Windows 8.1 wifi limited dropping slow frustrating

Anonymous
2014-02-05T10:22:29+00:00

Hello,

I've seen some older posts on this site and others that reference this problem, but I've seen no solution as of yet. I live in a house with about 5 different OS's from mac to, now, Windows 8.1. I'm from the states, but I've been visiting friends in New Zealand for three months and just upgraded from 8 to 8.1. Upon doing this, my wifi has had intermittent connectivity at best. I've made sure the router/modem had the latest drivers and the settings were right. I've made sure my laptop had the latest drivers, updates, etc. Funny thing: The machines here with Windows Vista, 7, and 8, as well as those with Mac OS and Android, have zero problems connecting to the internet. No dropping, no reloading web pages over and over and over again to finally get them to show up.

I've also tried, with my 8.1 system, using Windows Explorer, Firefox, and Chrome. I've temporarily turned off firewalls in both Windows and on the router/modem, with no change in the problem. I've rolled back drivers and still it's like all the laptops with 8.1 on them (three, one bought in the last month) are misfiring on one or more cylinders (yes, I'm aware that computers don't function like cars. It's an analogy).

Sometimes the connection works fine. Sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it looks like I have full bars, but web pages or downloads simply stall and I have to reload or re-download. When I connect directly to the router/modem via ethernet cable, zero problems. Everything runs like greased lightning, much as the other devices running OS's other than 8.1.

My specifics:

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon

Windows 8.1 Pro

Intel Core i7-3667 U CPU @ 2.00GHz 2.50GHz

4GB RAM (3.82 usable)

64 bit OS X64 based processor

Network Adapter

Intel Centrino Advanced N 6205

Modem/Router

Telecom Technicolor T G589vn V2

Happy to share general security settings, but the settings are exactly the same for the different operating systems across the board.

Help?

Edit: I should also note that, while the internet is sloppy via wifi using your standard browsers going to URL's, the live tiles on the start page, including Windows Store, Facebook, Skype, or any other live app is also not loading properly, not working, or otherwise not running smoothly when connected to wifi. I also play two videogames online: Mechwarrior and Minecraft. I rarely was ever dropped before upgrading to 8.1, now I have issues connecting to them, and once I do connect, I'm constantly getting dropped.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Internet and connectivity

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Anonymous
2014-02-06T05:49:31+00:00

Hi Tortugaverde,

The “Limited Connectivity” means that the PC has successfully connected to the router, but the PC wasn't assigned a valid IP address, so you can't actually get to the Internet. It would be great if you can answer these questions to assist you in a better way.

1)       Did you install the latest Windows 8.1 compatible Intel Wireless LAN drivers (Version: 16.8.0) on the computer? If yes, was it downloaded from the Lenovo website?

2)       Apart from updating to Windows 8.1, did you make any recent changes on the computer prior to this issue?

3)       Do you have any third party security program installed on the computer?

Since you do not face any issues with the other Windows Vista, 7, and 8 devices on the same network, this issue seems to be due to the incompatible drivers installed on the computer. Let’s first run the Network and Network Adapter troubleshooter and check if that provides any useful information regarding this issue.

Method 1: Run the Network and Network Adapter Troubleshooters

Step 1: Run the Network Troubleshooter

The Network troubleshooter is an automated tool which can find and automatically fix some common networking problems. Follow these steps and run the troubleshooter.

a)       Press “Windows Logo” + “W” keys from the keyboard.

b)       Type “Network Troubleshooter” in the search box.

c)       Click on “Identify and repair network problems” on the left pane of the window.

d)       Click “Next” and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the troubleshooting process.

Please check the troubleshooting report and let’s know the details. You may also try the suggestions given by the troubleshooter and check if that helps. Let’s also run the Network Adapter Troubleshooter and check if that helps.

Step 2: Run the Network Adapter Troubleshooter

The Network Adapter troubleshooter is an automated tool which will check the adapter in the computer for any known issues and provides the details and on how to fix them. Follow these steps and run the troubleshooter.

a)       Press “Windows Logo” + “W” keys from the keyboard.

b)       Type “Troubleshooting” in the search bar and press “Enter”.

c)       In the “Troubleshooting” window, click on “View All” on the left pane.

d)       Click on “Network Adapter”.

e)       Click on “Advanced” and then click on “Run as Administrator”.

f)        Click “Next” and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the troubleshooting process.

Please check the troubleshooting report and let’s know the details. You may also try the suggestions given by the troubleshooter and check if that helps.

If the issue still persists, then I would suggest you to try installing the latest Windows 8.1 compatible Intel Wireless LAN drivers which are released on 26^th^ Jan 2014 from the Lenovo website and check if that resolves the issue.

Method 2: Uninstall and Reinstall the latest Wireless LAN Drivers

Before installing the latest drivers, let’s uninstall the old existing drivers from the computer. Please follow these steps:

Step 1: Uninstall the Device Drivers

a)       Press “Windows Logo” + “X” keys on the keyboard.

b)       Click on “Device Manager” from that list.

c)       Search for the WiFi adapter device from the device list, right click on it and then select “Uninstall”. On the un-installation window, if you have an option: “Delete the driver software for this device” you may select that and then remove the corrupted drivers from the computer.

d)       Follow the on-screen instructions to complete it and the restart the computer if prompted.

After the restart, please open the Device Manager again and then click on the “Scan for hardware changes” button. Check if Windows 8.1 detects the WiFi adapter device and installs an appropriate driver automatically. If the issue still persists, then try the next step.

Step 2:Download and Install the latest Intel Wireless LAN Drivers from the Lenovo Website

Please download the latest Windows 8.1 compatible Intel Wireless LAN Drivers from this link:

Intel Wireless LAN (11abgn, 11bgn, 11ac) for Windows 8.1 (64-bit), 8 (64-bit), 7 (32-bit, 64-bit) - ThinkPad

For more information and suggestions regarding the Network and Network Adapter issues, you may also refer to these articles:

Wired and wireless network problems

Why can't I connect to a network?

How do I fix network adapter problems?

Please get back to us with the results. If the issue still persists, we’ll be glad to assist you further.

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-03-18T19:25:34+00:00

    I think MS needs to have these issues updated through updates ASAP! instead of having the techs give people the run around.

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-03-18T16:47:30+00:00

    Hi Rajesh,

    Thank you your help. This recipe solves the problem but it comes back again and again. I have also had this problem since I upgraded my Lenovo T420 to Windows 8.1 and I have to troubleshoot the connection each time it disappears. I have the most recent driver from the Lenovo website but I lose connectivity several time a day. Other devices (two laptops-a Dell under Windows 7 and a Macbook Pro - and smartphones) have never had this problem. My search shows that this is a common problem among Windows 8.1 users.

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-03-18T18:16:48+00:00

    Hi Rajesh,

    As I indicated in my previous message, I have the most recent driver (16.10.0) from the Lenovo website. I have a 64-bit system and the issue started to appear after I upgraded my laptop to Windows 8.1. Everything worked properly under Windows 8. I don't know what software might be in conflict with this driver. I have MS Office 2013, Photoshop CS6, Lightroom 5, Skype, and a bunch of utilities to work with multimedia (like VLC player, Foobar, Audacity, Praat etc.). They are all most recent versions compatible with Windows 8.1. The best way to diagnose is to install a clean copy of Windows 8.1 but I don't have a copy of Win8.1 to clean-install. I can only install Win8 and then upgrade to 8.1 via Internet.

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  4. Anonymous
    2014-03-18T17:58:26+00:00

    Hi Vladimir,

    Thank you so much for your post on this thread.

    It would be great if you can let’s know the version of the Wireless LAN driver installed on the computer. It seems that the latest Windows 8.1 compatible Wireless LAN driver offered from the Lenovo website is of the version: 16.10.0 which was released on 25th Feb 2014.

    If you already have this driver installed on the computer, then this could be due to some other issue like software conflicts. If not, I would suggest you to install this driver from the Lenovo website and check if that resolves the issue. You may download this driver from either of these links:

    For Windows 8.1 64 bit: Wireless LAN Driver – 64 bit

    For Windows 8.1 32 bit: Wireless LAN Driver – 32 bit

    Hope this resolves the issue. Please get back to us with the result.

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