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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[bc6]

Don't bother requesting the test release, it does not exist. Engineering just wants you to run some diagnostic tests on your computer and send them a report along with filling out a document about your computer and network. Their reply was to use the latest driver and nothing since, that I've already seen on the forums.

It's just amazing that this problem can last for so long with both Intel, and in my case HP, throwing the blame back and forth. So long in fact, that the warranty on this laptop is about to run out with still no resolution in sight.

[Jose_H_Intel1]

I am sorry our engineering department did not take your case for this task but based on the information you provided, they believed it was not related to the connection drops being discussed in this thread.

You have recently shared with me that you are experiencing a code 43 in Device Manager after sleep. I am not sure if more people are experiencing this issue but you may elaborate about it in the other thread you created or via PM.

[bc6]

No joe, they responded to a diagnostic tool report that I was asked to run on my machine with no instructions to upgrade to the latest driver before running said diagnostic. Of course their reply was please upgrade to the latest driver and then end of story. I, like many other users here, had to select a driver and configuration for your malfunctioning product that works best for our own situation.

The new error 43 is due to the driver you asked me to upgrade as the solution to my long standing problem that all others have here, dropped connection and poor performance. As in the past, the latest driver did not fix the issue and introduced new ones, forcing me to return to an older driver that at least works.

[ewill5]

So my brothers company has ordered 10 HP 640 g1's all with this same Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235 card. Just so happens that they are a News Company!!! They ordered an 11th and filmed opening the laptop straight out the box and connecting to the wifi then pinging google. THE LAPTOP IMMEDIATELY STARTED DROPPING THE CONNECTION .. NOT EVEN AN HOUR OLD!!! Then they have a shot of all 11 laptops dropping randomly on pings!

They are suppose to release a story later this month and are selling it to CNN. The story has all of these threads listed with all the pages already coppied both on Intel's site and HP's.

Its pretty funny! Hold on guys.. a fix is on the WAY!

[lFidl]

Hi,

Figuered i'd chip in. bought a NUC D34WYKa while back chose the 6235 since it was listed on the support page. from there on everything went wrong i guess.

Been having problems from the start with very slow download speeds. these may have been caused by interference in the living room. unplugged everything besides the nuc and tv. to no avail im afraid moving the nuc away from the tv got my download speed up to normal tho. I guess that wasn't related to the 6235 now im facing the next problem tho same as everyone here. when connected i often drop the connection windows showing im still connected without internet. only option from here on is to disable the nic and enable it again.

The problem seems to be worse on 5Ghz speed is just bad at 4mb/s where i get to 25 on 2.4Ghz (25 is close to my max download speed) also dropping connection alot more on 5Ghz and to top it off resulting in a blue screen when trying to reboot during a connection drop. happned 3 times so far that being just yesterday. so im staying away from 5ghz for a while.

speccs: nuc D34WYK

intel advanced -N 6235

windows 8.1 64bit

router dlink dir 857

router has the altest firmware and wifi card has the latest driver

I have a n 6300 wifi card somewhere going to try that out tonight hoping this one doesnt have the same problems

edit- page 75 yay ^^

[Jose_H_Intel1]

@lewis_F, the description of your issue appears to be related to a "limited connectivity" scenario and probably affected by interference of solid objects in the 5 GHz band.

I suggest you verifying your network configuration: IP address, DNS, wireless security/encryption. Sometimes the firewall or antivirus may cause this type of issue.

Please make sure you have https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=23926 the latest BIOS for your Intel® NUC, a new power saving setting has been included in order to improve the connectivity with this adapter.

I do not recommend replacing the adapter with the Intel® Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 because it is not a validated model for Intel® NUCs, I suggest you using any of the other compatible adapters or contacting http://www.intel.com/p/en_US/support/contactsupport Intel support for further assistance on this matter.

http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/sb/CS-034605.htm Intel® NUC Boards and Kits — Tested peripherals

[Jose_H_Intel1]

Our engineering team is currently working on a new driver but while this is happening you may want to optimize your wireless network as suggested in the articles below.

http://www.intel.com/support/wireless/wlan/4965agn/sb/CS-028449.htm Wireless Networking — How do I improve my 802.11n wireless performance?

http://www.intel.com/support/wireless/wlan/sb/CS-031509.htm Intel® Wi-Fi Products — Possible interference by other wireless devices may impact 802.11n performance

http://www.intel.com/support/wireless/wlan/sb/CS-006321.htm Intel® Wi-Fi Products — Access Point (AP) firmware updates may resolve wireless network issues

You may continue reporting your issue with this adapter as indicated here: /message/233503# 233503 https://communities.intel.com/message/233503# 233503

[JWong20]

joe_intl

Does the new driver in works include fix for disconnection or "limited connectivity" when using wireless N in Dual/Wide Channel in 2.4Ghz band?

[Jose_H_Intel1]

Jose5 I have no reports of such issue but I will check about it. (Jun 24)

UPDATE: No known reports of such issue but you can report it if you are willing to try some troubleshooting.

[JWong20]

Hi @joe_int

I previously reported problem in previous posts. Basically when my internet router changes from Wide Channel to Single Channel, I get disconnected and stay disconnected

until I reconnect manually in Windows 7. The normal behavior would be that when the router switches to single channel the PROSET software/driver would make the switch

without interrupting the connection.

[EIT]

Note, edited this post after seeing a notice about a new driver being released to fix a major issue on the same day I posted this. A fix has been said to be released before for it though, just not with word 'major' in the description, so here's to hoping for the best.

I don't need to optimize my wireless network if every single other device in our company has no issues connecting to the APs we are using. Not that I haven't tried changing some settings such as: newer or older driver, changing power saving mode, rebooting APS, forgetting network, ....... etc(most of the examples that seemed to help in some degree for some, until they don't, for most).

So I got 2 questions:

1.Is there actually work being done on a new driver and does it actually address the issue(s)?

2. Am I better off buying a new card?

[CWan5]

I have purchased a Samsung Series 5 ultra book for my daughter about 1 and half a year ago with intel N6235 wifi adapter. It has the dropout problem all along. But it becomes more and more serious recently. All the other devices in the home including windows laptops, macbook, android phones, iPhones, have no problem of accessing the home wifi, except for the mentioned Samsung Series 5 laptop with intel wifi adapter. I googled for a solution and landed in this site. I then updated to the latest intel wifi adapter driver today and it worked for a short while (1 or 2 hours) and then the problem repeats.

I thought this may be a software issue. Then I tried the system with Ubuntu linux from a usb stick. Unfortunately the same problem also occurs. Could it be a hardware issue?

This is why I took the trouble to register to this site for providing the feedback to the intel. I am wondering how many other silent users like my secondary school daughter has suffered from the wifi problem over at least 1 and half a year.

I have browsed through the posts here and I am surprised to learn that intel has tried to solve the problem for more than ONE year.

It seems there will be no solution to this problem except for changing a wifi adapter.

Chunru

[DBran9]

Just got a new toshiba satellite laptop with the "upgraded" N 6235" card. I have the same issues as described above. Bluetooth mouse sporadically loses connection and shows up in event viewer as "Bluetooth HID device either went out of range or became unresponsive." about every 30 minutes. Also the internet will drop out and although it stays connected to 2 different routers I have tried it with, I can't even bring up the router config page and status is listed as "limited." I have to disconnect and reconnect to the router. I have installed the latest drivers for windows 8.1, currently "17.0.3.2". So far disabling the HT Mode seems to help but I don't consider this a solution. What are you going to do about this Intel? I paid extra for this piece of crap and am thinking about just returning the whole thing.

Update:

I think having the drivers to latest version is not a good thing. I reverted driver to 16.5.0.15 from toshiba driver downloads (Aug 2013). I also changed bluetooth to something called Intel(r) Wireless Bluetooth(R) 4.0 + HS Adapter VERSION 17.0.1401.422 I got from Intel site. On both bluetooth and wireless adapter I turned off "allow computer to turn off this device to save power" on power management. This seems to have resolved all issues for now.

[ABoya]

Hi All,

I had the sporadic disconnects ever since I bought my VAIO (with Intel Centrino N 6235) running win 8. It was fairly rare - maybe once/twice per day - so I did not really cared about it. At the same time 2 other pc's and a bunch of Androids never had a problem connecting to my Vigor home router.

