Dell silence on this (probably to sell more units and deal with the issue later is quite incredible).
Surprisingly (or maybe not), the customer online reviews on the Australian website are getting positive and pushing down a number of reviews highlighting the wireless problem.
I bought my 14z as soon as it came out in Australia over a month ago. Wireless issue immediately obvious because, sitting beside my 4 year old XPS M1210 at home and Dell Vostro at work, the 14z is getting between 2 and 12 Mbps while the others have 54 Mbps steady. The replace wireless card and antenna/monitor; then the whole unit. Second unit (identical configuration) has the same problem. Had a tech remotely connecting last Saturday to take notice that my claims are founded. He escalated but is Wednesday and not heard back yet.
Just tried @Jared P's quick fix but made no difference to my connection.
Under "Advanced"
802.11n Mode -> Disabled
Bluetooth(R) AMP -> Disabled
Transmit Power -> 5. Highest
Dell better to come out clean on this otherwise they will loose a customer of 10+ years forever.
"Dell better to come out clean on this otherwise they will loose a customer of 10+ years forever."
@odietamo, I made a very similar statement to my not-so-friendly Dell Customer Service agent. I was told that they don't care if I ever buy another Dell computer. As such, I am now the proud owner of a MacBook Pro. Everything works perfectly, including the wireless. Yes, it was more money, but life is too short to deal with all this aggravation on such an expensive purchase.
By the way, as a Dell customer for years, my family has a bunch of Dell laptops and Desktops. They will all need to be replaced soon. Guess what brand I will not be buying.
I have been following this thread since I received my 15z in June. The driver updates seemed to have fixed most of the connectivity problems I had been experiencing.
I noticed today there are new downloads posted for BIOS-A08 and the Intel 6230 Wireless version 14.3.06. Both of these downloads have a 12/20/2011 release date. Good luck!
Here is a mini follow-up to the internet issues I was having pre-patch. Playing League of Legends prior to the patch I would get latency spikes (4000+ms ping) that made the game unplayable. After investigating I found that my wireless card was the issue as I was getting speeds around 5 mbps not good enough for gaming. interestingly this would only occur after about 5 mins into the game so I thought maybe it was a wireless + heat build up issue, as the laptop does tend to heat up a bit mid game.
After the patch I was able to play a full game about 25mins and I saw no latency issues (my ping was around 60ms), even when the laptop started to heat up I had no issues in game.
As others have said, I didn't noticed the wireless issues until I stressed the connection in my experience the only way I found to do this reliably has been though a game. After this test with the new drivers I am confident that the new drivers have significantly improved the connectivity issues I was having earlier. While the issues I was having pre-patch may not be the same for all of us here on this forum these new drivers are at least a step in the right direction.
As for the specifics regarding what exactly the new drivers have fixed... I have no idea but they seem to be working. Boosting both my signal range and speed while enabling me to actually use wireless n.
New wireless drivers 14.3.0.6 and this is what it fixes: 1. Low performance w/BT on with Virgin Media Netgear Superhub 2. Degraded performance on Virgin Broadband with D-Link AP
How does this remotely help us? And Intel hasn't updated their website with anything new. I think I'm going to wait.
Well I downloaded the new intel centrino drivers (14.3.0.6) and everything seems to be working. I enabled the wirless n and turned my bluetooth on and I am getting speeds between 78 and 130mbps with 4 bars signal strength from a decent distance away from my router. While I am tempted to says they fixed the issue I'll need to run some internet intensive programs before I will say that with any certainty.
Regardless I suggest everyone get the new Intel driver from the dell site... because its not listed on the Intel website. Must be a custom fix/early release.
Has anyone tried the new bios driver the A08? I am a little nervous to update it now that my computer is working without issue.
Anyways good work guys I guess we complained enough that someone at dell actually noticed
After having installed the latest wireless driver released today with Bios A06:
The net result is not much difference for me.
