Windows 8.1: WiFi dropping and/or "Limited"

I have written here before.

I Year time, buying cheap network card (Atheros, Broadcom, Killer)

Also I thought it was a bad system.

That's not true, hardware and hardware driver, manufacturer decides not the system,

If it works with Intel.

Why other cheap brands do not work?

How do you purpose Microsoft make a fix all for so many possible issues with driver, device, software and other configurations?

The issue lies here "As would have been expected, Dell advised I contact MSFT, as did Intel, regarding this issue."

It is Dells job to deal with this not pass blame. They are the ones doing QA. It won't get much better in W10 except for possibly a better self debug. One tricky thing about WiFi issues is its hard to use some of the enhancements such as the additions to DISM and it is also hard for Windows or any driver to analyze the actual issue. SInce there is no actual connection to the LAN and the WAN can't contact windows update for a driver or corrupt file replacement it may take longer then it should. Some times a simple hookup to Ethernet and DISM /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth in an elevated command prompt can fix the issue. 

 As you know virus software can install tons of drivers of their own in and around the  drivers that handle WiFi and any network connections. When places like Dell preinstall something like Norton or MacAfee then user uninstall them they don't always clean up like they should. Knowing that they cause such an issue you would think they would stop. Especially when a new version of Windows comes out and the issues will be greater because of the unknowns. In addition it is hard to fix issues when the problem lies with another company. You can hack a fix together because it could be a security risk or risk breaking other parts of the system.

It is impossible to think Microsoft doesn't care if users can connect to the internet, it would be unimaginable.

As you may know most of the data points used by Microsoft is their field techs and the enterprise customers. That is one of the easiest ways to get a solid point of where the issue lies. However, Microsoft or the vendor won't ever come out pubic about another company. They will hand off the info and their field devs that work with the companies will do what they can to help the vendors

Having worked with MSFT for many years, often in Redmond, I am well experienced with driver development and how the process used to work. My lab would never have tolerated a situation that affects so many users to linger.  Moreover sales and QC, as well as the MSFT team would have scheduled conferences with us to discuss and work toward a resolution, as was often done. Subjecting W8.1 to this disappointment does not seem reasonable. I have contacted Intel thrice with a response that they have resolved similar issues but not for all drivers. I have also posted on this thread previously after doing so. In the case of so many thread contributors attempting to resolve this issue by adjusting device power management, it would seem logical for a distributed notation to W8.1 users describing such, if it indeed would resolve at least some of the issues, or not if this is not a recommended solution.  When my previous lab received a smattering of reported driver related issues, from WHQL, end users or vendors, we would initiate a response team.

As would have been expected, Dell advised I contact MSFT, as did Intel, regarding this issue.

I respond and monitor this thread on behalf of my clients. Myself and all of the engineers I work with prefer and still use W7 for technical and lab use. Not because we want to but because the industry has not come together in the historical and successful manner of W7, W3.11, etc., to make W8.1 solid enough. Hopefully W10 will be.

Not sure what you mean by a MSDN developer since it is a development network, perhaps they have a certification I am unaware of. If you are capable of writing drivers you would know that Microsoft can't write drivers for every device and rewrite others software. That would mean they are also responsible for updates. With one device using several pieces of software that would be a illogical plan.

The issue of a limited connection is generic and only indicates there is no connection to a LAN or the network has no connection to the WAN. That could be any number of things from a corrupt driver to router having issues, radio interference. Software, usually anti-virus software or firewalls or any other number of things. While there was an issue early on with drivers that were using an update and more strict security protocol those issues are gone. Most of those issues were the routers weren't correctly performing the 4 way handshake. Microsoft provides the driver foundation and leaves the rest up to the vendors. If people would flood the vendors who are actually responsible and have the ability to fix the issues the problem would get fixed.

Now we have issue that can't possibly be fixed by Microsoft. As a developer I would expect you to know that. The amount of views is not a good measurement.

There are now >192K views to this post. This is a serious problem that needs one of the vendors, preferably MSFT, to take the lead on fixing this. I have the same issue on my Dell XPS, not only with the Intel NIC driver, but also with a brand new Netgear USB WIFI adapter. It does not seem probable that both Intel, who has not provided a fix for my driver, or Netgear, who has no suggestions at this time, have both incorrectly written driver code. As an MSDN developer, I have tried all posted and known fixes, short of writing my own driver. I feel for those of you with this problem. It is annoying to me, but as I have several laptops and tablets, I can deal with it.