XPS 13 9370 Killer WiFi issues

This solution worked. Now my internet speed is faster than my intel 7260 in other computers. Previously my killer 1435 on Dell XPS 9370 was only 30% to 50% of much older intel 7260 network adapter. After trying out lot of other troubleshooting nothing worked. After 1803 update and uninstalling Killer software as mentioned in step 3 worked flawlessly. There is something wrong with the killer driver shipped with Dell XPS. THanks very much. 

I booted Linux to discover the WiFi card was based on the Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174 chip. Google located the Windows 10 driver for this chip on the Lenovo support site. Un-install the Killer driver and install the one from Qualcomm . A 10 hour file transfer now completes in 10 minutes! Success! Dell and Killer both fail!

Switching the connected (via dell 4in1 adapter) monitor to the other USB port did the trick for me. I also have a 4k monitor via the thunderbolt port. 

Needless to say that I've tried everything else for the last 4 days. Something with power or the position of the USB? I cant really imagine. I figured out this because the wifi was working fine everywhere else except when in my office where I have this multi monitor setup. 

So if you have anything connected, try to switch ports or remove it and check what's happening

@Anonymous is it even possible to get a hold of you to give us some answers. I still have the issue everywhere I go, even after the motherboard replacement (it was replaced for a refurbished one, so probably had the same issue). Dell should really start recalling these laptops as you cannot swap the wifi card itself... I have spent alot of time trying to make it work, but this is just terrible.

Hi.  I've been having similar problems but have a brand-new XPS 13 9380.  I followed your steps (Thanks !).  Downloaded the killer uninstaller.  Ran it.  Rebooted it.  Then ran Windows Update.  When I look in the network adaptor list in Device Manager, it still shows "Killer Wireless - n/a/ac 1435 Wireless Network Adapter".  When I right-click on that Adaptor, it shows the Driver Provider as "Qualcomm Atheros Communication, Inc" with a driver-date of 1/2/2019 and a Driver Version of 12.0.0.820.  Did I do something wrong as, per your instructions, I was expecting to see some sort of "Microsoft" adapter ?  I'm extremely disheartened with this supposedly top-of-the-line XPS 13.  Been having constant Wifi drops every few minutes.  They only last for a few seconds but this machine should be rock-solid.  Made sure everything else (BIOS, Windows Update) are all current.  Any advice would be deeply appreciated !  Thanks...

Hi

It's because you ran Windows update after rebooting (step 5) where it downloaded and installed the Atheros driver. They released version 12.0.0.820 just a few days ago so it's the latest driver you got on your laptop. There's no point reverting back to Microsoft driver because everytime you run Windows update it'll download the 820 again and it is actually the driver it should have. 

I haven't tried using 820 driver long enough but so far I don't have dropouts. I suggest you can try to go to Device Manager again and click on the wifi card, then right click and select Uninstall device. Wait a moment while it uninstalls. Then right click again anywhere and select Scan for hardware changes. It will reinstall the card back to the system while resetting the SSID so you'll have to register again to your wifi network, make sure you know your password for the wifi. It should address your issue, but if not then you'll have to wait for the next driver update. I'm not an expert but I believe this is just a software/driver glitch especially when Win 10 isn't perfect either now so I'd suggest to wait for future software/driver updates instead of sending the unit to the service center to have hardware fix. I hope it isn't hardware issue as I don't like my laptop opened.

Thanks for the feedback.  I've given that a shot but it's still sporadically dropping for a second at a time every few minutes.  Also selected the driver to optimally select to my 5G network as it's preference rather than the "No Preference" option where it'll pick between the 2.4 & 5 Ghz.  Will give it a shot and see if drops continue.  Very disheartened as this should be a state-of-the-art machine.....

I'd try switching the wifi router to 2.4GHz just to see if it solves the problem. I've had issues in the past with router-device compatibility in 5GHz setup.

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@Omnibussi wrote:

 

...So this is what I have tried. Although the speed occasionally drops but quite ok until they release new update. Part of the methods were suggested by a previous poster on here,

1) Update your windows 10 to latest version. (I use Windows 10 1809)

2) Update to latest bios (as of 9 Feb 2019 latest is 1.6.3)
https://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/product-support/product/xps-13-9370-laptop/drivers

3) Now Uninstall your Killer Wifi Network drivers using the killer uninstaller program. I strongly advise uninstalling using this because it also deletes all unnecessary registry automatically for cleaner uninstallation.
https://www.killernetworking.com/support/KillerSoftwareUninstaller.exe
Restart your PC

4) Do NOT install any software from Killer again. After reboot the wifi card will be running on Windows driver (you can check from Device Manager from Control Panel under Network Adapters on DRIVER tab that the driver provider is Microsoft. Actually the wifi card works fine now if you want to stay here a bit longer to test. You can go step 5 anytime. 

5) Now run Windows Update! It will update the wifi card driver to Atheros Communication driver downloaded from Windows update. After installation you can check again that the driver provider now is Qualcomm Atheros Comm Inc. So now the wifi card is managed by Windows but using recognized Atheros driver.

Good luck.

Update: Wifi card driver version on step 5 is 12.0.0.720. You can download from below link to update to 12.0.0.820. This is driver only installation without any Killer software. https://www.killernetworking.com/killersupport/item/killer-drivers-64bit

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@Omnibussi 

Thank you for these instructions.  I will have to try this solution when I get home tonight. I have the xps 13 9370 with the Killer 1435 card and have been experiencing intermittent wifi dropouts.  

hmm, I guess the driver is not what is causing my wifi dropping issue.  I think I have the correct driver:

I had to return a 9360 because the wifi connected at 25% of other devices sitting next the the laptop. I was thinking about buying a 9380. While it is possible to substitute an Intel wifi/bluetooth card on the 9360, it is not replaceable on the 9370 or 9380. I ended up buying a MacBook Air which works fine, including its wifi.

I recommend your return the 9380.  Otherwise you will likely not get this fixed.

Omnibussi,

Change the settings below for resolving the wifi disconnects.

Step 1: Change the power management 
1) Right-click your WiFi icon at the bottom right corner of your PC desktop and click Open Network and Sharing Center.

2) Click Change adapter settings. 

3) Right-click your WiFi adapter and click Properties. 

4) Click Configure. 

5) Go to the Power Management tab. Untick the box for Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power. Click OK. 

Step 2: Reset the Wi-Fi AutoConfig service
1) On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time. Type services.msc and press Enter.

2) Highlight WLAN AutoConfig. Double-click it. 

3) Change the Startup type to Automatic. 

4) Click Apply and OK to save and exit. 

For my notes, click my username and send me the pc service tag number via private message.