Surface pro 7 with Wifi6 AX201 160MHz upload link speed

[kriss1427in]

Device information:

• Surface model: Surface Pro 7 Model 1866 i7
• Version Information
• Wi-Fi driver: 22.40.0.7

I recently upgraded my router to an Asus GT AX1100 and it has support for 160MHz wifi channels. When I connect to the 5GHz network, I keep getting really low transmit (upload) link speed: 

Receive: 2.402 Gbps 

Transmit: 287Mbps

My ISP plan is 1Gbps up and down, and whenever I do a speed test close to the router, I do get great download speed of 500+Mbps but the upload speed does not get pass 250Mbps since the transmit link speed is 287Mbps.  is this expected ? With my cell phone I can also get upload speeds of over 400Mbps and that is not even in the 160MHz channel because my phone only support up to 80MHz channel. is there anything wrong with my surface pro wifi drivers? or is this expected ?

Also looking at my wifi analyzer app it says that my 5GHz network using channel 56 and 160MHz should support a max physical speed of 4.804Gbps which would make sense for 2.402Gbps up and down,

Thanks for the help

[Khun_Doug]

Kris14237in,

I have a comparable router, the RT-AX88U, and comparable adapter, AX200, so I may be able to assist. There are some adjustments within the AX201 that allow it to function better with the Asus routers. And there are some adjustments with the Asus router that are sensitive to speed.

First, have you made any changes to the GT-AX11000 wireless professional settings? In my testing, the default setting for OFDMA/802.11ax MU-MIMO (DL OFDMA only) is the only setting that allowed fast upload.

[kriss1427in]

thanks for the help, please find attached my Pro settings

[kriss1427in]

So I changed the setting to (DL OFDMA only)  and I am still getting the same:
SSID: A
Protocol: Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Security type: WPA3-Personal
Network band: 5 GHz
Network channel: 56
Link speed (Receive/Transmit): 2402/229 (Mbps)
Manufacturer: Intel Corporation
Description: Intel(R) Wi-Fi 6 AX201 160MHz
Driver version: 22.40.0.7

However if I change to  my other 5GHz band which is configured to support 80MHz channels, then I get:
SSID: B
Protocol: Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Security type: WPA2-Personal
Network band: 5 GHz
Network channel: 104
Link speed (Receive/Transmit): 1201/1201 (Mbps)
Manufacturer: Intel Corporation
Description: Intel(R) Wi-Fi 6 AX201 160MHz
Driver version: 22.40.0.7

The second network wireless B support 80 and 160 MHz, but A only supports 160MHz. For band A I switched the setting to (DL OFDMA only) and I am still getting the same. For band B, the setting is still at (DL/UL OFDMA and MIMO) and when it connects with 80MHz I do get 1.2Gbps up and down, and when it jumps to the 160MHz the download jumps to 2402 but the upload drops to ~229Mbps. I am not sure if it is the router since I do not have any other devices that support 160MHz.

[Khun_Doug]

Kris1427in,

If the GT-AX11000 allows you to combine both 5 GHz networks into one, I recommend trying that. I've had good success with wireless bandwidth when the router could combine both 5 GHz channels into one. The router hardware is better able to balance transmit and receive.

There is a page from Intel that explains the settings of the AX 20x cards. Here is the link: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005585/wireless/legacy-intel-wireless-products.html

For my setup I enabled Throughput Booster, Packet Coalescing, and MIMO Power Save set to Auto SMPS.

[kriss1427in]

Ok cool, so you confirm that you are able to get 2.402 Gbps up and down link speeds with the settings you provided and your Asus router with a combined 5GHz bands (lower and upper) into a single SSID? I will give that a try and combine them. Thanks

[kriss1427in]

So I changed the settings you recommended and modified my router so now the 5GHz-1 and 5GHz-2 have the same SSID and they both exactly the same settings on the professional page. When my surface connects to the 80MHz channel it works fine and it gets the 1.2Gbps up and down, but when it connects using 160MHz, I am seeing the same issue, where the up link is down to ~200Mbps and the Down is ~2Gbps. At this point, unless anyone have any idea why I having this issue, I might just disable 160MHz in the router, so at least I can get 1.2Gbps up and down. Not sure if this an issue with my router, the surface pro 7 or the wifi drivers. I also downgraded the drivers and got the same result with the uplink speed. 

[Khun_Doug]

Kriss1427in,

I think your idea of locking the GT-AX11000 to 80 MHz is a good idea until a better solution is found. I have a suggestion. I had a Surface Pro 4 that traveled with me to Asia, and as such had been connected to various hotels and airports. At my house the thing was having terrible bandwidth issues while all the other devices were having no trouble. I had manually reset the IPV4 and TCP interfaces and the problem was corrected. That is something that is free and really easy to do, and might resolve your problem. If you want to try it, you need to open a CMD with administrator privilege. Then enter the following:

netsh int tcp reset

netsh int ipv4 reset

netsh winsock reset

[kriss1427in]

Thanks for the info, but I tried those 3 commands and same thing when it connects using 160 MHz. As soon as it jumps back to 80MHz, upload speed jumps back to 1.2Gbps. It is probably an issue either with my router or the surface pro 7 wifi driver. I guess I will wait for the next firmware update, not sure if this is known issue.

[Victor_G_Intel]

Hello kriss1427in,

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities.

To better assist you please provide the following report and information:

Intel® System Support Utility (Intel® SSU)

Download link: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25293/Intel-System-Support-Utility-for-Windows-

• Open the application and click on "Scan" to see the system and device information
• By default, Intel® SSU will take you to the "Summary View".  
• Click on the menu where it says "Summary" to change to "Detailed View".  
• To save your scan, click on "Next", then "Save".  

1. Do you remember if this issue happened after a new OS update or Wireless driver update?
2. Is this a new computer?
3. Is this the original adapter that came pre-installed in your system or have you changed/installed a new adapter recently?
4. Were you able to have your wireless connection in a normal/expected performance before while using both the previous router and the new router as well?
5. Have you installed any recent software or hardware in your system?
6. Is your access point, router, modem configured for 11ax?
7. Is your access point, router, modem using the latest firmware?
8. Do you currently use the recommended settings for 802.11ax connectivity?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,

Victor G.

Intel Technical Support Technician  

[Victor_G_Intel]

Hello kriss1427in,

Were you able to check the previous post?  

Please let me know if you need further assistance.  

Best regards,

Victor G. 

Intel Technical Support Technician

[Victor_G_Intel]

Hello kriss1427in,

We have not heard back from you.

If you need any additional information, please submit a new question as this thread will no longer be monitored.

Victor G. 

Intel Technical Support Technician