Then about 2 weeks ago, I advised a friend to buy a Lenovo pc. So, I also offered to set it up for him. That is when all hell broke loose.... The Lenovo was running a Qualcomm Atheros wifi network adapter. The connection initially was ok but after 5-10 minutes it was being dropped, the driver reported limited connectivity, I could not refresh internet pages etc. I had panicked thinking that the new laptop was defective, so after 2 days, I dared to take it to my friend's house to test it out... MAGIC !! the damn thing connected (TP Link wifi router), browsed and downloaded everything like it was sitting right across the room....

Happily, I returned to my house and my troubled VAIO - which coincidentally had asked me to be upgraded to win 8.1. So, I thought that with the new OS, things will be cleared out.

Unfortunately, my VAIO started having horrendous hickups with the wifi connection, so much so that I had to stop using the wifi and resort to my mifi router (over GSM network), so that I could try to identify a solution.

The best I have managed so far is to enjoy less than 30 disconnects per day.... ( my work is all about IT services , so I need to be online almost 13 hours/day).

The following statements seem to be true:

*) This is not about Intel - from what google searches reveal is that a lot of wifi hardware is not performing as expected - in the last 1.5 years (2013-2014).

*) The problems are reported from OS's win 7 and later .... it seems that win 8.0 is hit the hardest - I have also seen similar reports with Ubuntu systems.

*) Microsoft might have the most stable driver .... even though all evidence point back to them as the culprits. The uninstalling all Intel drivers and booting with the ms-driver seems to give me a much stabler system....(I still have disconnects but not as many).

*) The power management options are causing serious damage to the stability of the system.... A sure bet is to "NOT" allow the computer to turn off this device to save power (network adapter settings from control panel). Also, adjust power management options for "maximum performance" .

*) Bluetooth also seems to be causing some interference with the wifi connectivity. My disabling bluetooth on the wifi advanced parameters contributed to fewer disconnects.

*) There are reports suggesting that the router's firmware should be upgraded. In general I would agree, but in this case, where the chip manufacturers or the OS guys have not produced something concrete and stable, I would not go touching whatever is known to work for the last 5-6 years (my router's lifetime).

These are the settings that have produced a fairly stable system for me.... unfortunately, my knowledge on wifi signaling is very limited and I cannot elaborate further...

802.11n Channel Width for band 2.4 = Auto

802.11n Channel Width for band 5.2 = Auto

802.11n Mode = Enabled

Ad Hoc Channel 802.11b/g = 11

Ad Hoc Qos Mode = WMM Disabled

ARP offload for WoWLAN = Enabled

Bluetooth(R) AMP = Disabled

Fat Channel Intolerant = Disabled

GTK Rekeying for WoWLAN = Enabled

Mixed Mode Protection = CTS-to-self Enabled

NS offload for WoWLAN = Enabled

Preferred Band = 1. No preference

Roaming Aggressiveness = 5.Highest

Sleep on WoWLAN Disconnect = Disabled

Transmit Power = 5.Highest

Wake on Magic Packet = Enabled

Wake on Pattern Match = Enabled

Wireless Mode = 6. 802.11a.b.g

[MBapt]

Sharing this because I was having a heck of a time with a 6235 installed in a brand new NUC. Not only disconnecting, but completely locking up the adapter. Only a hard restart would get things back to normal - briefly. Even though this is a 'combo' card - the drivers are actually in two separate installers. Being in a rush, I grabbed the latest driver when I searched on Intel's download site. But this was only for the Bluetooth radio. The wireless drivers are separate (currently from March 2014). Both are marked 'Latest' but the wireless is a few choice down.

So it turns out when I was having so much trouble with WiFi - I was NOT using the latest WiFi driver from Intel, but the wireless adapter was still using the Microsoft driver. It would constantly disconnect. When I finally figured out I had to download two installers - I grabbed the Driver Only installer for wireless (Have never seen the need for ProSet), I installed it to update WiFi, restarted, and now with a couple hours of heavy streaming to stress test - bluetooth (using a mouse) and wifi are working very well. Both running the latest drivers from Intel. Fingers crossed - but I wonder if many people have been upgrading Bluetooth and not realizing the wifi driver isn't part of it, so they continue to have lots of problems.

This is on Windows 8.1 64bit.

Also make SURE your driver ends in e164, NOT e64 if you have Windows 8.1 as e64 is for Windows 8 (they might be identical - just unusual for a driver set ot to be combined)

I did NOT make any tweaks to my configuration - all default.

UPDATE: Not 15 mins after I posted this - the adapter locked up again. Already ordered a Broadcom card to replace it with and an Intel 3160 w/Bluetooth to try since having bluetooth is a nice bonus. But have wasted way too much time screwing with this - can't believe Intel still hasn't been able to resolve whatever is causing this for so many people.

Bluetooth driver Intel v17.0.1405.460

Wifi Driver Intel v15.12.0.6

Windows 8.1 64 bit

Intel NUC D54250WYB

I've seen the issue connecting to 2.4GHz WPA2 WiFi (TP-Link WDR3600) and also an open WiFi network. No encryption.

For kicks while I wait for my new card to arrive, I set Channel Width to Auto instead of hard locking it to 20. Though you'd expect that to cause more problems vs less (I have seen 20/40 auto mode do all sorts of weird things on routers).

[Jose_H_Intel1]

We have found a fix to a major issue particularly related to this adapter and will be released in our next driver, no ETA is available yet but we are still working on this driver.

[MBapt]

Joe - I don't know how you all beta test, but I'll happily test a beta driver with this card in one of my systems (I can't wait for the client system and will ship it with a Broadcom card instead). Hopefully the problem found fixes the issue!

[IPetr5]

Hey Intel guys!

Why your newest driver installer for x64 systems BT_17.0.1405.02_e164.exe (https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=23999 https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=23999) attempts to install into directory C: \ Program Files (x86) by default till now?

Such basic things do not require Herculean efforts of the brain. No one told you that everything related to the x64 is installed in C: \ Program Files folder?

It's a trifle but eloquently testimony to the level of your developers. You can't to fine-tune 6235 driver three years! Facepalm!!!

[KYusi]

intel_admin joe_intel Hey buddy,

I've had this problem for a year and a half now. You guys at Intel have been aware of this problem for a long time as well. It has also been over a month since you wrote this reply saying that you have no ETA on the release of your driver. My laptop is out of warranty so Samsung is off the hook as they've managed to evade my concerns for long enough by providing me with useless driver updates, resets and driver rollbacks. So this is my last resort. Are you going to do anything about this anytime soon? Do your customers matter to you? Does your brand reputation matter to you? It doesn't seem like it. My frustration has reached unbearable proportions and I'm doing my best to keep coarse language at bay. So should I chuck my laptop in the bin? I'm not going to buy a wireless adapter. I shouldn't have to. Please start taking some responsibility and fix this problem. Enough is enough.

[MLee59]

absolutely agree with you KamranY

[mboll2]

I had this problem on my Lenovo Y400. Intel Centrino Wireless-N 2230. Never had the issue with any of the drivers obtained through Windows Update while on Windows 8 (which the laptop shipped with). I updated to 8.1 and then my wireless connection just crapped all over itself. Couldn't watch Netflix, couldn't download anything bigger than about 25kb without watching my speeds go up and up and up, then just drop down to 0 and restart all over again.

I decided to put Windows 7 on my laptop since I had an unused copy at the time. Got it all installed and everything worked great! No more dropouts, no more problems. I attempted to activate but wasn't able to due to BIOS SLIC issues...so I (unfortunately) had to go back to Windows 8.

With a fresh install of Windows 8, everything was actually working well. I had stable connectivity and appropriate speeds. Then, because I'm an idiot, I went ahead and updated to Windows 8.1 again and BAM...the wireless crapped all over itself again.

Since I had already reformatted 3 times, I got tired of trying and just bought one of these...

http://goo.gl/dVvHM EDIMAX EW-7811Un Wireless Nano Adapter

...and all my problems have been solved. Best $9.99 I ever spent.

I do sincerely hope the fix that was mentioned a few days ago is an actual fix, because I'd love to free up one of my USB ports...until then though, that little $9.99 wonder is just gonna stick around.