Problem with laptop Wi-Fi performance following NIC installation.
Problem with laptop Wi-Fi performance following NIC installation.
I'm facing some uncertainty about what could be behind the strange problem I encountered after swapping the WiFi card in my Dell Inspiron 3535. Backstory: I purchased this laptop at a reasonable price but wanted to upgrade parts like RAM, storage, and the WiFi 5 chipset to boost performance with my RAX120 router. I installed an Intel AX200 M.2 card, which works fine with the WLAN port on my MOBO. After setup, I tested speeds against my old AC card and was thrilled to see over 220Mbps. Now I'm struggling to reach more than 120-150Mbps. I double-checked the controller's speed reading (1.2Gbps) and even reinstalled drivers, but nothing changes. My connections look secure, and my phone shows speeds around 300/10Mbps—still decent, though not ideal. I've also tried transferring files over a hard drive connected to the router, but maxed out at 150Mbps. I'm really puzzled and need guidance. Please help!
Did you fully remove the old WLAN adapter drivers before setting up the Intel AX200? What is your RAX120's WiFi configuration? Speeds around 120-150Mbps seem to cap at 2.4GHz. Are you using the 2.4GHz or 5GHz network? Perform a wireless scan with WiFi Analyzer on the Dell and share the 2.4GHz and 5GHz band results.
I attempted a full reinstall of the wireless drivers without wiping them first. I might go back and try that again. I can verify I’m using the 5GHz network—I deliberately split 2.4G and 5G into separate SSIDs when setting up the router.
I managed to figure out that the speed problem only happens when the PC is on battery. With the laptop plugged in, it runs at full speed. I remember there used to be an option in power settings to adjust this, but it seems removed or changed. I set the power mode to Best Performance, but nothing about Dice appears. I’m really puzzled now.
The problem has been resolved finally. I discovered an old 2006 post from another Dell system dealing with the same issue. Here’s the link: https://www.dell.com/community/en/conver...a8de29e216. The steps involved were: open Device Manager, right-click the network card, choose Properties, select Advanced, then MIMO Power Save Mode, and set it to No SMPS. It’s strange they placed that setting so deep down! I understand it was meant to save battery, but if you need power now, just override it.