Inspirion 15 5000, Wireless AC-3160, Fluctuating signal and extremely slow

Hi,

same problem here, with the same Dell Inspiron 5547 using Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 3160.

I've tested the wi-fi connection using an old Latidude D630 and other 2 laptops. 

I fell disappointed!

Same problem here, same Notebook. I believe it is due to the Intel WiFi card or the antenna. If I put my notebook directly besides the router, I get around 20Mbit/s. In the next room I am only getting like 400 kbit/s.

Those dual cards WiFi/Bluetooth are not really a great thing.

I purchased a Dell 5547 with this WiFi card two weeks ago.  My router puts out 30 Mb/s (2.4 GHz, N) but if I am more than 5 feet away I get half that or less.  Two other computers in the house will get 30 Mb up to 30 feet away so either I have a bad card/antenna or that is the way every one of this model will work.  Does any one know if this is just the flaw of a 3160?  Is there a replacement WiFi card without this problem?  

From my point of view the problem is the driver.

As I said in a previous message I have a few more laptops, 2 HP, and one Dell Latitude D630 (yes, it's old, but the wifi works great!). The wifi signal from the router, in my room is -60 dbm (which is good), and the all the links between the router and the laptops (except the new one) are on 72 mpbs.

Last night I installed a dual band AP in my room just for this 500 pound laptop (sounds weird right?).

I configured both, the router and the 3160 to run on 5.2 Ghz, but my laptop disconnects even more often than before. I changed it back to 2.4 Ghz, and now, the link between the laptop and the AP is 72 mbps.

I also tried the updated driver from intel: http://www.intel.com/support/wireless/wlan/sb/CS-034535.htm

but didn't helped at all, and I had to reinstall my Windows, just to be sure. Now I'm using the driver  version 16.10.0.5.

I already did too many things to fix a "new laptop", I'm disappointed and I guess I'm going to call Dell and ask about a replacement.

Hi,

I've noticed the same issue with my 5547.

My AP with wifi n standard is 2-3 meters away. The status shows me a 150 Mbit connection, but the max speed is around 30-40 Mbit.

With my old acer and with an USB wifi stick there are no problems.

Is it possible to replace the wifi modul? Or is the BIOS whitelist limited?

Greets

tripfish

Hi,

I am having this very same problem with my brand new 5547. I get maximum bandwidth only when I am in the same room. But in my bedroom (about 30 ft away), the speed drops to 1/10 of the max. speed even though 2-3 signal bars show. As others have already noted, the wi-fi seems to work fine with my old Dell n5110.

Now, at first I was not even able to connect to my router. It was only after I upgraded the drivers to 17.0.5.8 that I have been able to connect in my bedroom but the low speed problem continues. The Dell tech support seems to be cluesless and has offered to send someone to replace the card. But since all they can do is to replace the card with the same model, I don't think it is going to solve the problem.  I do believe the problem with the drivers.

I don't know what to do.

Another thing to note. I have tried using an USB adapter (TP-LINK 150 Mbps TL-WN721N Wireless N) but still the same problem persists.

Anyone have any ideas how to solve this problem.

Best regards

atark.

I have done some investigation and the problem may be related to the fact that the 3160AC is a single stream (1x1) version of the Intel networking card.  In that family they have a 7260AC that is dual band and 2x2 stream.  So for an N type router it should double the throughput.  Working through Dell I found that although all 5547s ship with the 3160 WiFi chip they do have a Dell PN for the 7260 in the compatible form factor.  The Dell PN for that part is KTTYN.  The description is "Intel 7260NGW" which should be correct per my investigation.  It has the same driver as the 3160.  I am not sure if this will solve the problem but I bought one for $35 (including tax and shipping) and will find out next week when it arrives.  I will update the forum with the results.  

Since it is a Dell part it does not affect the warranty or support.  I confirmed that with Dell support.   

I'm very curious about this also.  I bought my daughter the same laptop 1 month ago and she is complaining that it loses the Wi-Fi connection repeatedly and has to manually set it back up.   Our home has extremely strong Wi-Fi (I have an Enterprise/Commercial grade  Wi-Fi 802.11ac system....it's part of the business I'm in), so it is absolutely not the Wi-Fi network, but the laptop or Intel Wi-Fi inside it.   Dell needs to figure this out quick (ie this week) or I'll have no choice but to return the laptop.

I have the 14' one (5447-6250) and still get the same problem. Tried updating drivers and nothing. I wonder if Dell is going to do something about this. I think it just need a fix, they would't recall every single unit.

Has anyone found a solution to this problem? My wifes laptop is doing the same thing.

How can we get Dell's attention to fix this?

We gave up on trying. We searched Google, tried any little trick we could think of and in the end she had to buy a USB Network Adapter. We are contemplating contacting Dell to reimburse us the cost of the adapter as they are basically selling laptops with network cards that after 15 feet don't work. Kind of defeats "Wireless Networking". I just don't understand who tests these things and thought this new AC card would be a good idea.

Exact the same problem with my newly purchased inspiron 15 5000 series. I believe is 5547. I feel very frustrated. Working even worse than my old dell laptop. I am calling the customer service. I will hear what they say. Please anyone who can find the solution to this problem, let me know.

I just bought the 14". out of the box it hardly worked. dropping connection every minute at times, and unable to connect. I updated drivers and finally have it functioning, but it only works if im next to the router. 20mps next to the router, but if I go 30 ft away, I can get 1 mb/s if the left side of the laptop is facing the modem., 2.5 mps if the back is facing the modem, and 5mps if the right side is facing the modem. Ive tried 3 other laptops from the same location and all of them get 20mps+, even an old *** netbook. if i go 8 ft around the corner into the bathroom i get 100kb. This laptop just has terrible wifi. ive made every recommended change I can possibly make for my knowledge and abiliity. Its not dropping connections anymore...but its slow and it just . There are some windows 8 issues that i think i have sorted out, but I think the metallic casing is interfering with the signal. Either that or a bad antenna. No other computer seems to care what direction im pointed. This one does. Stand in the same spot and turn 180 degrees and the connection plummets. I'll be returning it tomorrow. Complete  laptop I cant believe something can come out of the box not functioning, require above average computer knowledge to get it functional, and then still perform like a  compared to a 5 year old netbook. I can see why its on sale. it should be on sale.