Re: Sporadic but recurring connection dropouts on an Intel 6235 wireless adapter

Discussion about WiFi issues (performance as well as disconnects) comes up repeatedly. Let me try and summarize the multiple remedies that I am aware of:

 

Drivers

 

Some users have better results with Samsung-provided drivers, others with the latest Intel-provided drivers, and yet others prefer Win8's built-in driver. I prefer the latter on my older Series 7 (with 6230 adapter). But regardless of where you end up, I recommend first cleaning out existing drivers and rolling back to the Win8 built-in driver. Then you can add new drivers from there.

 

Note that Win7 does NOT have built-in WiFi drivers for the Intel 6230/6235 adapters, so after this roll-back procedure there will be no WiFi driver installed -- which is OK, we're clean. But before starting the roll-back, download Intel's Driver Only package for Win7 (as described below), and simply install that afterwards.

 

Use the following steps to clean out and roll back. This will also remove registry entries from connections created by previous driver entries:

 

1) Uninstall any PROset or Samsung provided WiFi drivers using Windows Programs and features.

 

2) Reboot (Win8 Restart, not Shutdown).

 

3) In Device Manager, right-click the WiFi adapter and select Uninstall; when prompted, check Delete the driver software for this device and click OK.

 

4) Still in Device Manager, chose Action (menu) - Scan for hardware changes.

 

5) Repeat steps (3) and (4) as long as you still get that Delete the driver software for this device option. That's how you cycle back and delete each of the previous driver versions you have installed. When you do NOT see that option anymore, you're back to the original Win8 driver. Don't uninstall that device (don't click OK).

 

6) Reboot.

 

You should now be on Win8's built-in driver (or no driver in Win7). If it doesn't work for you (after testing the other remedies in this post) you can update to the latest Samsung-provided driver (using SW Update) or to the latest Intel-provided driver (using Intel Download Center).

 

From Intel, I highly recommend the Driver Only version, as opposed to the full PROset version which comes with additional and unnecessary bloat. The file should be called Wireless_x.x.x_Ds64.exe for Win7 and Wireless_x.x.x_De64.exe for Win8 (x.x.x being the version number).

 

 

Note that when installing the Intel Driver Only package, it simply spins an icon for a while, and doesn't display any confirmation. Go to Device Manager to verify that it installed properly. The driver version you see there may not always match the package version (x.x.x).

 

Power Profile Settings

 

This has always been one of the most important changes to make on Samsung laptops to help with WiFi performance and stability:

 

Using the Power Options control panel, Change plan settings then Change advanced power settings. Under Wireless Adapter Settings change the Power Saving Mode to Maximum Performance for both battery and plugged in.

 

If this Power Saving Mode is set to anything "slower" than Low Power Saving (such as Medium or Maximum Power Saving) you are likely to experience disconnects.

 

 

Note that you must make this change for all Power Profiles that you use. That includes Samsung Optimized (default) and Power Saver (used in Silent and Eco Mode). Some people also use High performance or the good old Balanced.

 

Personally I use Low Power Saving on battery in my Power Saver profile -- knowing that it will slow my WiFi down when I toggle Silent Mode with Fn-F11. But it saves a little juice, without saving so much that I get disconnects.

 

While in there, consider also changing other important power settings as described in this post and this post.

 

Adapter Settings

 

Check your WiFi Adapter Settings as described in TANWare's post here. In particular, make sure Transmit Power is set to Highest.

 

To get there, locate the WiFi adapter in Device Manager, open Properties (right-click or double-click it) and switch to the Advanced tab.

 

 

Some owners with 6235 adapters have seen improved performance and stability by disabling Wireless-N under Adapter Settings. I have not found this necessary myself, and I hate recommending it because it basically limits WiFi to the old Wireless-G protocol which had a much lower theoretical max transmission speed. This shouldn't be a bottleneck for typical Internet connection speeds, but could limit access speed to disks and and other computers shared on the WLAN. I recommending trying the other remedies first to see if this one is necessary.

 

 

While in Adapter Settings, you may choose to disable the option Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power on the Power Management tab. Some users have found that this solved their disconnect issues. Personally, I keep this one enabled; after rolling back to Win8's built-in driver (AND as long as my Power Profiles are set as described above) I have not seen any disconnects.

 

 

Router settings

 

Many stubborn WiFi problems turn out to be related to the router -- to the understandable surprise of users, because they see the router working with other devices.

 

First try power cycling it. But beyond that, try changing to a different router channel that is less crowded. Use the free tool inSSIDer (that was a link) to see how much overlap comes from neighboring networks. Something else that solved issues with my TP-Link router was to enable SSID Broadcast (which I normally like to disable).

 

My point here is that there are an infinite number of combinations of routers, settings, devices and environments, so one particular setting may not solve it for everybody.

 

For persistent problems, I recommend trying a different router at a friend's house or a coffee shop -- just to see if the problem is really with the laptop or with the router.

 

Locating other WiFi discussions in Samsung forum

 

WiFi performance has been an ongoing topic on the Samsung forum for a long time. In case you are not aware of it, the following Google syntax is a great way to locate past discussions here: site:notebookreview.com/samsung wifi issues. You will find extensive discussion of this subject in many threads.

 

Of course you can use that syntax to locate discussions of other subjects as well

 

Intel 6235 discussion forum

 

Finally do note that the Intel 6235 has known connectivity issues as discussed in this Intel forum.

 

I hope some of this helps. I'll add to (or update) this post with any new information I see.

 

Edit 4-Aug-2013: Added disabling Wireless-N as possible remedy