't Intel say it ?

If I'd known this i would never have bought Intel (Dell) notebook...

[ARahi2]

One another user having the same issue with Samsung series 5 ultrabook.

I used Intel ProSet debug-mode to get more logs about the info, and here's the finding:

1) Authentication is successful: RxAuthSuccess ro:ut:er:sm:ac:ad:re:ss

2) AddToExlude WEV_EXCLUDE_LIST_REASON_802_11_ASSOC_FAILURE

And then nothing. Haven't figured out what that error message means, but apparently authentication works, but after that connection handshake fails.

[JB26]

Guys please send an Email to the Consumerist it's owned by Consumer Reports. If enough people send a complaint they may do something.

mailto:tips@consumerist.com tips@consumerist.com

I also filed complaints with CE Mark and the FTC/FCC.

[cmacd1]

That's a good summary, dude.

Need to be careful on trying to discover the root cause insomuch the event log I get when the problem hits is:

The description for Event ID 8000 from source NETwNe64 cannot be found. Either the component that raises this event is not installed on your local computer or the installation is corrupted. You can install or repair the component on the local computer.

If the event originated on another computer, the display information had to be saved with the event.

The following information was included with the event:

\Device\NDMP26

Intel(R) Centrino(R) Advanced-N 6235

The specified resource type cannot be found in the image file

This event is critical to the problem this thread is about. The root cause is around the binary NETwNe64 and how it interacts with the hardware, the operating system, the Intel PRO software and the wireless router. All the work arounds listed so far are to avoid this driver from erroring out which results in dropped connection. This is not exclusive to this card another intel card does the exactly same on another thread. If you aren't seeing this error than your issue is something else (not that it's less important but the error above is the driver error on Windows 8)

One of the main issues here is intel, in its infinite wisdom, has decided to bundle drivers across all its WiFi/Bluetooth/WiDi cards. Whatever intel muppet decided to do that didn't understand that when you bundle you hit huge problems when one of the products in the bundle has a driver issue. The issue here is to test changes you have to test across the set before release and so to find problems you have reverse engineer the whole set. This is why this has taken so long. If intel had a product manager who owned his own drivers and managed the product around them exclusive of the bloatware PROset software stack we would have had a fix ages ago. It's all down to intel being a chip maker and not a product maker. In short intel is not ready to do what it's doing and we pay the price with faulty products that can't be fixed in what the average man would say a reasonable time. For instance my Broadcom switch-out is stable, or will be until I can get the intel card back in to use WiDi as it says on the box.

Anyhow, it seems the base windows intel WiFi driver for windows 8 goes someway to prevent the error - although not all the way. As such, the closest you'll get to a working card - for most if not all the time - (when twiddling dials for newer drivers does not fix the issue) is to delete the Intel drivers and get back to the Microsoft one. Read earlier in the thread on how to do that. That will help for most of the time. For some WiFi routers you'll need to also drop from N to G only.

If you do this you might as well remove the PROset bloatware from your machine too, although this is not the root of the issue (but best to get rid of as much intel junkware as possible until the replacement driver arrives (assuming it ever will)).

In failing this get yourself either a USB WiFi transceiver and disable the Intel card, or a get a replacement card such as Broadcom and hold on until the intel driver arrives (assuming it ever will) before reinstalling it.

Hope this helps.

C-

[MMISS41]

As i have said before i have not had any problems with my 6235 even after 5 weeks of use, i have my route set to 50% transmit power and my 6235 set to lowest output power, i only have a 3mb adsl connection, i have an new netgear dual band router on order, i wonder if i will start having problems when i get it.

John.

[JB26]

Someone has created a Change.Org campaign!

https://www.change.org/petitions/intel-is-ignoring-connectivity-issue-with-intel-centrino-series-wifi-cards-issue-a-permanent-fix-or-upgrade-for-the-issue-for-all-affected-users https://www.change.org/petitions/intel-is-ignoring-connectivity-issue-with-intel-centrino-series-wifi-cards-issue-a-permanent-fix-or-upgrade-for-the-issue-for-all-affected-users

Please Sign!

[MMISS41]

My 6235 on Win8 x64 works great no problems with connection on my Sony vaio duo 11 , 5 weeks no problems , i like to have the latest driver, but the stock one worked fine also.

So why are so many 6235 owners having so much of a problem, and so many seem to have Samsung Notebooks?

