Slow wireless connection with Intel Centrino 6230 Advanced N

Hi,

I'm having some connection problems with my new laptop (Dell XPS 14z).
When I'm close to my router (D-Link DIR 635), the connection works just fine.
When I'm upstairs in my house, I get 2 bars of reception and a very slow connection.
I tested connection speeds on speedtest.net and got 11Gbps when I was close to my router and 0,27Gbps when I'm upstairs.
I think the problem lies with my wifi card because 2 other laptops have no slow connection upstairs.
I've tried disableing the Bluetooth on my card, as suggested on other fora, I've reinstalled drivers and installed previous drivers but nothing seems to help.

Any suggestions?

 

Being directly above the router is the worst place to be (that's how omni-directional antennas work) so it could be attributed to location but since your other laptops work fine in the same location (I assume it's exactly the same location- not just the same floor) it's probably Intel's fault.

Intel cards with Bluetooth have serious problems probably because an antenna is shared between Wi-Fi and BT or because there's some interference.
This has not been solved and seems to be a design problem.

Test your other laptops in the same exact spot as the one in question to make sure that it's purely Intel's fault.

 

Yes, I've tested other laptops in the exact same spot.
So the only solution right now would be to swap network cards?

 

It seems so. Before you decide to buy a new one you can test a card taken out of another of your laptops to confirm that it's not a power management issue. While you're at it check if both antenna cables are properly connected.

EDIT: You may try to get Dell to replace it. One of our members got a new 6230 from Dell and it had exactly the same issues though- so it's not a single unit that went wrong.

 

I'm not really keen on opening my brand new laptop and replacing the network card myself actually. Is there maybe a possibility to use a range booster to get the signal closer to the room where I need a better signal?

 

Yes it is possible but that's not an ideal solution. Wherever you go with the laptop you won't be able to use your Wi-Fi where others will.
It would be best to ask Dell to replace the card- ideally with a 6200 which is marginally cheaper so they shouldn't complain about it.

 

I've dug a little deeper and found this thread: Intel® Centrino® Wi-Fi Products — Power save polling (PSP) causes connection issues with access points
I've tried those steps but it didn't change anything. It also seems that the 6200 could have the same issues.

 

That's not the same really. What you found is a general description of how power management affects performance of a Wi-Fi card and that applies to all cards Broadcom and Atheros ones too.

Disabling power management at least for testing is a good idea but 6230 and 1030 are known for issues like the ones you're experiencing while 6200 or 6300 aren't.

 

Oh okay. I'll just call Dell support on monday to ask for a replacement. Thanks for the help.

 

Disabled N on your router might solve the problem.