[SOLVED] Connection drop during gaming

[cogscape]

Hi Pcspecialists,
I received my order (Defiance-serie: 15.6", Intel® Core™ i7 8 Core 10875H, NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2070 Max-Q, 16 GB Corsair 2666, GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ WIRELESS-AX 1650 M.2 GAMING) a couple of days ago, and I keep having connection issues during gaming.
The connection itself works fine during download, both direct and peer-to-peer, and also using VPNs.
But when a game starts, the connection drops and disconnects. After a minute it connects again, and drops again. This keeps repeating as long as the game is open. Closing the game solves the issue.
I tried:
Uninstalling the device and deleting the drivers, and reinstalling the newest ones. Does not solve it.
Uninstalling the device, drivers, and installing Killer's Control Center, does not solve it.
Unchecking the adapter's option "Allow the computer to turn this device off to save power", does not solve it.
Changing the registry according to this Killer's fix: https://support.killernetworking.co...when-connected-affects-ethernet-and-or-wi-fi/ does not fix it.
Using a VPN during gaming, does not solve it.

The issue is not present when:
I connect to my phone's hotspot instead of my home wifi
I connect through ethernet.
I connect through an external wifi adapter (TP-Link Archer T2UH) to my home wifi.

I'm at loss on how to solve this. I don't even know if it's device- or router-related. Can anyone help me? Thank you very much.

 

[cogscape]

it happens with several different games, not just one, even singleplayer ones (which use online services like origin connect etc...). If the problem was with the game server using an external adapter would not solve it, but it does, and it would not drop the connection entirely, just the connection to the server I believe. Even websites through Firefox also does not work during these drops.

 

[ubuysa]

Can you post the FULL spec from your original order please.

Also open an elevated PowerShell session and enter these commands. Post a screenshot of the part of the output that relates to your wireless card....

Get-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty

Get-NetAdapterBinding

 

[cogscape]

Sorry if the specs are in Dutch, I purchased it through pcspecialist.nl but my English is better than my Dutch still, so that's why I am asking here.

Full spec:
Chassis and display Defiance-serie: 15.6" Matte Full HD 144Hz Pantone-gevalideerd 72% NTSC LED-breedbeeld (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™ i7 8 Core 10875H (2.3 GHz, 5.1 GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM) 16 GB Corsair 2666 MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8 GB)
Graphic card NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2070 Max-Q - 8,0 GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1e M.2 SSD-station 500 GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (maximaal 3500 MB/R, 3200 MB/W)
2e M.2 SSD-station 1 TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (maximaal 3500 MB/R, 3300 MB/W)
Memory Card Reader Geïntegreerde Micro-SD-geheugenkaartlezer
Power adapter 2 x wisselstroomadapter 180 W
Power Cable 2 x stroomkabel van 1 meter met stekker in vorm van klaverblad voor Europa
Battery Defiance Series geïntegreerde 3-cels lithiumionbatterij (73WH)
Artic paste STANDAARD WARMTEGELEIDENDE PASTA VOOR VOLDOENDE KOELING
Audio card 2-kanaals High Definition Audio + MIC/headsetaansluiting
Bluetooth and wireless GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ WIRELESS-AX 1650 M.2 GAMING + BLUETOOTH 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt-options 1 x THUNDERBOLT 3-POORT + 3 x USB 3.2-POORTEN
Taal toetsenbord DEFIANCE SERIE TOETSENBORD VOOR DE VS
Besturingssysteem Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit - incl. enkele licentie
Taal van besturingssysteem VS Internationaal/USA - Amerikaans Engels
Windows-herstelmedia Meertalige Windows 10 herstel Image - Onbeperkte downloads van online account
Office-software GRATIS 30 dagen Microsoft 365® op proef (besturingssysteem vereist)
Antivirus GEEN ANTI-VIRUSSOFTWARE
Browser Microsoft® Edge (alleen Windows 10)
Notebook-muis GEÏNTEGREERDE TOUCHPAD-MUIS MET 2 KNOPPEN
Webcam GEÏNTEGREERDE HD-WEBCAM 1MP
Garantie 3 jaar gouden garantie (2 jaar ophalen en retourneren, 2 jaar onderdelen, 3 jaar arbeid)
Verzekering Simplesurance aankoopverzekering incl. accidentele schade. Exclusief diefstal

output from Get-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty:

Output from Get-NetAdapterBinding:

 

[ubuysa]

There's nothing unusual in the bindings, but there's a few things in the advanced settings I'd change (right-click the adpater in Device Manager, select Properties and then the Advanced tab)...

