Solved Windows 8.1 - cannot see 5Ghz wifi networks

wendelly

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Recently upgraded my laptop to Windows 8.1 and I cannot see any 5Ghz wireless networks, even though they are present (I am able to successfully see and connect using other devices including a Windows 7 laptop). I can see 2.4 Ghz networks and connect no problem. I have upgraded the wifi driver to the latest Windows 8.1 version for the Intel Wireless-N 7260 card, v16.6.0.8 but no luck. Appreciate any thoughts or pointers.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
It looks like you have the latest driver for the Intel 7260 from the link.
Intel® PROSet/Wireless Software — Intel® PROSet/ Wireless Software Downloads

Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 will have 802.11a and 802.11ac reported by Windows in addition to 802.11 b/g/n radios of Intel Wireless-N 7260, you may not have the dual band version.

To determine which version you have type or paste the following command into an elevated command prompt then post the results here. :)

Code:
netsh wlan show driver
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro WMC
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home built
    CPU
    Q9650 @ 4.05 GHz
    Motherboard
    Gforce 780i SLI FTW
    Memory
    8GB Gskill DDR2 1200Mhz
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    GTX-480
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    Asus D2 Xonar
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    HannsG
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    1680x1050
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My wireless card for my laptop is advertised as dual band, it's the Intel Dual-Band Wireless-N 7260:
http://www.intel.com/content/dam/ww...dual-band-wireless-n-7260-bluetooth-brief.pdf

The output from the command is:

Interface name: Wi-Fi

Driver : Intel(R) Wireless-N 7260
Vendor : Intel Corporation
Provider : Intel
Date : 10/14/2013
Version : 16.6.0.8
INF file : C:\WINDOWS\INF\oem99.inf
Files : 3 total
C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\NETwbw02.sys
C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\Netwfw02.dat
C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\vwifibus.sys
Type : Native Wi-Fi Driver
Radio types supported : 802.11b 802.11g 802.11n
FIPS 140-2 mode supported : Yes
802.11w Management Frame Protection supported : Yes
Hosted network supported : Yes
Authentication and cipher supported in infrastructure mode:
Open None
Open WEP-40bit
Open WEP-104bit
Open WEP
WPA-Enterprise TKIP
WPA-Enterprise CCMP
WPA-Personal TKIP
WPA-Personal CCMP
WPA2-Enterprise TKIP
WPA2-Enterprise CCMP
WPA2-Personal TKIP
WPA2-Personal CCMP
Open Vendor defined
Authentication and cipher supported in ad-hoc mode:
Open None
Open WEP-40bit
Open WEP-104bit
Open WEP
WPA2-Personal CCMP
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
From netsh, the adaptor only supports bgn and not a or ac which means it does not support 5Ghz frequency.

You can see on the web page, the link you posted, it says support for agn but the netsh shows that it only supports bgn.

It may be a the wrong driver but according to netsh it doesn't support 5Ghz > Radio types supported : 802.11b 802.11g 802.11n

So perhaps updating the driver would help but from what you said you are already running the 16.6.0.8 although the link I posted shows it as the 16.6.0, not sure if they are different drivers but maybe worth a try.

Intel® PROSet/Wireless Software — Intel® PROSet/ Wireless Software Downloads
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro WMC
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home built
    CPU
    Q9650 @ 4.05 GHz
    Motherboard
    Gforce 780i SLI FTW
    Memory
    8GB Gskill DDR2 1200Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    GTX-480
    Sound Card
    Asus D2 Xonar
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HannsG
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Gskill 120GB SSD
    PSU
    Thermal Take 1000watts
    Case
    Thermal Take Xtreme
    Cooling
    9 fans air cooled
    Keyboard
    G15 logitech
    Mouse
    G9 logitech
    Internet Speed
    50mbps
I am a bit confused by the array of different drivers for this model, Dell Inspiron 15 7537; I went to the Dell Support website and saw this (supposedly AGN) driver:
Driver Details | Dell US

Still do not know what else to try.

