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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[idata]

I have been having this problem with my Asus ZenBook. I Get random speeds, sometimes as slow as 1Mbps. That's one. I talked with Asus, and they give the same stuff about resetting the computer. This is an issue with the hardware, because I had two other computers using intel centrino, and they've all sucked. I am using the latest drivers as of today. Even worse is the 5ghz. They might as well have made the card a single band.

I have two routers in my house, one is a DIR 857 and the other is a DIR 655. I've also tried a linksys, belkin AND my phone. All have random speeds, and speedtest.net has a very jittery connection. My other computers hit 15Mbps and this one hits 7Mbps MAX even when the network connection status says 35Mbps.

[idata]

I have the same problem with my new notebook Samsung NP900X4C-A01IT.

I paid it to much for so stupid problem. Please solve it and let us know.

Thank you

[idata]

Same issue with my Samsung NP900X3C - upgraded to Windows 8 and the wireless is now completely useless. Dropouts every minute, if you can connect at all. Updated to latest drivers with no effect.

Disabled "N" mode makes it a little bit more stable but still not useable.

Currently usb "tethering" to the WiFI using my phone. How embarassing...

[idata]

I seems that my problem was quite easy to solve in the end. I had to change settings so that the wireless card never went in to power saving mode. Especially when running only on battery i had to switch to high performance mode on the wifi-card.

[idata]

How did you do this, anything is worth a try, after months of having this laptop its judt driving me crackers. Quite poor on Intels side that they don't look at these site and even acknowledge comments. Anyone know how to report the problem direct to Intel. (i'm UK based)

[idata]

You have something called energy management. Samsung has created different profiles and in the default one for me, when running on battery, the wireless settings where in some kind of low power mode.

[idata]

I tried disabling power saving mode, and whatever else was found in http://support.asus.com/Troubleshooting/detail.aspx?SLanguage=en&p=3&m=UX32VD&s=411&hashedid=Z9zboGSUuWyLgwXV&os=8&no=1773 ASUSTeK Computer Inc. -Support- Troubleshooting UX32VD. In the end, I managed to resolve my problem by:

1. Open up laptop computer

2. Remove and throwing out the intel wireless card

3. Purchase a Killer Wireless card. Make sure you get Killer Wireless 1202 because you'll need integrated bluetooth

4. Install card

5. Reap benefits

Right now I get a stable 400 Mbps, and on speedtest.net I get a consistent 15 Mbps which is the max speed of my internet provider. I can now stream HD movies without issues and game without disconnects.

I will warn you though, for some reason the antenna contacts were smaller on the intel than on the killer wireless, so I had to tape it down. So far it's been doing great. If the tape falls off, I'll just solder the connectors back on because I know the setup works.

[idata]

Just updated my Samsung 530U3C to Windows 8 Pro for $15, installed SWUpdate and all needed software and drivers, after that WiDi works fine even in 1080p. And even can watch 20GB HD movies over WiFi. Seems like driver for Windows 7 is suck.

[idata]

Same issue on a new Asus UX31A that came with windows 8. Connecting to 3 separate access points shows that the 6235 consistently loses connection for 1-2 seconds every minute or so. 2 other laptops with different WiFi cards running the same test had no issues (also running Windows 8). Currently unusable.

UPDATE: I just tried the 15.1 drivers as someone mentioned before. I am now only seeing 1 second disconnects every 2-3 minutes. Certainly an improvement. Definitely makes me comfortable thinking this is a driver issue.

[idata]

Managed to fix this issue in Windows 8 by:

1. Using the Windows 7 drivers

2. Turning off the ability for windows to switch off wifi to save power, setting transmit power to maximum, and changing all the power profiles to have wifi set to maximum performance.

I can still see my wifi signal mysterious drop to half strength or so, but it never actually drops the connection!

[idata]

Same problem on new Samsung NP530U4C ultrabook. Updated driver to 15.2, still no help. After it loses the connection, Blue screens on shutdown. After reading this thread I am returning. Soldering skills were not listed as a requirement when buying an expensive new laptop. Where is Intel? Shameful on a thread this size no meaningful response!

[idata]

I was having this same problem with a new Sony Vaio Duo 11 that came with Windows 8 and Intel 6235 card. I was able to resolve the problem by completely uninstalling all Intel network related software (wifi drivers, WiDi and bluetooth drivers). Both devices (WiFi and Bluetooth) must be uninstalled from Device Manager with option Delete Driver Software checked when asked by the Uninstall wizard.

I am now running default Win8 drivers as follows:

6235 WiFi Card - 14.8.8.75 Microsoft (12/5/2011)

Bluetooth (Generic Bluetooth Adapter) - 6.2.9200.16433 Microsoft (6/21/2006)

I have had 100% up-time on several WiFi networks in both 2.4GHz and 5Ghz modes after doing this. Obviously none of the fancy features like WiDi and Bluetooth 4.0 are going to work, but at least I've got a reliable set up. I must note that this appears some sort of driver interaction with Bluetooth, since even running default Microsoft drivers (14.8.8.75) with Intel Bluetooth 4.0 driver installed resulted in having dropouts - unbinding Bluetooth high speed protocol from the WiFi adapter did not help either.

