Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX1650i Wi-Fi & BT 201NG new drivers don't work

[StevenG]

I've been trying to update the Bluetooth driver for my Killer Wi-Fi/BT 6 AX1650i 201NG type card for my Nitro 5 AN515-56 running Win-11 drivers for ages and the Bluetooth new Intel drivers don't work (the new Wi-Fi drivers work) but the new drivers make my Bluetooth completely dead?

The Bluetooth works with the Acer OEM provided Intel BT version 22.40.0.2 only but not with any of the latest driver versions like the 22.150.x.x or the last and newest Release date: August 30, 2022 update that the Intel® Driver & Support Assistant keeps telling me that version 22.160.0.4 Bluetooth driver is compatible, why?

Also, I’ve read this latest Bluetooth drivers version 22.160.0.4 Release Notes Intel® Wireless Bluetooth® 22.160.0 > Supported Products and Driver Versions that in that list, it does not have the Killer Wi-Fi/BT 6 AX1650i 201NG type card listed, is that the reason? Please, any advice would be appreciated as this is very frustrating as I’ve got no idea why this happens.

I've included the caption from Device Manager of the BT driver 22.40.0.2 that is the only BT driver that works as the new BT drivers 22.1xx.x.x don't work but, with the Wi-Fi new driver whenever I update it to any new version 22.1xx.x.x driver it always gets rolled back but with the new BT driver it gets installed but the BT is dead, any help would be muchly appreciated thanks.

[Alberto_R_Intel · Accepted solution]

StevenG, Thank you for posting in the Intel® Communities Support.

in reference to this scenario, we always recommend to install the wireless driver provided by the manufacturer of the computer, since that driver was heavily customized by them to work with your specific platform.

I looked on Acer's website, and yes, as you mentioned, Bluetooth driver version 22.40.0.2 is the proper driver for your machine:

https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/support-product/8878

The Intel® wireless drivers are generic, meaning they might or might not work as expected on your laptop since it does done contain the customizations done by Acer. Still, I also searched on our official website and it seems there is no Bluetooth driver available for the Intel® Killer™ Wi-Fi 6 AX1650i:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/search.html?ws=idsa-suggested#q=killer%20r%20wi-fi%206%20ax1650i%20160mhz%20wireless%20network%20adapter%20201ngw&sort=relevancy&f:@tabfilter=[Downloads]

Still, I will confirm that information and provide the response on this thread as soon as possible.

Any questions, please let me know.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[StevenG]

Thank you so much for your answer Alberto_R, what you are saying makes sense and I wanted to know officially if its true, as I keep getting reminders for an update from the Intel® Driver & Support Assistant, also I haven't got much experience with Intel Wi-Fi/BT cards and have mainly used other Qualcomm and Broadcom type Wi-Fi/BT cards and their drivers are not specific like Intel's. I had a hunch that this Acer fitted Killer 6 AX1650i 201NG type card is a specific Intel card model by looking at the Intel Release Notes for the 22.160.0 that doesn't list this card, thanks again for your detailed answer. 

[Alberto_R_Intel]

Hello StevenG, You are very welcome, I just received an update on this matter.

After reviewing the case, to try to fix this problem, we suggest first to manually remove all Bluetooth devices from [Bluetooth & devices] > Devices.

Then, Perform a clean installation following the steps in the link below:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000087250/wireless.html

Finally, updating to Intel® Bluetooth drivers 22.160.0: 

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/18649/741441/intel-wireless-bluetooth-for-windows-10-and-windows-11.html

Additionally, we recommended to install the latest Killer Performance 3.1222.614 (contains WiFi 22.150 drivers) along with Intel® Bluetooth version 22.160.0.

Once you get the chance, please let us know the results.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Alberto_R_Intel]

Hello StevenG, I just wanted to check if the information posted previously was useful for you and if you need further assistance on this matter?

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Alberto_R_Intel]

Hello StevenG, Since we have not heard back from you, we are closing the case, but if you have any additional questions, please post them on a new thread so we can further assist you with this matter.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician