Windows 8.1: WiFi dropping and/or "Limited"

Anonymous
2013-10-20T17:01:27+00:00

Since installing 8.1 Pro, I'm having issues with WiFi dropping internet connectivity and always showing "Limited" when clicking on the system tray icon.  When I troubleshoot the problem using the system tool it is always the gateway that is faulty.  I have uninstalled/reinstalled the device drivers several times, installed the newest drivers directly from Intel, restarted the computer, etc.  I can restore connectivity by turning WiFi off then back on, but the connection will drop at what seems to be random intervals.  My applicable system specs are as follows;

Lenovo Y510P  Laptop

Windows 8.1 Pro

Intel Centrino Wireless-N 2230

Apple Time Capsule router w/newest firmware

Needless to say this is quite an irritating bug that didn't exist prior to the update to 8.1  I hope this can be resolved quickly. Thanks!

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Internet and connectivity

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-02-28T14:04:28+00:00

    Miniport is an old concept resembling to virtual wifi adapters, I guess, and as such a driver concept that normally is unnecessary for us mere mortals to deal with :-)

    Otherwise, I,m really sorry to say that fiddling with the virtual adapter power save settings DIDN'T solve my headache, as I got this "No internet access" after some 16 hours :-(

    Now, what I wonder about, is the REAL difference between "Limited access" and "No internet access". Is it introduced some logic, that checks beyond "link up" whether the WiFi connection results in a reachable Internet - which turns on/off some of these flags?

    Earlier on, even on XP/Win7, a misconfigured network, resulting in unreachable DNS service, bad IP or a bad route / out from a broadband connection has given me that kind of diagnostic earlier on. I wonder whether there is now introduced in Win8 a semi-intelligent mechanism (not) that actually fails (compared to my other wifi devices, that really operate OK) and decides to mark my wifi connection as useless, the same way as if I had misconfigured it...???

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-02-28T12:22:44+00:00

    OK, so you really ticked this option under the "View" menu in Device Manager:

    View (menu) choose "Show Hidden Devices"

    ...and then you actually didn't see the hidden device "Microsoft WiFi Direct Virtual Adapter" (or anyone else) ...???

    That's really weird.  I have now 4 different 8.1 devices and all of them have that as a hidden device.  (Dell, Microsoft Surface, Sony Vaio, and Gateway).  I also just checked my Windows 7 machine at home and it has something similar called Microsoft Virtual Wifi Miniport Adapter which is a hidden device that you don't see unless you click "View: Show hidden devices".

    TSM

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-02-28T00:13:55+00:00

    OK, I don't know why this is so for you. After applying for me, my wifi has been more stable than for a loong time, but I'm not trusting it to last... You _should_ try to turn off the power saving management option on your real adapter as well.I've un-ticked both now, but the first real adapter one that I un-ticked didn't do any good alone...

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  4. Anonymous
    2014-02-28T00:04:15+00:00

    Correct. Followed directions over a dozen times. No such listing at all.

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  5. Anonymous
    2014-02-27T23:19:07+00:00

    OK, so you really ticked this option under the "View" menu in Device Manager:

    View (menu) choose "Show Hidden Devices"

    ...and then you actually didn't see the hidden device "Microsoft WiFi Direct Virtual Adapter" (or anyone else) ...???

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