I cannot connect to an N network with the Dell Wireless-N 1520 half card.

Hi -- I've noticed this same problem with my new Dell Inspiron 1764 laptop. I was on with customer service for ages working on this, and they eventually diagnosed it as a problem with my card, which they're replacing. But I can't help but doubt this diagnosis: the card's settings refer only to 802.11a, b, and g; so it looks to me as if, despite this being sold as an N card, the software doesn't actually enable 802.11n.

Has  anyone who's used this card actually confirmed that 802.11n works?

I too have the Dell 1764 that I just purchased from Staples, actually bought 2 of them.  The wireless card does work on a N network, but I lose connection constantly to the point that it is very annoying and wanting to return the laptop because it defeats the purpose of WIRELESS.  I have yet to figure out the reason behind the connection issue.  I will try to remove the Security and see if it stays connected.  But that will not be a good solution to my issue.  ATM i have the Belkin Wireless N router.

OK -- I've fixed my issue. I assumed it was Dell's 1520 wireless card because my other PC (running Windows XP) had no problem connecting to the 802.11n signal my Belkin router was putting out using a USB WiFi adapter. But then I tried plugging that same adapter into the Dell Inspiron 1764 laptop and found that it wouldn't connect!

So it turned out that the issue was the security settings on my WiFi router. For some reason -- whether I used the internal 1520 WiFi adapter or a USB adapter -- the Inspiron running Windows 7 wouldn't connect to a WiFI signal that  my other computers dealt with just fine. But once I switched it over to WPA2-PSK (AES), there were no problems! Now the Inspiron connects fine using the 1520 mini N card.

Can't believe how much time I wasted dealing with tech support on this. (They even sent a technician over.) But I'm glad I eventually figured this one out. I hope the fix helps someone else too!

Alan

I have a Studio 17 with a Dell Wireless-N 1520 card and a D-Link DIR-655 router.  The connection was pegged at 5.5 Mbps.  I changed to WPA2-PSK (AES) and it now connected at 104 Mbps.  Thanks for tip aphidblue - worked like a charm.

I have the new Studio 1747 with the 1520 mini N running W7. My problem is that the connection speed drops to 11 Mbps, while the connection is rated very good. This happens If I stand behind the wall on the same floor or if I move a floor up the connection drops.

I totally agree with you that more people are experiencing problems with the 1520 wireless n-card. I hope Dell will put it's attention to this issue and address it. Normal 0 21 false false false NL X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

Let me know if Dell solved your problem.

Cheers,
Harvey

I have the new Studio 1747 with the 1520 mini N running W7. My problem is that the connection speed drops to 11 Mbps, while the connection is rated very good. This happens If I stand behind the wall on the same floor or if I move a floor up the connection drops.

I totally agree with you that more people are experiencing problems with the 1520 wireless n-card. I hope Dell will put it's attention to this issue and address it. Normal 0 21 false false false NL X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

Let me know if Dell solved your problem.

Cheers,
Harvey

Hi All - I had the same issue, but I started to play around with the drivers advanced settings and I was able to get it to connect using N.  Here's my setup:

Computer: Dell Inspiron 11z with the 1520 half-height N card, running Windows 7 64-bit (latest driver for 1520 as per the driver details is 7/7/09, version 5.30.21.0.

Router: DLINK DIR-615, updated to the latest firmware.  Hardware version C2, Firmware version 3.12NA.

I brought home the new router hoping to connect at N speeds, but found out that my initial settings didn't allow N to connect, though G seems to be just fine.  After some Googling I found that other users were also having troubles, so I did some experimenting and found some settings that work.  Obviously I can't promise these settings will work for you, but if you are also having the connection problems you can give these a shot.

1 - The first thing I had to do was to change my wireless encryption settings from TKIP to AES on the router's admin wireless settings page.  Apparently N doesn't work with TKIP, and there is a warning withing the DLINK setup that informs me of this.  I am a little concerned about enabling AES, as I saw an article a few months back that AES has been cracked, but I'll hope that minimizing the power of my router will make it difficult for leechers ot find me.  The security mode is WPA2 Only.  The wireless mode is set to "mixed" to allow N and G traffic.  As I don't have any A or B devices I decided to rule them out as a speed and security setting.

2 -Tthe second thing I did was to down load the latest driver for the 1520.  Actually it was already installed, but I thought I would just install it again for good measure.  The latest driver version is noted above.

3 - The last thing I did was to change a few settings from their default in the advanced properties area of the 1520 driver..  Here are my settings:

802.11h+d    Loose 11h 

Afterburner    Disabled

Antenna Diversity     Auto

AP Compaitibilty Mode     Broader Compatibilty

Band Preference    None

Bandwidth Compatibility     11a//b/g 20/40MHz

Bluetooth Collaboration    Auto

BSS Mode     802.11n Mode

Diable Bands   None

Disabled Upon Wired Connection    Disabled

Fragmentation Threshold    2346

IBSS 54g (tm) Protection Mode    Auto

IBSS Mode    802.11a/b/g/n Auto

Locally Administered MAC Address    Not Present

Location   USA

Minimum Power Consumption    Enabled

PLCP Header  Auto (Short/Long)

Priority and LAN    Priority and VLAN Disabled

Rate (802.11a)    Best Rate

Rate (802. b/g)   Best Rate

Roam Tendancy    Moderate

Roaming Decision  Default

RTS Threshold    23487

Wake Up Mode    Magic and Wakeup Frame

WMM     Auto

WCZ IBSS Channel Number       11(20MHz)

Xpress Technology      Enabled

----------------------------------

With the above setting I am able to connect at speeds at 300M according to the "status" of my router's admin utility.

Two other things to note: I have a G wireless card on this router as well and it connects fine.  The other thing is that I am not exactly sure what setting in the list affected my ability to make the connection.  If I have time I will diagnose this and let everyone know.

Hope that helps,

Eric

Thanks! It worked for a Dell Latitude D830 with the same half card. Now connects at 105Mb