Installed it and generated this output (still no A, just B, G, N):


Interface name: Wi-Fi


Driver : Intel(R) Wireless-N 7260
Vendor : Intel Corporation
Provider : Intel
Date : 9/19/2013
Version : 16.5.3.6
INF file : C:\WINDOWS\INF\oem99.inf
Files : 3 total
C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\NETwbw02.sys
C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\Netwfw02.dat
C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\vwifibus.sys
Type : Native Wi-Fi Driver
Radio types supported : 802.11b 802.11g 802.11n
FIPS 140-2 mode supported : Yes
802.11w Management Frame Protection supported : Yes
Hosted network supported : Yes
Authentication and cipher supported in infrastructure mode:
Open None
Open WEP-40bit
Open WEP-104bit
Open WEP
WPA-Enterprise TKIP
WPA-Enterprise CCMP
WPA-Personal TKIP
WPA-Personal CCMP
WPA2-Enterprise TKIP
WPA2-Enterprise CCMP
WPA2-Personal TKIP
WPA2-Personal CCMP
Open Vendor defined
Authentication and cipher supported in ad-hoc mode:
Open None
Open WEP-40bit
Open WEP-104bit
Open WEP
WPA2-Personal CCMP
IHV service present : Yes
IHV adapter OUI : [00 80 86], type: [00]
IHV extensibility DLL path: C:\WINDOWS\System32\IWMSSvc.dll
IHV UI extensibility ClSID: {1bf6cb2d-2ae0-4879-a7aa-a75834fbd0e3}
IHV diagnostics CLSID : {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
This driver shows the same type of support.

Did you try the newer driver from the link I posted or was that the same one as you were using, because the one I posted was dated later at 11-14-2013 and shows dual band support.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro WMC
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home built
    CPU
    Q9650 @ 4.05 GHz
    Motherboard
    Gforce 780i SLI FTW
    Memory
    8GB Gskill DDR2 1200Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    GTX-480
    Sound Card
    Asus D2 Xonar
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HannsG
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Gskill 120GB SSD
    PSU
    Thermal Take 1000watts
    Case
    Thermal Take Xtreme
    Cooling
    9 fans air cooled
    Keyboard
    G15 logitech
    Mouse
    G9 logitech
    Internet Speed
    50mbps
I did try the driver you pointed me to, but it is the same as what I originally had i.e. 16.6.0.8 dated 11/14.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
PS: Do you recommend I install the PROSet tools or just the driver? What difference does that make?

It's seems that other people had the same problem with same results. You can see here that you have the same adaptor with the same support and no way to see 5Ghz signals so according to this it's not the dual band version.

Has this adaptor ever been able to see 5Ghz signals?


https://communities.intel.com/thread/45592
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro WMC
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home built
    CPU
    Q9650 @ 4.05 GHz
    Motherboard
    Gforce 780i SLI FTW
    Memory
    8GB Gskill DDR2 1200Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    GTX-480
    Sound Card
    Asus D2 Xonar
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HannsG
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Gskill 120GB SSD
    PSU
    Thermal Take 1000watts
    Case
    Thermal Take Xtreme
    Cooling
    9 fans air cooled
    Keyboard
    G15 logitech
    Mouse
    G9 logitech
    Internet Speed
    50mbps
To my knowledge - the laptop came pre-loaded with Windows 8 - I have never been able to see 5Ghz networks. I guess that would be a crippling problem if that particular adapter does not work in dual band mode, as it was advertised as such in the Dell specification as "Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-N 7260 2x2 B" which is an adapter specifically designed for Haswell-based laptops. Yikes :rolleyes:.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
To my knowledge - the laptop came pre-loaded with Windows 8 - I have never been able to see 5Ghz networks. I guess that would be a crippling problem if that particular adapter does not work in dual band mode, as it was advertised as such in the Dell specification as "Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-N 7260 2x2 B" which is an adapter specifically designed for Haswell-based laptops. Yikes :rolleyes:.

Yes I'd say they installed the wrong one because the device ID should say dual band so I'm not too surprised it didn't work with Windows 8 either. You might want to get in touch with Dell support and see what they say.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro WMC
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home built
    CPU
    Q9650 @ 4.05 GHz
    Motherboard
    Gforce 780i SLI FTW
    Memory
    8GB Gskill DDR2 1200Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    GTX-480
    Sound Card
    Asus D2 Xonar
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HannsG
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Gskill 120GB SSD
    PSU
    Thermal Take 1000watts
    Case
    Thermal Take Xtreme
    Cooling
    9 fans air cooled
    Keyboard
    G15 logitech
    Mouse
    G9 logitech
    Internet Speed
    50mbps
From Dell Support:
"Yes, that’s absolutely fine, because the operating system won’t give you a detailed description of any hardware component, however there was only one version of this card produced and they are all dual band cards, there is no single band 7260 cards."
What gives?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
What gives is that they are basically incorrect and I will explain why.