John.

[JJant]

Probably because this issue is related to some features related WiFi N protocol version. If you have WiFi router without N or missing some other features, which might have something to do with this it works fine. In my case with my samsung series 9 it works fine at the office but didn't work at home before I downgraded driver to original MS driver.

[JB26]

It's not just Samsung, but many other manufacturers including Lenovo and Dell. Some users are not as educated as some regarding technology so they might not notice an issue.

[cmacd1]

Thanks Boz.

I have signed the petition. I have also written to computerworld and computerweekly to see if they will pick up the story.

C-

[Jose_H_Intel1]

We are sorry for the upset and inconvenience this has caused. We appreciate your patience and understanding while we have been working to create a solution for the connection issues. Intel plans to provide a 15.x software update in two to three weeks that includes corrections to improve connection stability on Windows 8* operating system.

Intel is aware of end-user reports of connection instability (connection drops, applications hang, etc.) with certain wireless adapters using 15.x software with Windows 8 operating system. Recent software releases have included corrections for several issues, but not all. Intel has identified a problem that is believed to be a major contributor to the issues and has a correction in development – this correction is planned to be available before the end of Q3.

[JB26]

" We are sorry for the upset and inconvenience this has caused. We appreciate your patience and understanding while we have been working to create a solution for the connection issues. Intel plans to provide a 15.x software update in two to three weeks that includes corrections to improve connection stability on Windows 8* operating system.

Intel is aware of end-user reports of connection instability (connection drops, applications hang, etc.) with certain wireless adapters using 15.x software with Windows 8 operating system. Recent software releases have included corrections for several issues, but not all. Intel has identified a problem that is believed to be a major contributor to the issues and has a correction in development – this correction is planned to be available before the end of Q3. "

Joe, it's like you are stuck on a broken record, you've said this before and there hasn't been any fix. Why should we believe you this time?

[PM5]

I think it's all just wasting time, Intel is playing on people's nerves.

Somebody should have sued them long ago...

[PM5]

joe_intel wrote:

....Intel is aware of end-user reports of connection instability (connection drops, applications hang, etc.) with certain wireless adapters using 15.x software with Windows 8 operating system. Recent software releases have included corrections for several issues, but not all.

...with WINDOWS 7 SYSTEM TOO !!!! Do you understand ? This is ridiculous already.

[cmacd1]

Joe_intel - can you please confirm with the Intel developers if this latest driver release is intended to fix the 12 month long WiFi dropping issue on win 8 machines. We need to know if the issue is considered resolved by Intel so we can test and report. I also want to pass the detail to Computerworld.com and computerweekly.com so they can be updated before running stories on this debacle.

C-

[AHesh]

One year and 50 pages of posts later... they say good things come to those who wait.. perhaps we should all get a free laptop (with AMD parts) as a bonus with this driver update

[AVall4]

Just created an account to say how I'm disapointed. Brand new Samsung NP900X3C and no way to get WIFI-N working well !

When n enabled : 1mos download... and... 4,5mos upload ! I UPLOAD FASTER THAN I DOWNLOAD !

When n disabled (=g) : 2,5mos download and upload.

Tried of course everything as read in the thread : all drivers and confs... nothing works.

What's strange is when i'm connected in N mode only 1mbs packets are exchanged (seen in Proset).

Please Intel fix this **** issue !

[DLane3]

With my new Samsung NP700G7C, I've got exactly the same problem. It's really annoying - come on Intel let's have a fix soon!

I've looked at several pages and see that an older driver should work, but which version - I'm on the version 15.8.0.5? It would be really useful if there was a sticky post with a summary of what the best solution is so far, but I'll keep reading.

[DNguy20]

POST FROM ANOTHER FORUM... http://forum.notebookreview.com/samsung/727499-wifi-remedies-samsung-laptops.html WiFi Remedies for Samsung Laptops

