XPS 8920, WiFi driver does not install

Jerry8A,

Click my username and send me the pc service tag number via private message.

what OS is this? and is it same as new? or upgraded, seems answer is yes, to that to me, and now lost the driver.

if the PC has and ethernet jack, connect it cat/5/6 cable to your router, now the internet works and even migic,

microsofts PnP plug and play finds your wifi cards, driver,

if that fails,  my guess you are running w10, now, and there is no wifi driver at MS nor at HP?

the wifi card uses on most PCs are not one type.

1: missing not opted when new. (some PCs this is an option ,none and 4 choices)

2: Realtek or intel or Broadcom cards.  so what is  there matters and is why dell asked you for the service tag

3: some have  wifi+ blue tooth card.

but that can fail too you or someone changed out the card, or upgraded it. for many reasons. (or failed)

as a tech, I have 2 very great scanners called PCI scanners and can scan any PC (cases closed uP)

and tells what card is there. then I get a driver matching this  exact card.... no guessing , no remove hatches, to read the makers(unknown by you) tag on the card, which also works every time, omg , the antenna cable fell off...……..

or just look at the card tell us what OS you run even 32bit or 64bit and post the cards sticker, even photos work of it.  and magic happens,, drivers that work. every time or we tell you there are none.

old cards have no w10 drivers... ok>.  a fact.

Jerry, this is really strange. In your other post about the WiFi driver I looked and the latest version posted was 20.10.1.1190. I had written the version number in my post to you. Now the version listed is 20.120.1.970.

Hello Savvy2 -

My response got posted out of order.  Please look for it under the post that lists Savvy at the beginning.

Sorry !!!

Jerry

Hello Savvy -

You present an interesting response.  Yes, I do use Windows 10.

This is what I can tell you.

I have had this issue before.  I contacted Dell Technical Support and after several tries, Dell was able to fix it.  Unfortunately, I don't know what they did.

They seemed to key in on the driver notification for automatic download was always coming up as "Installation Failed."  

Thanks,

Jerry

Hello Vic -

I can't be sure, but this might be the reason for the two versions.

I posted version 20.120.1.970, A05 on May 3rd.  The Wi-Fi driver was updated on May 2nd. So, I think the other version,  20.10.1.1190, reflected an older update.

Jerry

Stop using the "automated" driver update thingy (SupportAssist and/or Dell Update)! And I'd disable or uninstall them - my 2 cents.

Go to the support page for the XPS 8920 and find the driver for whichever WiFi card is installed in your PC. Download it manually to your desktop. Right-click it and Run As Administrator...

Hello Ron -
When I go to the manual download list, I get the following headings:

Intel 3165, 7265, 8260, and 8265 WiFi driver    Network 02    May 2019      Download

If I right click on any of the headings it does not list the “administrator” command option. Please advise.
Thanks,
Jerry

---

@Jerry8A wrote:

Hello Ron -
When I go to the manual download list, I get the following headings:

Intel 3165, 7265, 8260, and 8265 WiFi driver    Network 02    May 2019      Download

If I right click on any of the headings it does not list the “administrator” command option. Please advise.
Thanks,
Jerry

 

---

First, are you sure you have an Intel WiFi card?  I see 5 different WiFi drivers listed on the support page for this PC model.

Once you're certain which driver you need (What WiFi card is listed in Device Manager?), click the Download link and let it download onto your desktop. You're not going to see any administrator options on the web page!

When the file is on your PC's desktop, right-click it and run as administrator.

Just adding notes =

This XPS 8920 that shipped on May 15, 2017 had the MHK36 Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165 M.2 WiFi/Bluetooth card installed.

I see two drivers for it =
WiFi driver, 3/22/19 (Version 20.120.1.970 A05)
Bluetooth driver, 7/20/18 (Version 20.60.0 A06)

Hello Ron –

I followed your instructions and had the same results as before. 

1. To check for the correct driver, I clicked on the automated download link to view details of the driver to install.

It listed the following:

Intel 8260 7265 3165 7260 3160 WiFi Driver

This package provides the driver for the Intel 8260/7265/7260/3165/3160 WiFi and is supported on Inspiron series, Vostro series, Alienware series, XPS series and Precision NB running the following Windows operating systems: Windows 10 64-bits

Fixes & Enhancements

Fixes
- Not Applicable

Enhancements
- Ensured reliable and secured connectivity

Version

Version 19.60.0.7, A08

Category

Network

Release date

29 Jun 2017

Last Updated

27 Feb 2019

Importance

Recommended

1. Next I went to the driver listed in #1 in the manual download list. I chose “Run as “Administer.” I checked the log file on the download and got:

[Tue May  7 09:53:57 2019]   

--- End of Vendor Software Log ---

[Tue May  7 09:53:57 2019]    Vendor Software Return Code: 0

[Tue May  7 09:53:57 2019]    logo.png

[Tue May  7 09:53:57 2019]    Name of Exit Code: SUCCESS

[Tue May  7 09:53:57 2019]    Exit Code set to: 0 (0x0)

[Tue May  7 09:53:57 2019]    Result: SUCCESS

[Tue May  7 09:54:01 2019]    Open file: C:\ProgramData\Dell\UpdatePackage\Log\Intel-3165-7265-8260-8265-Wi-Fi-Driver_6X88K_WIN_20.120.1.970_A05.txt

Please notice the driver version in the automated download version is listed as Version 19.60.0.7, A08.  However, the version listed in the manual download version is listed as Version _20.120.1.970_A05

1. I then went to Device Manager > Network Adapters > Intel Dual Band Wireless – AC3165 to check on the Wi-fi driver version on my computer.

The version listed was:    19.51.18.1

1. The Dell driver notification listing for this driver still shows a recommended listing to download the Wi-Fi driver.

So, it looks like I have a mix-bag of inconsistencies.

Some time ago I had the same issue on the Wi-Fi driver.  I reported same to Dell Technical Support and after many tries, they finally fixed it.  Unfortunately, I don’t know what they did.

Thanks again for trying to assist.

Jerry

5/7/19

Hello Chris -

Others have responded to my issue and I replied.  If you see something in my replies that require your comments, please do so.

You listed 2 drivers.  Are both drivers required for the Wi-Fi driver to be downloaded?  I find that strange.

For example, the Dell recommended automated download for the Wi-Fi driver makes no mention that a Bluetooth driver is to be downloaded as well.  The Bluetooth driver download may be suggested, but it should not prevent the download of the Wi-Fi driver.

Before I complicate this issue, I want to address the Wi-Fi download issue first.

Regards,

Jerry

No. As I stated, one driver is for WiFi. The other driver is for Bluetooth.

WiFi driver, 3/22/19 (Version 20.120.1.970 A05)
Bluetooth driver, 7/20/18 (Version 20.60.0 A06)

Some of the Wi-Fi drivers depend of what build of Win 10 you are using.  The overall version of a driver may not be the same as the one installed since different cards are involved. 

You might go to the Intel site and get a driver from them for testing.  The site does say for the 3165 it will install 19.51.19.1.  You may have to uninstall a previous version if the install does not give you the option to do so. 

I always download a driver, then go offline and uninstall the current device and check the box for its drivers and then reinstall before I go back online.

The link is for an Intel site so it should be safe and take note of the problems fixed in the latest release for Win 10.  It also shows which driver versions are installed for different cards.

https://downloadmirror.intel.com/28687/eng/ReleaseNotes_WiFi_21.0.0.pdf