Intel AX211 Wi-Fi woes

[thewanted]

Hi all,

My MSI Z790 Tomahawk motherboard has onboard Wi-Fi provided by the Intel AX211 chipset.

This thing gives me a LOT of grief. Quite often it'll connect to a network, but display the "No Internet" error and then I see errors like the one below in Event Viewer.

Log Name: System
Source: Netwtw12
Date: 21/05/2023 09:17:46
Event ID: 7018
Task Category: None
Level: Information
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: XXX-PC
Description:
The description for Event ID 7018 from source Netwtw12 cannot be found. Either the component that raises this event is not installed on your local computer or the installation is corrupted. You can install or repair the component on the local computer.

If the event originated on another computer, the display information had to be saved with the event.

If it does connect and find an Internet connection, then it'll drop a lot of pings. I've tried updating the drivers, disabling power saving on the Wi-Fi device, updating motherboard BIOS etc. and nothing helps. When I switch to a £5 Tenda USB Wi-Fi dongle, it works a lot better but does drop the odd ping.

There are a lot of complaints on the Intel forums about this too. Has anyone experienced this and managed to fix it?

 

[throwaway4372]

I had similar problems with Intel AX200, what helped was setting MTU Size.
Here's some instructions: https://homenetworkgeek.com/mtu-size/
Make sure you do it for both ipv4 and ipv6.

If that doesn't help, there are other things to try here:

Steam Community :: Guide :: A Better Online Gaming Experience

... by Low-Latency Tweaking This guide's intended readers are people with minimal technical expertise, aka, computer noobs, and its goal is helping them tweak their Ethernet connections for bette

steamcommunity.com

 

[thewanted]

I had similar problems with Intel AX200, what helped was setting MTU Size.
Here's some instructions: https://homenetworkgeek.com/mtu-size/
Make sure you do it for both ipv4 and ipv6.

If that doesn't help, there are other things to try here:

Steam Community :: Guide :: A Better Online Gaming Experience

... by Low-Latency Tweaking This guide's intended readers are people with minimal technical expertise, aka, computer noobs, and its goal is helping them tweak their Ethernet connections for bette

steamcommunity.com

Thanks for the tip and apologies for the delay, but I haven't been able to use the PC all week.

I found that the optimal MTU value is 1500 using the method described in that article, but the MTU for the AX211 was already set to 1500.

At this point I'm tempted to get a pairof homeplugs even though the throughput is a lot worse

 

[BUDFORCE]

Might just be the WiFi on the board is rubbish.

Can't specifically comment on this board or even WiFi because I use ethernet, but on my MSI x570 tomahawk the onboard Bluetooth is horrendous.

I just use a £10 usb dongle in its place.

I do like MSI boards find them reliable generally but they can be let down by this stuff.

Assuming there is no way you can run an ethernet cable to your pc? Honestly it's well worth the hassle if it's at all possible, it's night and day.

 

[thewanted]

Might just be the WiFi on the board is rubbish.

Can't specifically comment on this board or even WiFi because I use ethernet, but on my MSI x570 tomahawk the onboard Bluetooth is horrendous.

I just use a £10 usb dongle in its place.

I do like MSI boards find them reliable generally but they can be let down by this stuff.

Assuming there is no way you can run an ethernet cable to your pc? Honestly it's well worth the hassle if it's at all possible, it's night and day.

I wish I could but I’d have to drill through multiple walls which I’m not keen on doing.

I switched Wi-Fi networks to use the TalkTalk Hub instead of the BT Whole Home 802.11ac discs, and it looks like there might be an improvement. There’s still the odd but of jitter, and it will randomly will drop a single packet, but at least it’s stable.

 

[Haz123]

If you do not want to drill holes then there is the powerline option. If the 2 plugs you will be using are on the same circuit breaker it should work.

TP-Link AV1000 Gigabit Powerline Starter Kit (TL-PA7017 KIT)

Order TP-Link AV1000 Gigabit Powerline Starter Kit (TL-PA7017 KIT) now online and benefit from fast delivery.

www.overclockers.co.uk

My main PC is right next to my modem but I do use powerline adaptors with wifi on them to spread to the rest of the house. They work really well for me and have only needed a full reset once in 3 years.

 

[thewanted]

If you do not want to drill holes then there is the powerline option. If the 2 plugs you will be using are on the same circuit breaker it should work.

TP-Link AV1000 Gigabit Powerline Starter Kit (TL-PA7017 KIT)

Order TP-Link AV1000 Gigabit Powerline Starter Kit (TL-PA7017 KIT) now online and benefit from fast delivery.

www.overclockers.co.uk

My main PC is right next to my modem but I do use powerline adaptors with wifi on them to spread to the rest of the house. They work really well for me and have only needed a full reset once in 3 years.

Thanks I have used powerline adaptors in the past and they’ve been stable, but the throughput is pretty woeful.

From all of the research I’ve done, it seems like everyone who moans about the AX2xx Wi-Fi chipsets is using onboard Wi-Fi, whether that’s in a laptop or PC. I wonder if a TP-Link PCI-E card would be any better…