Wireless-AC 8260 not seeing the 5Ghz Band

[MHedg]

My laptop is a Thinkpad X1 Carbon 4th Gen. Lenovo Product No. 20FBCTO1WW. Lenovo BIOS version N1FET64W (1.38). Windows 10 is totally up to date. I did a "refresh my computer" to force installation of the latest operating system updates. Lenovo Vantage reports everything is up to date for Lenovo-specific drivers and BIOS.

My wireless router is a Belkin F9K1119 v2. Latest firmware v. 2.02.05, 7/24/2018. It has dual 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.

My laptop is about 5 feet from the wireless router.

I am able to use a Microsoft Surface Pro 4 just fine with the router. Both bands show up fine and I have no issues with either.

With the Lenovo, which has an Intel Wireless-AC 8260, I have the same problem described here: in 2016.

I followed all the troubleshooting suggestions on that Intel communities topic. I tried resetting default settings in the BIOS. I tried installing the latest Intel wireless driver from https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/28143 Download Intel® PROSet/Wireless Software and Drivers for Windows® 10 . (It gave me 20.80.0). I tried setting it to 20MHz only, or auto. No difference.

I still have the same problem. Actually, at the moment I cannot even see the 2.4GHz band connection. Nope, there it is again. Rarely, the 5 GHz band connection pops up, and I try to connect, but then it disconnects and disappears.

I generally have no problem connecting this machine to a 5 GHz band at a cafe or elsewhere. But there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with this router per se, because I can use it fine on the Surface Pro 4 on both bands.

This laptop was fine until one or two BIOS upgrades ago. I was able to use both bands without issue. Now, I basically cannot use this laptop at home, unless I use the wired Ethernet connection.

Unfortunately, it is out of warranty, so I have no way to access Lenovo technical support. I have to ask you at Intel to collaborate with Lenovo behind the scenes to fix the problem.

Thank you.

Mark

[idata]

Hello ZorkNation

Thank you for posting in the Intel® community.

• Have you tried a Clean Installation of Wireless Drivers? See reference link below.
• Let me share with you the Advanced Intel® Wireless Adapter Settings (https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005585/network-and-i-o/wireless-networking.html https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005585/network-and-i-o/wireless-networking.html), to set the adapter in the best configuration according to the environment.
• Please attach to this thread the TXT file the Intel® System Support Utility will generate: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25293/Intel-System-Support-Utility https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25293/Intel-System-Support-Utility
  • Steps to save the report:

1. Run the utility.
2. Click on "Scan" to get the scanned system.
3. Once the scan is complete click on "next".
4. Use the "save" option, save the report to your desktop.
5. To attach a file, you must click the "Attach" option on the bottom right-hand corner of the response box.

• Clean Installation of Wireless Drivers:
  • https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000022173/network-and-i-o/wireless-networking.html https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000022173/network-and-i-o/wireless-networking.html

Hope this helps. Regards,Leonardo C.Intel Customer Support TechnicianUnder Contract to Intel Corporation

[MHedg]

I followed the instructions at https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000022173/network-and-i-o/wireless-networking.html Clean Installation of Wireless Drivers to remove the drivers and devices, and cleaned temporary files.

I also followed the recommendations at https://www.reddit.com/r/Lenovo/comments/75eki0/lenovo_x1_carbon_5gen_wifi_connectivity_issues/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Lenovo/comments/75eki0/lenovo_x1_carbon_5gen_wifi_connectivity_issues/

to disable the extraneous WAN miniport adapters.

I disabled Lenovo Vantage automatic critical updates.

Then I used the https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/intel-driver-support-assistant.html Intel® Driver & Support Assistant to reinstall the driver. This seems to have an error because it says 20.70.1.1 and 20.80.0.

First time it failed. Second time it just kept installing forever but never finished.

I will try rebooting.

[MHedg]

After rebooting, the device was active. The 5 GHz band appears, connects, and appears to be stable so far. Device manager reports the installed version is 20.70.1.1, not 20.80.0.

I don't see any other wifi connections available while the 5 GHz band is connected though. I don't see the 2.4 GHz band from the same device. I disconnected, and still the 5 GHz band is all I see. If I go to the control panel and then "show available networks," when it pops back up I see the 5 GHz band and "Hidden Network" which is my Amazon Fire TV stick I think. But I don't see the 2.4 GHz band on my router, nor any of my neighbors' routers that I could sometimes see before.

I tried reconnecting to the 5 GHz band, but then all the available networks disappeared and the wifi icon blinked on and off strangely. I reclicked and I can now see the 5 GHz band, the Hidden Network device and one of my neighbors' wifis, but not my own 2.4 GHz band.

I tried reconnecting to the 5 GHz band again. The networks disappeared, wifi icon blinked, then they reappeared, and it said it was trying to connect, but then it said "Can't connect to this network" and gave up.

Now the 5 GHz band has disappeared, and I see the 2.4 GHz band. When I plugged in the ethernet, I was also able to see the 5 GHz band again.

I attached the SSU output to this reply.

Later I will try the optimized optional settings, but somehow I don't think that's going to help.

[idata]

Hello ZorkNation

Thank you for the information. Please try the Advanced Intel® Wireless Adapter Settings, those have been provided to configure the adapter according to the modem involved in the environment. In case this does not help I would recommend contacting the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) due to this behavior could be related to a hardware problem. Hope this helps. Regards,Leonardo C.Intel Customer Support TechnicianUnder Contract to Intel Corporation

[ЕСкол]

Hi, I join this question.

I bought this adapter, installed the latest drivers using the Intel Driver & Support Assistant, everything was installed - successfully ...

BUT, when trying to connect to 5 GHz, the adapter disconnects and connects to the 2.4 GHz network.

It is worth noting that before updating the drivers, the network was connected to a frequency of 5 GHz!

In addition, after updating, a red wired network icon is sometimes displayed, but the adapter is still working and looking for networks.

Maybe this is the latest driver conflict with Windows?How to solve a problem?

[idata]

Hello Egor9839

Thank you for posting in the Intel® community.

• Have tried a clean installation of divers? (see the steps below)
• What is the brand and model of the system?
• Was the system bought with the Intel® wireless adapter pre-installed?
• Have you tried rolling back the wireless driver?
• What wireless driver version was working properly on your system?
• Please attach to this thread the TXT file the Intel® System Support Utility will generate: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25293/Intel-System-Support-Utility https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25293/Intel-System-Support-Utility
  • Steps to save the report:

1. Run the utility.
2. Click on "Scan" to get the scanned system.
3. Once the scan is complete click on "next".
4. Use the "save" option, save the report to your desktop.
5. To attach a file, you must click the "Attach" option on the bottom right-hand corner of the response box.

Clean Installation of Wireless Drivershttps://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000022173/network-and-i-o/wireless-networking.html https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000022173/network-and-i-o/wireless-networking.html Hope this helps. Regards,Leonardo C.Intel Customer Support TechnicianUnder Contract to Intel Corporation

[idata]

Hello Egor9839

I was checking your case and would like to know if you need further help. If so, please do not hesitate in replying back. Regards,Leonardo C.Intel Customer Support TechnicianUnder Contract to Intel Corporation