WiFi Remedies for Samsung Laptops

Discussion about WiFi issues (performance as well as disconnects) comes up repeatedly. Let me try and summarize the multiple remedies that I am aware of:DriversSome users have better results with Samsung-provided drivers, others with the latest Intel-provided drivers, and yet others prefer Win8's built-in driver. I prefer the latter on my older Series 7 (with 6230 adapter). But regardless of where you end up, I recommend first cleaning out existing drivers and rolling back to the Win8 built-in driver. Then you can add new drivers from there.Note that Win7 does NOT have built-in WiFi drivers for the Intel 6230/6235 adapters, so after this roll-back procedure there will be no WiFi driver installed -- which is OK, we're clean. But before starting the roll-back, download Intel's Driver Only package for Win7 (as described below), and simply install that afterwards.Use the following steps to clean out and roll back. This will also remove registry entries from connections created by previous driver entries:1) Uninstall any PROset or Samsung provided WiFi drivers using Windows Programs and features.2) Reboot (Win8 Restart, not Shutdown).3) In Device Manager, right-click the WiFi adapter and select Uninstall; when prompted, check Delete the driver software for this device and click OK.4) Still in Device Manager, chose Action (menu) - Scan for hardware changes.5) Repeat steps (3) and (4) as long as you still get that Delete the driver software for this device option. That's how you cycle back and delete each of the previous driver versions you have installed. When you do NOT see that option anymore, you're back to the original Win8 driver. Don't uninstall that device (don't click OK).6) Reboot.You should now be on Win8's built-in driver (or no driver in Win7). If it doesn't work for you (after testing the other remedies in this post) you can update to the latest Samsung-provided driver (using SW Update) or to the latest Intel-provided driver (using https://downloadcenter.intel.com/SearchResult.aspx?lang=eng&ProductFamily=Wireless+Networking&ProductLine=Intel%C2%AE+Wi-Fi+Products&ProductProduct=Intel%C2%AE+Centrino%C2%AE+Advanced-N+6235&ProdId=3502&LineId=1784&FamilyId=1783 Intel Download Center).From Intel, I highly recommend the Driver Only version, as opposed to the full PROset version which comes with additional and unnecessary bloat. The file should be called Wireless_x.x.x_Ds64.exe for Win7 and Wireless_x.x.x_De64.exe for Win8 (x.x.x being the version number).http://forum.notebookreview.com/attachments/samsung/100041d1375567874-wifi-remedies-samsung-laptops-intel-download-6235-wifi.png Note that when installing the Intel Driver Only package, it simply spins an icon for a while, and doesn't display any confirmation. Go to Device Manager to verify that it installed properly. The driver version you see there may not always match the package version (x.x.x).Power Profile SettingsThis has always been one of the most important changes to make on Samsung laptops to help with WiFi performance and stability:Using the Power Options control panel, Change plan settings then Change advanced power settings. Under Wireless Adapter Settings change the Power Saving Mode to Maximum Performance for both battery and plugged in. If this Power Saving Mode is set to anything "slower" than Low Power Saving (such as Medium or Maximum Power Saving) you are likely to experience disconnects.http://forum.notebookreview.com/attachments/samsung/100085d1375638355-wifi-remedies-samsung-laptops-power-profile-wifi.png Note that you must make this change for all Power Profiles that you use. That includes Samsung Optimized (default) and Power Saver (used in Silent and Eco Mode). Some people also use High performance or the good old Balanced.Personally I use Low Power Saving on battery in my Power Saver profile -- knowing that it will slow my WiFi down when I toggle Silent Mode with Fn-F11. But it saves a little juice, without saving so much that I get disconnects.While in there, consider also changing other important power settings as described in http://forum.notebookreview.com/samsung/713184-2013-series-7-chronos-ativ-book-8-15-owners-lounge-np770z5e-np780z5e-np870z5e-np880z5e-58.html# post9188768 this post and http://forum.notebookreview.com/samsung/713184-2013-series-7-chronos-ativ-book-8-15-owners-lounge-np770z5e-np780z5e-np870z5e-np880z5e-58.html# post9189099 this post.Adapter SettingsCheck your WiFi Adapter Settings as described in http://forum.notebookreview.com/samsung/689112-samsung-series-7-wi-fi-issues-2.html# post8868564 TANWare's post here. In particular, make sure Transmit Power is set to Highest.To get there, locate the WiFi adapter in Device Manager, open Properties (right-click or double-click it) and switch to the Advanced tab.<a href="http://forum.notebookreview.com/attachments/samsung/100030d1375556625-wifi-remedies-samsung-laptops-wifi-adapter-power-sett...

[DLane3]

Thank you so much - that's really helpful! I'll go through this and let you know how I get on ........

[DLane3]

As you suggested, I rolled back the driver to the Windows version and changed the power options and (after over a day), I haven't had any more problems - thanks so much for your help!