Surface Pro 3 - Windows 10 - WiFi (slow or limited connectivity )

Anonymous
2015-07-30T14:16:39+00:00

Have a Surface Pro 3 that worked fine till I updated to Win10.  Now the wireless connection seems to randomly go to a "limited connectivity" mode.  Fortunately was purchased from Costco a coupe of weeks ago so it is going back there if we can't get this figured out by Sunday.

The Surface Pro3 is a flagship device - why in the world would you subject your customers to have to resort to looking for help in forums like this?

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2015-11-13T10:20:54+00:00

Everyone,

Build 10586 - the November Windows 10 update - was released yesterday, and it contains a newer Marvell wireless driver 15.68.9032.47 - people are reporting that this greatly improves wireless connectivity. Please download the large update, and if you used the registry hack, reverse it as follows:

Press Windows button. Search for regedit. Open it

  1. Navigate to the following path:

 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Services\mrvlpcie8897

  1. Find the item labeled “TXAMSDU”. Double tap and modify the value from 0 to 1
  2. Restart the machine

Then test your connectivity, and post results.

Was this answer helpful?

40+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2015-11-13T10:44:26+00:00

Fred,

the November Windows 10 update to build 10586 has new wireless drivers. Can you download and install the update (it should be offered via WU) and let us know if this changes your connectivity?

Was this answer helpful?

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2015-08-05T18:12:39+00:00

Penny,

These kinds of issues WERE present on 8.1 for months but they mostly all cleared after several driver updates.

And that particular router is not one known to exhibit slow wifi. I'm suggesting you trade it because it is SP new and you can now get one with 10 pre-installed and not have to go through an upgrade AND because you have this issue. Getting it swapped will rule out a hardware issue and would be a step forward.

This is what *I* would do if in this situation.

For what it's worth - Microsoft needs to fix the driver and any underlying Win 10 OS issues. It took them 9 months to get a "good" Windows 8.1 wireless driver. For now, consider an external USB wireless adapter. I carry around a http://www.amazon.com/Edimax-EW-7811UTC-Dual-Band-Connectivity-Exceeding/dp/B00FW6T36Y

Was this answer helpful?

0 comments

417 additional answers

Sort by: Oldest
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2015-08-23T17:56:24+00:00

    Network

    2 - Cisco WAP 371 Wireless - AC/N Dual Radio Access Points

    1 - Router pfsense 

    4 - HP switches  (all gigabit)

    Clients 

    HP EliteBook 745 G2

    SSID: WLAN-HOME-5G

    Protocol: 802.11ac

    Security type: WPA2-Personal

    Manufacturer: Broadcom

    Description: Broadcom BCM4352HMB 802.11ac 2x2 Wi-Fi Adapter

    Driver version: 6.30.223.227

    Surface Pro 3

    SSID: WLAN-HOME-5G

    Protocol: 802.11ac

    Security type: WPA2-Personal

    Manufacturer: Marvell Semiconductor. Inc.

    Description: Marvell AVASTAR Wireless-AC Network Controller

    Driver version: 15.68.3091.193

    Cisco WAP 371 Access Points

    Firmware 1.2.0.2

    See screenshots

    Channel Bandwidth set to 80Mhz both hp and surface 3 pro link up at 866.5 Mbps

    Channel Bandwidth set to 20Mhz both hp and surface 3 pro link up at 173 Mbps

    Surface Pro 3 unusable at 80Mhz setting can't even copy files on local network or browse the internet.

    Surface Pro 3 usable at 20Mhz setting copy files on network at 10 MB/s and speedtest at 89 Mbps/7Mbps

    HP EliteBook usable at 80Hhz copy files on network at 10MB/s and speedtest at around 108 Mbps/7Mbps

    HP EliteBook usable at 20Mhz same results as above.

    I used same file on local network and speedtest to local ISP site one after another and vice versa and got the same results.

    Also setting the Cisco WAP 371 to 20/40Mhz setting has the same outcome for the surface pro 3 using the 80Mhz setting UNUSABLE.

    Attached are my screenshots of WAP 371 settings

    Settings at 80Mhz - all I changed

     

    Settings at 20Mhz all I changed highlighted in yellow.

    Also I have not changed any settings on the Surface Pro 3 adapter:

    Band: Auto

    Packet Coalescing: Enabled

    Wake on pattern match:Enabled

    I also use a dedicated SSID for 5Ghz and one for 2.4Ghz.

    I was planning on opening a ticket next week after verifying my network settings.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2015-08-23T19:32:50+00:00

    Very good find! While it doesn't seem acceptable to have to drop everything to 20 MHz for one device, it may help solve the problem in the end.

    I saw very similar results with the ASUS RT-AC68U. Drop to 20 MHz, and I get almost 100 Mbps down on my SP3. Go to 40 MHz, and I get 11 Mbps down. Go back to 80 MHz, and I get 8 Mbps again.

    I'd also like to add I found the January 2015 driver pack for the Surface Pro 3 on Softpedia. Installing the Wi-Fi drivers from that download brought all my speeds back to normal, even while at 80 MHz channel width. However, use caution with random downloads like that that aren't directly from vendor. Use at your own risk.

    Edit: Fixed typo.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments