Windows 8.1 wifi limited dropping slow frustrating

Anonymous

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.

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.

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Answer accepted by question author

Anonymous

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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44 additional answers

Anonymous

2015-04-03T12:10:01+00:00

I am having the same issue it worked for about 6 hours now I am back to square one I gave up and just hardwired myself in hopefully there is a fix before they launch windows 10
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Anonymous

2015-04-03T06:57:39+00:00

Hi DanzIZme

Did not work what you are suggesting.

I am using Vodafone LTE/4G USB stick, with the latest driver version.

Doesn't matter what I do in Win 8.1 the internet connection still drops me after a short while, which it has never done when I had Win 7 installed.
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Anonymous

2015-03-30T08:24:03+00:00

You might try installing the drivers for the dongle in compatibility mode the run as admin box. To do that you right click any software the dongle needs and choose properties > compatibility tab > select windows 7 > check run this program as an admin then ok. Restart and see it it works better.

USB dongles work a little different then the normal networking. After you try that, if it doesn't work, use the participate button on the top menu of this forum to ask a question. Include the dongle's brand and model. Then post a link here, in reply to my post so I can find the question and assist you further
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Anonymous

2015-03-30T07:50:24+00:00

Hi DanzIZme,

Knowing your a programmer as stated, thanks for your post and link for troubleshooting.

I am using Windows 8.1 clean install and have got the same problem as it looks like a lot of people have with being Limited and being dropped on connection to the Internet, this has only happened since I have installed Win 8.1 and never happened with Win 7, I have run through most of the things to do in your troubleshooting link with no success.

I am using a Dongle, LTE Modem and have the latest driver installed, I have also contacted my service provider which I was on the phone with them for more than an hour as they checked my line etc, with being told there is nothing wrong with my connection.

I have been looking on most forums and troubleshooting site and see lots of people are having the same problem, but no one has a solution for this problem :-(

One saying windows has compatibility issues and another saying driver issues, but why cant one of them or both of them, MS or driver programmers find a fix for this problem.

I was also thinking of changing to a Wifi router but seems like everyone is still have the same problem there as well.

Wish someone would come up with a solution for this issue.
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