WIfi speed degraded with the Wi-Fi 6E AX211 160MHz card

[mmcbride56]

I have a laptop with the Intel(R) Wi-Fi 6E AX211 160MHz nic card. It is suppose to handle up to 2.6 Gbps on both 5 and 6 GHz bands connected at 160 Mhz.

My wireless Access Point is an eero Pro 6E with wireless speeds topping out around 1.3 Gbps.
It is connected via the 2.5 Gbps port to an optical modem and a 2.5 Gbps fiber network.

eero app confirms up and down speeds at 2.4 - 2.5 Gbps.

SInce speeds at the laptop should only be limited by the wireless access point speed, I should be getting upwards of 1000 Mbps speeds up and down, however, I am only actually getting around 70 Mbps speeds.

I have looked at all the settings and verfied with the eero app that the laptop is connected on the 160 MHz channel and the 5Gz band.

Why are my speeds so degraded? Anyone have an idea?

[JeanetteC_Intel]

Hello mmcbride56,

Thank you for posting in Intel Communities.

I would like to know more about your system details to fully understand where the issue truly lies. Please provide the missing key information here:

1. Is this a newly purchased laptop with an out-of-the-box issue?
2. If not, do you remember if this issue happened after a new OS update or Wireless driver update?
3. Is this the original adapter that came pre-installed in your system, or have you changed/installed a new adapter recently?
4. What troubleshooting steps have you tried so far?
5. Is this issue happening at home, office environment or both?
6. Have you checked if this issue happens on different networks?
7. Are you able to reproduce the same issue while on hardwired connection?
8. Have you rebooted your access-point, router, modem?
9. Have you modified any Wi-Fi adapter settings before issue appears?

Additionally, I highly appreciate you sharing your system configuration so I can fully check and provide you with an accurate fix. This could be possible by downloading the Intel® System Support Utility for Windows* software. When the download is complete, launch SSU.exe.

• Scan: Check the box Everything.
• Click Scan.
• Review: When finished scanning, click Next.
• Click Save. *Attach the SSU log file as you reply.

I look forward to your response.

Best regards,

JeanetteC.

Intel® Customer Support Technician

[mmcbride56]

The system in question is a Lenovo Thinkpad issued by my company to me one year ago. It is not mine personally and I can only assume that the wifi card is from an out-of-the box assembly. 

I might not be allowed to download and install any externally provided software. However, there may be something natively I could run.

FYI: I recently upgraded my 1 Gb cable internet to 2.5Gb Fiber internet. 

On the company laptop the wired ethernet connection outperforms wifi by about 4 to 1 in terms of test speeds at around 270-300 Mbps. The 2.5 Gbps eero access point is in the same room as both the laptop and my personal home computer which only has a 1Gb nic ethernet card and is getting near that in the +950 Mbps range for both upload and download.

The laptop intel wifi card has a spec that should allow upto 2.5 x that speed, but is only producing (or restricting) speeds in the 70-75Mbps

I am full-time remote in a Home Office, Optical Modem, Eero Pro 6E access point connected directly to the 2.5Gbps ethernet port with a Cat 7 cable. On the 1Gbps access port is a multi-ethernet port that supports 1Gbps speeds. Both the Company Laptop and my home computer are wired connected. 

I am ok with wired connection speed of the Laptop becasue the nic card is in a docking hub and communicates to the Laptop on a slower USB type connection. That is also why I was hoping to get better rates from wifi but instead the speeds were much worse.

Oh, and yes, I have rebooted the access point and laptop.
I had not modified any configuration of the wifi card upon the inital test speeds. After seeing the slower wifi speeds I did make one minor change. Under the Advanced tab,  I changed the Preferred Band to #4. Prefer 6Gz band.
It made no difference.

[mmcbride56]

I just received permission to download the utility. But I have reservations about posting content regarding my company laptop in an open forum like this.

[JeanetteC_Intel]

Hello mmcbride56,

Please check your email for my private message. Be sure to look in your inbox, as well as your junk and spam folders, as the message might have been directed there.

Best regards

JeanetteC.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[mmcbride56]

Thanks I found the email. 
FYI: The webpage for the ssu.exe application download is not working. I tried with 2 different computers, one of which is my home personal desktop, and 2 different browsers.

I also had a colleague try and he also was unable to initiate the download.

[JeanetteC_Intel]

Hello mmcbride56,

Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I apologize for the inconvenience you're experiencing with the SSU.exe application download. I'll get back to you with an update as soon as possible.

Best regards

JeanetteC.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[JeanetteC_Intel]

Hello mmcbride56,

Please be advised that the Intel® System Support Utility for Windows* application download link is now working. Please proceed with the download and when it is complete, launch SSU.exe.

• Scan: Check the box Everything.
• Click Scan.
• Review: When finished scanning, click Next.
• Click Save. *Attach the SSU log file as you reply.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best regards

JeanetteC.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[JeanetteC_Intel]

Hello mmcbride56,

The wireless driver currently installed on your Lenovo system is version 23.110.0.5, which matches the version available on the Lenovo driver download page.

You can perform a clean installation of the latest generic driver, version 23.140.0.3 If the issue continues, reinstall the latest driver from Lenovo, ensuring a clean installation.

Additionally, please review the Recommended Settings for 802.11ax Connectivity.

I look forward to your response.

Best regards

JeanetteC.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[mmcbride56 · Accepted solution]

The newer Intel driver really did the trick. My wireless speeds are now 10 times faster than before.
Thank you for you help and support.

[JeanetteC_Intel]

Hello mmcbride56,

Thanks for the update. I'm happy the new Intel driver improved your wireless speeds and that I could help. I'll close this thread now.

If you need help later, please submit a new question, as this thread won't be monitored anymore.

Sincerely,

JeanetteC.

Intel Customer Support Technician