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
    2014-02-28T21:04:16+00:00

    Couldn't agree more. I have a desktop HP system, and I'm having the same issue. I have to say, I didn't have an issue with it for months after getting the system, but suddenly a couple days ago it started. My Wi-fi connection either goes to  "limited" or disappears altogether. And any attempt to reconnect - short of re-booting - leads nowhere. 

    Anything learned since you posted here last November?

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-02-28T14:38:09+00:00

    Hi,

    Same story here:

    • Airport Extreme Time Capsule as a WiFi router.
    • Two Mac clients on the WiFi without any connectivity issues.
    • Two iPhone clients on the WiFi without any connectivity issues.
    • Three different iPads on the WiFi without any connectivity issues.
    • A Linux client on the WiFi without any connectivity issues.
    • An Android 4 tablet on the WiFi without any connectivity issues.
    • A Surface RT with Windows 8.1 and frequent connectivity issues on the WiFi.
    • A Dell T420S with Windows 8.1 Pro and frequent connectivity issues on the WiFi.
    • A Dell Venue 8 Pro running Windows 8.1 and frequent connectivity issues on the WiFi.
    • A Dell X1 Carbon running Windows 8.1 Pro and frequent connectivity issues on the WiFi.

    See the pattern here?

    Clearly, there's something wrong with Windows 8.1 and how it interacts with the Apple Airport Extreme WiFi router!

    My solution: I got a cheap WRT54GL to run DD-WRT and hooked that up via cable to the Airport to act as another WiFi access point just for the Windows clients.

    I hope that someone at Microsoft will take some time to drill into what's causing this issue, so either Microsoft or Apple can fix it.

    Tobias W.

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  3. 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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  4. 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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  5. 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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