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Windows 8.1 AC 7620 Adapter switching

VVan1
Beginner
2,067 Views

tchingI'm attempting to enable Adapter Switching (using the PROset administrator tool) on a Lenovo T440 running Windows 8.1

When I enable the setting an information prompt appears that says "This setting is used for Windows 7 only"

How do I enable Adapter Switching for Windows 8.1?

We have limited address space and can't afford to have laptops taking 2 IP addresses.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Vince

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8 Replies
Jose_H_Intel1
Employee
721 Views

At this time the adapter switching feature is only supported in Windows* 7.

I am really sorry for the inconvenience.

VVan1
Beginner
721 Views

Is there a plan to add support for Adapter Switching on windows 8.1?

Training doesn't really solve the problem......

Thanks for the reply!

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Jose_H_Intel1
Employee
721 Views

There are no plans in the near future but I have shared your comments with engineering.

VVan1
Beginner
721 Views

Thank You!

You may want to remind them that there are a lot of "novice" computer users in the workforce. They want the wireless to connect automatically and do not want to manage it by disconnecting or using the hard switch to turn the radio off.

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Jose_H_Intel1
Employee
721 Views

I believe we can keep that in mind. Thanks!

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VVan1
Beginner
721 Views

Has there been any action on this?

We've found (in testing) that when the users plug in to the wired networks while connected to the company wireless it creates a location problem and windows no longer thinks its on the domain network. The wired network assumes the name of wireless network they were using and the firewalls block access to domain resources.

We need adapter switching enabled in Windows 8.1!

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Jose_H_Intel1
Employee
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I am truly sorry, at this moment this feature is only supported in Windows* 7 but I have submitted your suggestion.

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JRape
Beginner
721 Views

Joe_Intel, if I am off base, please say so.

Both of the URLs I provide are directly from Microsoft MSDN, so I take them at face value.

VinceV, I think I understand why this functionality has been deprecated. I was also upset when I realized that the functionality had been done away with.....and so I started digging to try to find out why....which led me here. I started to respond and complain, but I knew that if Intel had made the decision, there had to be a good reason for it. Here's what I found:

Numerous improvements have been made to the wireless functionality in Windows 8/8.1 compared to Windows 7. Microsoft claims that they have FINALLY gotten their arms around how to manage wireless networks, as well as adjust accordingly given the presence of a wired network. The first thing that struck me is that Windows 8 connects to a wireless connection more than 10x faster than Windows 7...in basically about one second. This is less time than it takes for your display to come on, which is pretty incredible. See here for details:

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2012/01/20/engineering-windows-8-for-mobility.aspx Engineering Windows 8 for mobile networks - Building Windows 8 - Site Home - MSDN Blogs

Further, in Windows 8, the Ethernet connection supposedly ALWAYS gets precedence over any other non-wired network, regardless of link speed. In Windows 7 the preference was based purely on link speed, which means that an 802.11n wireless connection could become preferred over an Ethernet connection at your desk. This, combined with how quickly the network connects, to me explains why the Intel PROSet Dev team made the decision they did to deprecate this functionality.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/dn320946.aspx Understanding and configuring Windows Connection Manager

I hope you find this helpful.

Jonathan

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