Basically until Intel gets their act together - only use default Microsoft drivers and you should have reliable connectivity.

P.S. I am still running latest Intel 4000 Video driver, so that one is fine.

Regards,

Alex

[idata]

Madman - Alex..

Please Please can you do a "Janet and John" description of what you did to achieve your results. I may go mad otherwise. I can't believe this issue is so wide spread and has not been dealt with. I actually spoke to a Dell engineer yesterday who had the gall to say he knew nothing of this problem. I love my Dell XPS 15 but if I can't resolve this I am sending it back for a refund. Please help. I don't care about the wiDi I just want to use my laptop more than 10 feet from my modem.

With thanks

Sian

[idata]

i also had same problem i updated driver to 15.2 it solved my problem

[idata]

I have the same issue in my new asus zenbook ux32vd! I love my ultrabook, please Intel solves this problem!

[idata]

Same issue. Just bought a asus zenbook ux32VD. network adaptor disappears. System can't detect it, I have to go to device manager and re-enable it. I love the ultrabook but its basically unusable because of this issue. Intel??? What do I do?

[idata]

During idle my Asus UX32VD used to show a 54 MBit/s connection to my DSL router (802.11g) in the Task-Manager (Win7), but as soon as a transmission would start, the connection speed indication and the effective throughput would keep changing erratically (connection speed going down to 2 MBit/s). Sometimes downloads and video streaming were aborted.

The 6235 driver is still the Intel version 15.1.1.1 from the initial Asus installation.

What fixed the issue for me was moving the DSL router so that there is an imaginary straight line connection from the laptop to the router antenna (the only obstacle left is the living room door).

Now the 54 MBit/s connection is stable, and downloads continue at the constant maximum DSL line speed.

Of course being forced to have the router or a repeater nearby is not what a WiFi connection at home usually is about. My guess is that with the all-metal chassis used on some laptops the placement of the WiFi antenna is problematic. With the UX32VD the antenna is lying horizontally under the plastic LCD hinge cover, still somewhat shielded by the metal lid and base. And the horizontal orientation does not help either, an antenna parallel to the upright router antenna would be better.

[idata]

@ axel_uk

I have had the most success with the stock windows drivers (win8 x64). However, I think it is interesting that performance was acceptable and then degraded over time. Clearly it must have to be something to do with resource assignment of the NIC, logging, polling or something specifically related to dynamic action of the software.

[idata]

I have recently bought a samsung np700z7c-s03ca and the wireless connection is very bad. I have contacted samsung multiple times about this. The first time they said to reinstall the drivers which i did and that didnt help. Second they asked me to reset my computer to factory defaults which I did and that didnt help, and now they have stopped responding to my support tickets. I am able to connect to wifi but i seem to be getting speeds that are about 5%-10% of what they should be.

If I try to play an online game the wireless connection drops, even though other devices connected to the same connection stay connected. And trying to download large programs is torture. My old laptop which is about 2 1/2 years old and cost about half what my new laptop cost trying to download the same file gets speeds of about 2-3 Mbps while this laptop gets speeds of about 100 Kbps from the same spot.

[idata]

I just purchased a Samsung Series 5, and sure enough, with a 6235 wireless card, and am having an awful time of having to reset my wireless every 5-20 minutes. One would think that after so very many years, they'd figure out how not to release a product that doesn't work properly.

Here's to hoping Intel releasing a driver that fixes the issue.

[idata]

Ian,

Same issue as well on my Samsung Series 5 that i just bought. I have had my paws on hundreds of laptops, imaging and supporting them (95% all Dell's). I decided to try a different brand for a change, hence buying the Samsung to replace my personal Dell laptop. Not a good move I would say. I love their TV's.

Issue - wireless drops anywhere from 5 min. to maybe 1 hour if I am lucky. All other devices in my house work fine on 802.11 b/c/n. I have uninstalled / re-installed several driver software versions in various configurations just to see if maybe there was a bug or something with wireless driver or Proset software. Nothing has helped. Shows limited connectivity when it happens. Upon checking my IP address everything looks great. IP, gateway, subnet, DNS, DHCP, etc. Everything looks great but it will not connect. Note that I show DNS errors in the event logs after this happens. Rebooting will fix the issue for a little while. I am on day 27 and am going to return this laptop to Best Buy and have them replace it. Yours and others posts with the exact same model, reporting the same issue, doesn't give me a warm feeling.

I haven't noticed any latency issues as a few have reported. I see a lot of Samsung and ASUS Zenbook's referenced on this thread. It's either working or not for me.

Intel - Are you currently working on this issue and can you replicate what people are reporting? It seems plenty are having this issue. I will send you laptop # 2 if the issue remains when i exchange it this weekend.

Regards,