Internet surfing on 15z - ok
Streaming 720p HD video via WMC from a high end PC with a gigabit wired connection -
To a Dell 1640 - good (non stuttering playback) on 5GHz band and 2.4GHz band; with or without bluetooth mouse enabled
To a Dell 15z - good playback on 2.4GHz band without bluetooth mouse; stuttering if bluetooth mouse enabled; severe stuttering in any case on 5GHz band
Linksys/Cisco E3000 router with latest firmware.
(The previous wireless drivers were first uninstalled before the newer ones were installed.)
After Bios A08 installed - same performance as above
As a separate topic, it looks like rapidstart has been re-enabled with bios A08 - I had a functional rapidstart feature and then one day it broke. Bios A08 hjas restored it.. at least so far.
The new driver is compatible for both the 14z and the 15z, if you have not tried it yet I suggest that you do so. The bluetooth version fo the driver will be made available shortly.
I believe this is the driver that Jimk147 mentioned in a post earlier.
odietamo
17 Posts
0
December 21st, 2011 05:00
Dell silence on this (probably to sell more units and deal with the issue later is quite incredible).
Surprisingly (or maybe not), the customer online reviews on the Australian website are getting positive and pushing down a number of reviews highlighting the wireless problem.
I bought my 14z as soon as it came out in Australia over a month ago. Wireless issue immediately obvious because, sitting beside my 4 year old XPS M1210 at home and Dell Vostro at work, the 14z is getting between 2 and 12 Mbps while the others have 54 Mbps steady. The replace wireless card and antenna/monitor; then the whole unit. Second unit (identical configuration) has the same problem. Had a tech remotely connecting last Saturday to take notice that my claims are founded. He escalated but is Wednesday and not heard back yet.
Just tried @Jared P's quick fix but made no difference to my connection.
Under "Advanced"
802.11n Mode -> Disabled
Bluetooth(R) AMP -> Disabled
Transmit Power -> 5. Highest
Dell better to come out clean on this otherwise they will loose a customer of 10+ years forever.
MrXyzzy
22 Posts
0
December 21st, 2011 07:00
"Dell better to come out clean on this otherwise they will loose a customer of 10+ years forever."
@odietamo, I made a very similar statement to my not-so-friendly Dell Customer Service agent. I was told that they don't care if I ever buy another Dell computer. As such, I am now the proud owner of a MacBook Pro. Everything works perfectly, including the wireless. Yes, it was more money, but life is too short to deal with all this aggravation on such an expensive purchase.
By the way, as a Dell customer for years, my family has a bunch of Dell laptops and Desktops. They will all need to be replaced soon. Guess what brand I will not be buying.
JimK157
29 Posts
0
December 21st, 2011 09:00
I have been following this thread since I received my 15z in June. The driver updates seemed to have fixed most of the connectivity problems I had been experiencing.
I noticed today there are new downloads posted for BIOS-A08 and the Intel 6230 Wireless version 14.3.06. Both of these downloads have a 12/20/2011 release date. Good luck!
MCaputo
1 Rookie
•
68 Posts
0
December 21st, 2011 10:00
And there is an error accessing the driver download page. Great.
MCaputo
1 Rookie
•
68 Posts
0
December 21st, 2011 10:00
I am going to try out the new drivers. Probably not the new bios version as A05 seems to work the best so far.
MaxHen
7 Posts
0
December 21st, 2011 11:00
Here is a mini follow-up to the internet issues I was having pre-patch. Playing League of Legends prior to the patch I would get latency spikes (4000+ms ping) that made the game unplayable. After investigating I found that my wireless card was the issue as I was getting speeds around 5 mbps not good enough for gaming. interestingly this would only occur after about 5 mins into the game so I thought maybe it was a wireless + heat build up issue, as the laptop does tend to heat up a bit mid game.
After the patch I was able to play a full game about 25mins and I saw no latency issues (my ping was around 60ms), even when the laptop started to heat up I had no issues in game.
As others have said, I didn't noticed the wireless issues until I stressed the connection in my experience the only way I found to do this reliably has been though a game. After this test with the new drivers I am confident that the new drivers have significantly improved the connectivity issues I was having earlier. While the issues I was having pre-patch may not be the same for all of us here on this forum these new drivers are at least a step in the right direction.
As for the specifics regarding what exactly the new drivers have fixed... I have no idea but they seem to be working. Boosting both my signal range and speed while enabling me to actually use wireless n.
JimK157
29 Posts
0
December 21st, 2011 11:00
@MaxHen
Installed Bios A08 and no problems. Wireless is definitely improved with latest driver.
MCaputo
1 Rookie
•
68 Posts
0
December 21st, 2011 11:00
New wireless drivers 14.3.0.6 and this is what it fixes: 1. Low performance w/BT on with Virgin Media Netgear Superhub 2. Degraded performance on Virgin Broadband with D-Link AP
How does this remotely help us? And Intel hasn't updated their website with anything new. I think I'm going to wait.
MCaputo
1 Rookie
•
68 Posts
0
December 21st, 2011 11:00
@MaxHen Looks like it worked for you. I'll give it a go as well. Disregard my last post.
MCaputo
1 Rookie
•
68 Posts
0
December 21st, 2011 11:00
New drivers installed and immediately over to Speedtest.net
N mode enabled: 11.43 Mbps
N mode disabled: 13.87 Mbps
Looks like Intel/Dell are making headway on this issue. Another thing is my upload speed is always about the same. About the same on G and N.
MaxHen
7 Posts
0
December 21st, 2011 11:00
Hey guys,
Well I downloaded the new intel centrino drivers (14.3.0.6) and everything seems to be working. I enabled the wirless n and turned my bluetooth on and I am getting speeds between 78 and 130mbps with 4 bars signal strength from a decent distance away from my router. While I am tempted to says they fixed the issue I'll need to run some internet intensive programs before I will say that with any certainty.
Regardless I suggest everyone get the new Intel driver from the dell site... because its not listed on the Intel website. Must be a custom fix/early release.
Has anyone tried the new bios driver the A08? I am a little nervous to update it now that my computer is working without issue.
Anyways good work guys I guess we complained enough that someone at dell actually noticed
aarondwyer
16 Posts
0
December 21st, 2011 12:00
www.dell.com/.../DriversHome
Which drivers on this page should I update to. The wireless drivers were updated a couple of weeks ago weren't they?
Ken PC
76 Posts
0
December 21st, 2011 20:00
After having installed the latest wireless driver released today with Bios A06:
The net result is not much difference for me.
Internet surfing on 15z - ok
Streaming 720p HD video via WMC from a high end PC with a gigabit wired connection -
To a Dell 1640 - good (non stuttering playback) on 5GHz band and 2.4GHz band; with or without bluetooth mouse enabled
To a Dell 15z - good playback on 2.4GHz band without bluetooth mouse; stuttering if bluetooth mouse enabled; severe stuttering in any case on 5GHz band
Linksys/Cisco E3000 router with latest firmware.
(The previous wireless drivers were first uninstalled before the newer ones were installed.)
After Bios A08 installed - same performance as above
As a separate topic, it looks like rapidstart has been re-enabled with bios A08 - I had a functional rapidstart feature and then one day it broke. Bios A08 hjas restored it.. at least so far.
MaartenDW2
8 Posts
0
December 22nd, 2011 07:00
There are no new drivers listed for the 14z, would it be safe to download the drivers for the 15z and install those on my 14z?
DELL-Terry B
4 Operator
•
3.5K Posts
0
December 22nd, 2011 12:00
The new driver is compatible for both the 14z and the 15z, if you have not tried it yet I suggest that you do so. The bluetooth version fo the driver will be made available shortly.
I believe this is the driver that Jimk147 mentioned in a post earlier.
http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/usgen1/DriverDetails?driverId=686FH&deviceId=P1RRK&fileId=2758888576
TB