Fix Intel Wireless-AC 8260AC Wifi Adapter Speed Issues in Windows 10

For many users, Intel Dual Band Wireless 8260 AC has been a issue of distress because of highly cynical speed of Wireless and this has affected the networking via wireless difficult and highly variable speed in internet surfing. Overall you’ll face fluctuations in internet and would observe a disastrous difference between you really used to have in Windows 7 or 8. And it’s not like that things have been any better with 8260 AC card with Windows 8, but however it was manageable. Now, you’ll have great trouble in playing online games like Counter Strike where lower the ping the best situation is a must. So, let’s fix this issue:

Solution 1

Intel Dual Band Wireless 8260 AC card designed for work mainly for 5GHz AC connections. But since most users using laptop of many manufacturer say HP, Lenovo or even Dell have this card in their laptop. Intel shouldn’t have sold this card in bulk as in the end it’s the consumer who suffer. However to fix this issue, let’s begin:

Download latest drivers from Intel here. You’ll get two choices to choose from i.e.

	For Windows 8 / 10 32 Bit	For Windows 8 / 10 64 bit
Wireless Driver Only – Version 18.12.0	Wireless_18.12.0_De132.exe	Wireless_18.12.0_De164.exe
Intel PROSet/Wireless WiFi Software (includes Drivers) – Version 18.12.0	Wireless_18.12.0_t32.exe	Wireless_18.12.0_t64.exe

This driver is applicable for following Intel adapters:

1 2 3 4 5

Intel® Dual Band Wireless–AC 3160 Intel® Dual Band Wireless–AC 7260 Intel® Dual Band Wireless–AC 7260 for Desktop Intel® Dual Band Wireless–N 7260 Intel® Wireless–N 7260

PROSet version = 18.12.0

Driver version = 18.12.0.3 for Windows 10 for 7265, 7260, 3165, and 3160 adapters.
Driver version = 15.18.0.1 for Windows 10 for 105, 135, 2230, 6205, 6235, and 6300 adapters.
Driver version = 15.12.0.9 for Windows 10 for 2200, 6150, and 6250 adapters.

1. Install the Intel Wireless Driver. If you had Intel PROset previously in laptop, install that one, otherwise install the driver version only.
2. Now many of users might face internet connectivity issue and shall see “Limited Connection” or the Internet might be very slow to load new pages. This happens because it’s not the manufacturer version driver, hence it needs to be configured properly for using it on older hardware. These solutions provided below are valid for Windows 7, 8 and 10 for all the wireless adapters i listed above.
3. Right click on Wireless icon and select “Open Network and Sharing Center“.
4. Click “Change Adapter Settings“.
5. Right click on wireless connection and select Properties.
6. Click “Configure“.
7. When Network Adapter Properties open, select “Advanced” tab and change the settings as given below:
   1 2 3 4 5

   – 802.11n channel Width for 2.4Ghz conenctions to 20mhz ONLY (Defualt is Auto) – Prefered Band 2.4Ghz (Defualt is Auto) – Roaming Agressiveness 1. Lowest (Defualt is 3. Medium) – Wireless mode 802.11b/g (Defualt is 802.11a/b/g) – Set HT mode to VHT mdoe

8. Login into your router settings and disable P2P settings and Enable WMM (Wi-Fi multimedia)

1. If you play Xbox or have the app installed, open and sign in and then go to settings and disable “Game DVR“.
2. Open Wireless Settings and disable auto connecting to wireless hotspots.
3. Also, last if you’re not using any bluetooth device, switch OFF bluetooth too in Windows 10 settings.

Solution 2

Another issue for fluctuating speed could happen because of Power Save Polling (PSP) issues with Access points. According to Intel, if a WiFi router doesn’t support Power save Polling (PSP) feature, than it can create issues like, Intermittent loss of loss of Wi-Fi connection, Inability to initiate a Wi-Fi connection, Poor Wi-Fi connection data performance. These issues are most noticeable when the computer is on battery power.

PSP mode is a feature built to increase battery life of laptops and notebooks. However this mode requires a coordination between the Access point and the Wi-Fi router. But later on it was discovered by Intel that some access points or routers are not able to support PSP correctly or doesn’t support at all.

The only solution to check or ask manufacturer if there is any updated firmware of the router. If there is no such update, then there is one turn-around to set the wi-fi adapter of your computer to Continuously Aware Mode (CAM). Enabling this would disable the PSP feature. You can enable the CAM feature by following given methods:

• Intel PROSet/Wireless WiFi Connection Utility
• Network control panel applet (NCPA)

Be cautious, as this feature in some models can hinder Bluetooth functionality.

How to Enable Continuously Aware Mode using Intel PROSet/Wireless WiFi Connection Utility

From the Intel PROSet/Wireless WiFi Connection Utility:

1. Click Advanced > Adapter Settings > Advanced tab.
2. Windows XP*: Select Power Management, uncheck Default / Auto, and move the slider to Highest / Maximum Performance.
3. Windows 7 or 8 or 10: Select Transmit Power, change Value to 5. Highest.

How to Enable Continuously Aware Mode using Network Control Panel Applet (NCPA)

1. Click Start > Settings > Control Panel.
2. Double-click Network Connections.
3. Right-click the wireless connection and click Properties.
4. Click Configure.
5. Click the Advanced tab.
6. Windows XP: Select the Power Management setting, uncheck Default / Auto, and move the slider to Highest / Maximum Performance.
7. Windows 7 or 8: Select Transmit Power, change Value to 5. Highest.

Above method fixes WiFi issues of following Intel Wireless adapter models: