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How to check if antenna 2 is working with the 7265 Wireless adapter ?

JKOST2
Beginner
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When using my notebook at home, my WLAN connection suffers from interference between the Wifi and Bluetooth signals. If the Bluetooth module is enabled, my notebook hardly detects the WIFI signal while all other mobile devices (4 smartphones, 2 tablets) detect the Wifi signal without any trouble. If the Bluetooth module of my notebook is disabled, the Wifi connection works fine. Conversely, when using my notebook at university, the Wifi connection works fine even with the Bluetooth module enabled.

My notebook is a Asus Zenbook UX330UA-FC006T which comes with the Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265 adapter. It is running Windows 10 (64 bits). I tried the most recent driver (v19.51.11.2) without any improvement. I have currently reversed to the previous version (v19.50.1.6) but I the same issue remains.

My router does not support the 5 Ghz band. I understand there may be interference between Wifi connection and Bluetooth because they are both using the 2.4 Ghz band. The university's WLAN network may support the 5 Ghz band which would explain why my Wifi connection works fine there.

I would like to re-enable the Bluetooth without killing my Wifi connection again.

I understand from another post that the Wireless adapter uses the following antenna configuration :

Antenna 1: WiFi + Bluetooth

Antenna 2: Wifi

I suspect my notebook has only one antenna or antenna 2 does not work.

How can I check if antenna 2 works ?

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idata
Employee
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Hello kevin59,

 

 

We understand you have been experiencing some Bluetooth® + WiFi coexistence issues while connecting to your 2.4 GHz network. The same does not happen when connecting to 5 GHz using your university's WiFi.

 

 

Have you made sure to also install the https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/27622 latest Bluetooth® driver? Our current download should install the Bluetooth® driver version 20.30.0.3 for your Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265.

 

 

- https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005559/network-and-i-o/wireless-networking.html Download the Latest Driver for Your Intel® Wireless Adapter

 

 

Now, for your actual question. There is no easy way to check if your antenna 2 is working. The only way to test this would be to open up your laptop, and either switch antennas (1 on 2, 2 on 1) or to disconnect antenna # 1 and test to see if your signal strength is severely affected.

 

 

It's always important to proceed carefully, as this may void your laptop's warranty.

 

 

Could you please share an SSU report for us to check out your current configuration? If possible, please generate this while connected to the wireless network where you're experiencing the issues (but without using Bluetooth®).

 

 

1. Download the latest https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25293 Intel® SSU

 

2. While connected to your WiFi network, run the scan for "everything."

 

3. Save and name the report.

 

 

Best regards,

 

Carlos A.
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JKOST2
Beginner
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Intel SSU report : See attached file

Please note the latest version of the bluetooth driver was already installed

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idata
Employee
3,165 Views

Hello kevin59,

 

 

Some of the information I was hoping for wasn't included in the SSU report.

 

 

Could you please share NETSH reports instead? If you're able to create these reports while connected to your university's 5GHz network, as well as another for your 2.4 GHz connection, all the better. If not, only one of the two should be OK.
  1. In the search box on the taskbar, type Command prompt, press and hold (or right-click) Command prompt, and then select Run as administrator > Yes.
  2. At the command prompt, type netsh wlan show interface and then press Enter.
  3. Using the Snipping Tool (can also be searched for using the taskbar), take and save a screenshot.
We look forward to hearing back from you.

 

 

Best regards,

 

Carlos A.
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JKOST2
Beginner
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Is the screen shot below what you are looking for ?

It was taken at home where there is interference between wifi and bluetooth.

If this is what you are looking for, i will do the same on another network where there is no interference

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idata
Employee
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Hello kevin59,

 

 

Yes, that is exactly what we're looking for.

 

 

Also, what is the brand and model of your wireless router? (the one where you're having the issues).

 

 

Best regards,

 

Carlos A.
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JKOST2
Beginner
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idata
Employee
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Hello kevin59,

Thanks for this information.

We can see that your router uses a Linux* based interface which should be simple to configure. We'll wait for your second screenshot, but for now, we can suggest trying out the following settings:

Access the https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005585/network-and-i-o/wireless-networking.html advanced settings tab on your adapter, via Device Manager.

Channel Width for 2.4 GHz: 20 MHz

 

Channel Width for 5 GHz: Auto

Also, to improve wireless performance, we recommend setting up your router to use a non-overlapping channel. On the 2.4 GHz band, there are three valid channels: 1, 6, and 11. If you'd like, you can test them out and see if the issue is less noticeable on one of these. Your router is currently broadcasting in channel 3, which is not recommended (channel selection is possibly set to automatic).

We also recommend changing your encryption type to WPA2-Personal, you're currently using WPA-Personal on this network, which is no longer considered secure.

I located a site with some http://supertos.free.fr/supertos.php?page=1439 basic usage guides for your router and OS.

NOTE: Any links provided for third party tools or sites are offered for your convenience and should not be viewed as an endorsement by Intel® of the content, products, or services offered there. We do not offer support for any third party tool mentioned here.

While this may help matters somewhat, it's likely that this is the expected outcome of using Bluetooth® on a 2.4 GHz 802.11n network. While some interference is always expected in this frequency, 802.11ac does offer further fixes to help with Bluetooth® coexistence.

Best regards,

 

Carlos A.
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idata
Employee
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Hello kevin59,

 

 

We haven't heard back from you in a while. Let us know if you need any further assistance.

 

 

Best regards,

 

Carlos A.
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JKOST2
Beginner
3,165 Views

I could not answer earlier because I have been traveling for some time.

First, let me add that there are actually two WLANs at home in order to improve network coverage. I am switching from one network to the other depending in which room I am sitting. The problem mentioned earlier (interference between WIFI and Bluetooth) occurs on both WLANs. None of them support the 5 Ghz band. The first WLAN uses the Freebox Mini 4K (see NETSH report sent earlier). The second WLAN uses the Netgear DG834G modem router (802.11g).

Your suggestions seem to solve the problem although setting the driver parameter "Channel Width for 2.4 GHz" at 20 MHz seem to reduce the throughput.

In conclusion, there are two turnarounds: either switching off Bluetooth or setting the driver parameter Channel Width for 2.4 GHz at 20 MHz.

Thank you very much for your help.

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idata
Employee
3,165 Views

Hello Kevin59,

 

 

We're glad our responses have helped.

 

 

Unfortunately, yes. Limiting your 2.4 GHz channel width to a single 20 MHz channel does limit your throughput, as there is a direct correlation between channel width and connection rate. However, wider channels also leave you more vulnerable to interference, since the 2.4 GHz frequencies have a very limited amount of non-overlapping channels.

 

 

In most cases, even if your download speed isn't "as great", having less interference issues will generally result in a better overall experience.

 

 

Found an article that may explain why this happens better than I am able to: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000006529/network-and-i-o/wireless-networking.html Wireless Device Interference May Impact 802.11n

 

 

If there's anything else we can help you with, please don't hesitate to let us know.

 

 

Best regards,

 

Carlos A.
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