Intel for some reason deems them all dual band but in reality only two of these models support the 5GHz frequency, the one you have supports Bluetooth and the 2.4 GHz frequency which I guess might be considered two bands. :zip:

Check the specs in the link and yes the support specs are exactly as was reported using netsh. :sarc:
ARK | Intel® Wireless-N 7260

From the Intel page it's the only one without support for 5GHz but does support Bluetooth and it's crazy but they all look the same. Notice this one only says Wireless-N 7260 Plus Bluetooth, no mention of dual band in the specs or the description page.
Intel® Wireless-N 7260 Plus Bluetooth*

Then we have the Dual Band Wireless-N plus Bluetooth.
Intel® Dual Band Wireless-N 7260 Plus Bluetooth*

We also have the Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 Plus Bluetooth. This one is best if you have an AC type router.
Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 Plus Bluetooth*
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro WMC
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home built
    CPU
    Q9650 @ 4.05 GHz
    Motherboard
    Gforce 780i SLI FTW
    Memory
    8GB Gskill DDR2 1200Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    GTX-480
    Sound Card
    Asus D2 Xonar
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HannsG
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Gskill 120GB SSD
    PSU
    Thermal Take 1000watts
    Case
    Thermal Take Xtreme
    Cooling
    9 fans air cooled
    Keyboard
    G15 logitech
    Mouse
    G9 logitech
    Internet Speed
    50mbps
I think you are exactly right. To prove it, here is a picture of the actual wireless card in my laptop; it is a 7260HMW BN, which is a single band 2.4 Ghz only card. I have asked Dell to replace the card with a dual band card (I have onsite repair).
DHJK1Z1 Wifi Card.JPG
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
I think you are exactly right. To prove it, here is a picture of the actual wireless card in my laptop; it is a 7260HMW BN, which is a single band 2.4 Ghz only card. I have asked Dell to replace the card with a dual band card (I have onsite repair).
View attachment 32643

Yes I just updated to mention the Wireless AC version, too many versions to keep track of so no wonder there is some confusion.

I think we finally cracked this case. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro WMC
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home built
    CPU
    Q9650 @ 4.05 GHz
    Motherboard
    Gforce 780i SLI FTW
    Memory
    8GB Gskill DDR2 1200Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    GTX-480
    Sound Card
    Asus D2 Xonar
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HannsG
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Gskill 120GB SSD
    PSU
    Thermal Take 1000watts
    Case
    Thermal Take Xtreme
    Cooling
    9 fans air cooled
    Keyboard
    G15 logitech
    Mouse
    G9 logitech
    Internet Speed
    50mbps
Yeah, I have an AC router, I am going to ask them to give me the 7260 AC card :)

You can get up to 867Mbps with that one, it couldn't cost much more but free is better.

I'm running the Asus AC66U as an access point and it's working great at 877.5Mbps from 35 feet away using Asus PCI-e 66U NIC
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro WMC
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home built
    CPU
    Q9650 @ 4.05 GHz
    Motherboard
    Gforce 780i SLI FTW
    Memory
    8GB Gskill DDR2 1200Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    GTX-480
    Sound Card
    Asus D2 Xonar
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HannsG
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Gskill 120GB SSD
    PSU
    Thermal Take 1000watts
    Case
    Thermal Take Xtreme
    Cooling
    9 fans air cooled
    Keyboard
    G15 logitech
    Mouse
    G9 logitech
    Internet Speed
    50mbps
Nice, I have the same model of router running the Asuswrt-Merlin build. That AC card should increase my throughput for sure given the performance you are seeing; I have a lot of leverage with Dell as I can just promise to return the laptop if they refuse to ante up a better card (it is within the 30 day return window).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
I think you are exactly right. To prove it, here is a picture of the actual wireless card in my laptop; it is a 7260HMW BN, which is a single band 2.4 Ghz only card. I have asked Dell to replace the card with a dual band card (I have onsite repair).
View attachment 32643

how did dell responded to this problem? Did they solved the issue and did you get a new wifi card? Because i have the same problem but i don't get any help from dell...
they promised somebody would come to fix my antenna and wifi card but nobody came. They also did not believe anything of this and that i got a wrong wifi card....
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8
Dell actually responded very well once I proved that the wrong card had been installed in the laptop. They escalated the issue to their management team and are currently preparing a replacement laptop with the correct card in it. I strongly suggest you ask to speak to a supervisor if the service agent does not appear to take you seriously.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
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