Hi
I bought a DELL Inspiron 3148 a few days ago. It's now upgraded from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10.
Windows 8.1 = I do not have the below problem.
Windows 10 = I do have the below problem.
I have been experiencing (and I still am experiencing to some extent) problems with my WiFi (Broadcom 1708 WiFi/BT combo chip). The problem is the same whether I'm running the laptop on battery or mains.
Problems:
- WiFi networks not available and not connected (I see a red cross over the WiFi icon in the Taskbar); or
- WiFi networks available but not connected
To manually fix either of these problems I have had to do one of the following, either:
- Disable and enable the Network Adaptor (this often works); or
- Reset the Network Adapter by running the "Network Troubleshooting" (this always works)
Then, once the WiFi is properly connected it works well for a short while (less than 15 mins). After that it shows "Limited" (under the chosen WiFi network name) or no connection (red cross through the WiFi icon in the Taskbar).
Although the above actions sort of fixed the issues it quickly became very frustrating and totally impractical, so I went in search of more permanent fixes on the internet and found the below suggestions.
Notes:
- I've not given an exact step-by-step howto at this stage. If things are unclear let me know and I'll updated the text accordingly.
- I've applied all the steps (in the order given below) and have not undo any previous steps ie. this is building each "fix" on top of the previous "fix".
- The below is amalgamation of what I've found and what seems to work (to some extent) for me. It might even be that some of the below is not really helping and/or is an overkill.
Right, here goes...
A. Driver
===================================================
1) Install latest WiFi adapter drivers.
The DELL Broadcom 1708 WiFi driver information on DELL driver homepage shows:
File name: 3148_Network_Driver_TH22T_WN32_7.35.295.0_A01.exe
Last modified: 17th Sept 2015
During installation of the driver, the date is shown as 6th August 2015.
After installation of the driver, the date is shown as 30th July 2015.
When I make a double-check that the driver is really upto date I get the following message "The best driver software for your device is already installed"
I also have the "DELL Updater" installed on my laptop and it shows "Your system is up to date".
Questions:
i) Why are does the driver still show "30th July 2015" even though the date shown on the DELL driver homepage shows "17th Sept 2015"?
ii) How do I really know if I have the real latest version of the driver installed, ie. version from 17th Sept 2015?
iii) I am supposed to delete the current driver before installing the new driver? Of "yes" then how"?
2) Change Driver setup in the Advance Settings:
2.1) AP Compatible, set to Broader Compatibility
2.2) Minimum Power Consumption, set to Disabled
This did not fix the problems.
B. Power settings
===================================================
Control Panel - Hardware and Software - Power Options
Dell - Change Plan Settings - Change Advanced Power Settings
Wireless Adapter Settings - Power Saving Mode
On Battery, set to Maximum Performance
Plugged in, set to Maximum Performance
This did not fix the problems.
C. Forget all previous WiFi networks
===================================================
I simply ran what was recommended. The purpose is not 100% clear to me.
Settings - Network & Internet - WiFi - Manage WiFi Settings
Individually select each network and click "Forget". (Tedious but not sure how to Forget All)
This did not fix the problems.
D. BT interference
===================================================
I installed the latest BT driver from DELL's homepage.
This did not fix the problems.
I have noticed the following with BT:
1) Turn on the BT (without pairing or streaming data ie. no stereo audio from PC to BT headset)
WiFi signal strength not reduced. WiFi remains stable
2) Pair BT without starting to stream audio data to BT headset
WiFi signal strength not reduced. WiFi remains stable
3) Streaming audio over BT to my BT headset
WiFi signal strength reduced but remains stable, ie. doesn't disconnect
Is there potentially a WiFi/BT co-existence issue here too?
E. Register
===================================================
I believe this is related to the Cisco VPN client from Win8 having an issue, but it's not 100% clear to me.
Again, I simply ran what was recommended.
- Press Windows Logo + X from your keyboard.
- Now select Command Prompt (Admin) Not the non-Admin version of the Command Prompt
- Now enter the following command and press enter.
reg delete HKCR\CLSID\{988248f3-a1ad-49bf-9170-676cbbc36ba3} /va /f
(I only got to this point as this did not work for me. The deletion couldn't happend as nothing was there in my system to be deleted, but it may work for you)
netcfg -v -u dni_dne
- Now restart your PC.
This did not fix the problems.
F. Resetting TCP/IP auto-tuning
===================================================
Again I simply ran what was recommended.
- Press Windows Logo + X from your keyboard.
- Now select Command Prompt (Admin) Not the non-Admin version of the Command Prompt
- Now enter the following commands, pressing enter after each command
netsh int tcp set heuristics disabled
netsh int tcp global autotuninglevel=disabled
netsh int tcp set global rss=enabled
You should get an "OK" after each commend is entered.
You can also check it worked by entering the following command
netsh int tcp show global
It should show only the first state "Receive-side scaling state" as enabled, all others should be disabled.
- Now restart your PC.
This did not fix the problems.
G. IP resetting
===================================================
Again I simply ran what was recommended.
- Press Windows Logo + X from your keyboard.
- Now select Command Prompt (Admin) Not the non-Admin version of the Command Prompt
- Now enter the following commands, then enter
netsh int ip reset
- Now restart your PC.
This seems to fix my problems as my WiFi has been constantly attached to the same WiFi network for over one hour now.
Previously, before running the above command, it would drop every 15 mins or less.
That said, I need to manually connect to the WiFi as the automatic connection no longer seems to work at all.
Please let me know if you have any constructive feedback on the above and/or if you have other workarounds/solutions.
Many Thanks,
Alan