Wireless stops working intermittently

Question

I have a Dell 3520 with Win 8. It comes with a Dell 1704 802.11b/g/n wireless card. And it's a pain. I keep on losing the wireless connection (sometimes within a few minutes). It doesn't actually lose the connection (status shows connected but ping to the local GW fails). Disconnecting from the (wifi) network and re-connecting fixes the issue though sometimes only for a few minutes. I know problem is not with the Wifi network as other devices work just fine. Suggested solutions like disabling the BT or disabling power management option for this device has not fixed the issue.

Also could you please tell me what's wrong with your touchpad? It seems to have a mind of it's own. Sometimes it's too sensitive, and sometimes it's totally on the other end!!

Please help.

DELL-Amogh G · Answer

Hi asr12,

I would suggest you to uninstall the wireless and Bluetooth drivers and reinstall them. You may follow the steps below:

Press ‘Windows’ key + R on ‘Desktop’ screen
Type ‘devmgmt.msc’ in run box and press ‘Enter’
Click > sign next to ’Mice and Other pointing Device’
Right click the entry listed under ‘Mice and Other pointing Device’ and click ‘Uninstall’
Click ‘Yes’ on the security warning
Click > sign next to ‘Network Adapters’
Right click on wireless card option and click ‘Uninstall’.

To reinstall the drivers, you may refer to the links below:

Touchpad: http://dell.to/12g6xVj
Wireless: http://dell.to/ZZtBHb

Click ‘Download File’ and follow the on screen instructions. Restart the system after re-installing the drivers.

Hope this helps. Please reply with the findings.

asr12 · Answer

Hi, Followed the above steps. Problem with the wireless card still exists.

NEVILLE PANTHAK · Answer

Try Disabling the Auto Tuning Feature. Steps are Listed below

Step #1 : Win +R-> Search->CMD & Click on APPS ICON ->Right Click on Command Prompt and Select Run As Administrator)

Step #2 : netsh interface tcp show global [Press ENTER KEY]. You should see Recieve Window Auto-Tuning Level : Normal

Step #3 : netsh interface tcp set global autotuning=disabled [Press ENTER KEY]. You will recieve prompt as OK

Step #4 : netsh interface tcp show global [Press ENTER KEY]. You should see Recieve Window Auto-Tuning Level : Disabled.

Step #5 : Type EXIT and Press ENTER KEY.

Step #6 : Re-start your System and check if the Wi-Fi is gettng disconnected frequently.

Let me know if the problem is fixed.

DELL-Amogh G · Answer

Hi asr12,

You may change the settings for Dell 1704 wireless card:

Open Device Manager
Expand Network Adapters, right click the wireless card and choose Properties
Click the Advanced tab
Disable 802.11b Preamble to Long
Change Receive Buffers to 300
Change Transmit Buffers to 500

Hope this helps. Please reply with the findings.

asr12 · Answer

Sorry, I could not find any of the options you mentioned under the Advanced tab. Confirming once again, it's a Inspiron 3520 with Win 8, Dell 1704 802.11b/g/n (24.GHz) card. Looked under 'Device Manager' -> right click on Dell 1704 wireless card -> 'Properties' -> 'Advanced'.

DELL-Amogh G · Answer

Hi asr12,

Please share the options you are getting in 'Device Manager' -> Dell 1704 wireless card -> 'Properties' -> 'Advanced'. Paste a screenshot, if possible.

Keep me posted with the information. I will be glad to assist further.

asr12 · Answer

Options under 'Device Manager' -> Dell 1704 wireless card -> 'Properties' -> 'Advanced':

- 802.11h+d

- Antenna Diversity

- AP Compatibility Mode

- Bandwidth Capability

- Bluetooth Collaboration

- BSS Mode

- BT-AMP

- Fragmentation Threshold

- IBSS 54g(tm) Protection Mode

- IBSS Mode

- Locally Administered MAC Address

- Minimum Power Consumption

- PLCP Header

- Priority & VLAN

- Rate (802.11b/g)

- Roam Tendency

- RTS Threshold

- WMM

- WZC IBSS Channel Number

- Xpress (TM) Technology

asr12 · Answer

Did as you suggested but that hasn't worked either.

asr12 · Answer

Hello DELL, I was looking forward to a solution to this problem. Any updates?

DELL-Amogh G · Answer

Hi asr12,

You may try changing the ‘Value’ of 'Locally Administered MAC Address' to 1234567890AB. This should take care of the wireless issue.

Keep me posted with the results. I will be glad to assist further.

asr12 · Answer

Hi Amogh, This change also did not solve the problem. Any further suggestions?

DELL-Amogh G · Answer

Hi asr12,

You may try making the following changes to wireless card settings:

In the Property box, click ‘AP Compatibility Mode’.
Select ‘Broader Compatibility’ under Value from the drop-down menu.
Click ‘Minimum Power Consumption’.
Select ‘Disabled’ under Value from the drop-down menu.

Keep me posted with the results. I will be glad to assist further.

asr12 · Answer

Hi Amogh,

This hasn't worked either though disconnections seem to have reduced. But now Wifi now sometimes gets disabled on it's own and nothing but a restart seems to work. Also, installing the new driver for touch pad (recommended above) hasn't done a thing to solve my touch pad woes.

Does DELL even know what's wrong with your equipment or are we being used as a scape-goat to find a solution?

asr12 · Answer

Sorry, even the disconnections haven't reduced. Has disconnected thrice in the past 2 hrs.

Raitsu · Answer

I am having the exact same problems after upgrading from windows 7 to windows 8. Wireless keeps on showing limited access every 5 minutes. Disabling the adapter and then enabling does the trick, but it is very annoying. Also the touchpad/mouse has a mind of its own, when watching a full screen video , the cursor keeps popping up on random locations after a few minutes. Even whilist writing this very reply i have had to disable and enable the wireless adapter.

Networking, Internet, & Bluetooth

Wireless stops working intermittently

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