Intel WiFi Connectivity Issues

Problem:

Intel® wireless network card Wi-Fi connection intermittent loss, inability to initiate a connection, and poor performance.

Description:

What are the problems that customer may encounter?

• Intermittent loss of Wi-Fi connection
• Inability to initiate a Wi-Fi connection
• Poor Wi-Fi connection data performance

What is the root cause?

PSP mode is a feature that provides extended battery life for notebook computers. It requires coordination between the AP or router and the Wi-Fi adapter. Intel has discovered that some APs or routers may not implement the feature correctly or completely.

If a Wi-Fi access point (AP) or broadband Wi-Fi router does not properly support the Power Save Polling (PSP) feature, issues may occur. These symptoms may be more pronounced when on battery power.

Affected cards: Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N + WiMAX 6250 Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N 6205 Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N 6230 Intel® Centrino® Ultimate-N 6300 and Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N 6200 products Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N + WiMAX 6150 Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 100 Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 1000 Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 1030 Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 130 Intel® PRO/Wireless 2100 Network Connection Intel® PRO/Wireless 2100A Network Connection Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200BG Network Connection Intel® PRO/Wireless 2915ABG Network Connection Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection Intel® WiFi Link 1000 Intel® WiFi Link 5300 and Intel® WiFi Link 5100 products Intel® WiMAX/WiFi Link 5350 and Intel® WiMAX/WiFi Link 5150 products Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN

Workaround: (Do not dispatch hardware)

Workaround is to manually put the Wi-Fi adapter into Continuously Aware Mode (CAM). This disables the PSP feature. The Wi-Fi adapter can be put into CAM using the following two methods:

·         Intel® PROSet/Wireless WiFi Connection Utility

·         Network Control Panel Applet (NCPA)

Workaround 1: Use Intel® PROSet/Wireless WiFi Connection Utility to Set CAM

1.       Click Advanced > Adapter Settings > Advanced tab.

2.       Select Power Management and uncheck Default / Auto and move the slider to Highest / Maximum Performance.

If the slider is already at Highest / Maximum Performance, move the slider to another setting and then back to Highest / Maximum Performance.

Workaround2:

Put the wireless adapter into Continuously Aware Mode using the following steps.

1.       Click Start > Settings > Control Panel.

2.       Double-click Network Connections.

3.       Right-click the wireless connection and click Properties.

4.       Click Configure.

5.       Click the Advanced tab.

6.       Select the Power Management setting, uncheck Default / Auto and move the slider to Highest / Maximum Performance. Note: If the slider is already at Highest / Maximum Performance, move the slider to another setting and then back to Highest / Maximum Performance.

Keywords:

Wi-Fi connection, wireless, data performance, intermittent loss