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XPS13 (9343) - Wifi issues
Hi,
I've bought an XPS13 (9343) laptop in January 2015 and I am currently experiencing weird networking issues as I moved from Switzerland to the US last week.
The university wifi network (eduroam) works flawlessly, but my home wifi (standard Comcast router) is causing troubles: I can connect, although the signal strength is much lower than on my cell phone, and internet works for the first ~30 seconds. Afterwards, it stays connected but no data is transferred at all.
What I tried so far:
- Using my smartphone as an "antenna" and sharing the connection via USB: works!
- Trying all possible driver versions from Dell website: no difference
- Reinstalling Windows 10: no difference
- Using Linux Mint instead of Windows: same issues
- Replacing the network adapter (Broadcom BCM94352Z) by a new one: no change
Any idea on how to fix this problem? Plugging my phone every time is not such a practical solution and as I bought my laptop in Switzerland, sending it there for warranty repair is not what I wish either ;)
Thanks!
Alex
LSUFAN51
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March 3rd, 2016 15:00
:emotion-2:
I also like to suggest you download the wifi analyzer(App)below. It's a good tool to help troubleshoot your system wifi problems.
www.microsoft.com/.../9nblggh33n0n
LSUFAN51
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March 3rd, 2016 15:00
:emotion-2:
How to fix wifi limited access problem in windows 10 (3 simple steps):
www.youtube.com/watch
Alexounet
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March 4th, 2016 05:00
Thanks a lot for your suggestions!
Unfortunately it didn't help: points 1 and 2 of the video were already tried and point 3 did not help. Regarding the app you recommended, it clearly confirmed what I observed: it says that my home wifi has issues (bad connection and bad channel), while my work network is fine. Weird point: the app takes about 5 minutes (!) to start at home, while only a couple seconds at work.
By the way I noticed that the home network is 2.4 GHz and the work one is 5 GHz. I have no idea why it should make a difference though ;)
DELL-Todd S
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March 4th, 2016 08:00
Hello,
Since you aren't having problems connecting to your school's wifi, have you tried updating the firmware on your Comcast home router? Many of the newer cards utilize different chipsets and protocols than what your router may be expecting. Updating the router firmware, which is just like updating the driver for your wireless card, may help resolve the problem. You may have gotten documentation with your router that explains how to do the firmware update. If not, Comcast techs can walk you through the process. It's pretty simple these days.
Also, if you are having connection issues using the 2.4 GHz range you may want to see if you can get a Comcast router that has the capability of using the 5.0 GHz range. You may also want to look into changing the wireless channel you're connecting on.
You can see how to change channels on our Dell Networking & Wireless Support Center.
I hope this helps. If not, to better help me troubleshoot this issue please right click on my Dell Todd username and send me a private message with the Dell Service Tag of your XPS 9343. Please keep all troubleshooting discussions here in this public thread so that others can see what is discussed.
Thank you,
Todd
Alexounet
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March 5th, 2016 10:00
Hi Todd,
Thank you for your message. Unfortunately, I don't manage this router and am hence not capable of upgrading it. Moreover, it is not capable of emitting in 5 GHz range. But I tried changing the channel I'm connecting on, which didn't bring anything.
I bought in the meantime a wifi-USB dongle, which seems to work properly. So I guess the issue is really with the Broadcom adapter...
I'll send you right now the service tag you requested.
Thanks again!
Alex
Alexounet
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March 6th, 2016 11:00
Here's a quick update: according to Wifi-analyzer, whatever channel I choose has the worst signal attenuation once the router emits on it. I also noticed that the only problem is signal strength: if i go with my Dell laptop just besides the router, it works fine (although Wifi-analyzer will still stay that I should change the channel because of large attenuation values). What is still puzzling me is that my cellphone or the usb dongle get more signal, provided that the antenna is much smaller...
DELL-Todd S
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March 6th, 2016 13:00
Hi,
I'm glad the USB wireless card is working for you. Signal strength can be a bit misleading of a term, since it sometimes registers dropped packets as attributing to a weak signal. The closer you are the more often the "lost" packets and be resent and communication kept consistent. Not saying this is necessarily what is happening. It could be something with the antenna in your system or card. Sometimes the only way to tell is to open the system up and check the card connections to the antenna cables, or the cables themselves.
Todd