1. I would disable all those wake on LAN (WoWLAN) features - unless you access the PC remotely.
2. Change Global BG scan blocking to Always - unless you want to scan for other (better) access points.
3. Change the MIMO Power Saving Mode to No SMPS - unless you want to use this power saving feature
4. Change Roaming Aggressiveness to Lowest - unless you want the adapter to try to switch to other (better) access points

Do you have an 802.11ax capable router? Your adapter is configured to use 802.11ax but I'd suggest you set the adapter to match the capability of the router. If you visit here you can see what settings to change for 802.11n, 802.11ac or 802.11ax.

See whether any of that helps?

 

[cogscape]

Thank you very much for your input. However, none of those did the trick. Do you think it might be a fault with the card itself? I thought that maybe if the load increases due to gaming the wifi card might not get enough power to function properly or something like that, but I am not skilled enough to test it...

 

[ubuysa]

Thank you very much for your input. However, none of those did the trick. Do you think it might be a fault with the card itself? I thought that maybe if the load increases due to gaming the wifi card might not get enough power to function properly or something like that, but I am not skilled enough to test it...

It wouldn't surprise me if the wireless card was flaky. In a laptop they're tiny little things.

One other thing you might try is to open the laptop up and ensure that both antenna cables are pressed fully home. They're a very tight fit so it's not impossible one or other isn't properly connected....

 

[jamiephillips909]

somthing to try

 

[jamiephillips909]

somthing to try

Purley because you mention a drop out during gaming

 

[cogscape]

Thank you Jamie but I don't have any link speed option in the properties of my card. The power management options are already turned off but still to no avail.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thank you Jamie but I don't have any link speed option in the properties of my card. The power management options are already turned off but still to no avail.

I would also suggest checking the antenna cables to the wifi module. We've had it before where they're taped down instead of actually popped in place.

 

[cogscape]

I would also suggest checking the antenna cables to the wifi module. We've had it before where they're taped down instead of actually popped in place.

Thank you, I will. I sort of fixed the problem, or at least understood that the issue relates only to the 5G network, not the 2.4G. The connection using the 2.4 is stable even when gaming, but the 5G has issues. Due to the MESH settings in the router, my theory is that the card switched to the 5G only during gaming, faced the issues, and then reverted to the 2.4 when the game closed, "solving" the issue.
Knowing this, do you think it might be antenna-related?
Does anyone have a manual on how to open a Clevo PC50DF1?

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thank you, I will. I sort of fixed the problem, or at least understood that the issue relates only to the 5G network, not the 2.4G. The connection using the 2.4 is stable even when gaming, but the 5G has issues. Due to the MESH settings in the router, my theory is that the card switched to the 5G only during gaming, faced the issues, and then reverted to the 2.4 when the game closed, "solving" the issue.
Knowing this, do you think it might be antenna-related?
Does anyone have a manual on how to open a Clevo PC50DF1?

You normally just unscrew the bottom panel?

Yes, it's very likely the antenna isn't attached properly.

 

[ubuysa]

Yes, it's very likely the antenna isn't attached properly.

Please Sir! Please Sir! I said that first..... ☺️

 

[SpyderTracks]

Please Sir! Please Sir! I said that first..... ☺️

I acknowledged that with my preceding “I also think...”

You hold the flag at the mountain top, good sir! Fly that flag!

 

[cogscape]

Please Sir! Please Sir! I said that first..... ☺️

Ubuysa you have been absolutely terrific! Kudos to you.
I will try to set the antenna back into place as soon as I find the proper way to open the back panel. I removed all the screws but it stays firmly in its place and for obvious reasons I don't want to use open it through brute force. it's quite different from my former P150EM

 

[cogscape]

I'm at loss. I reseated the antennas, now 5G works, but the drop during gaming is still there. Only on 5G, 2.4 is fine. I will wait for the support service to answer to my message and stick to 2.4 now for gaming and 5g for anything else.
Anyway, thank you all for the time you have dedicated me.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I'm at loss. I reseated the antennas, now 5G works, but the drop during gaming is still there. Only on 5G, 2.4 is fine. I will wait for the support service to answer to my message and stick to 2.4 now for gaming and 5g for anything else.
Anyway, thank you all for the time you have dedicated me.

When you say you reseated the antenna's, what exactly did you do?

 

[cogscape]

Took the plastic tape off the wifi card, removed carefully the antennas from the card (noting the color position), unscrewed the card, removed it, re-inserted it, rescrewed, placed the antennas in their original positions taking care they were well seated, reattached the plastic tape.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Took the plastic tape off the wifi card, removed carefully the antennas from the card (noting the color position), unscrewed the card, removed it, re-inserted it, rescrewed, placed the antennas in their original positions taking care they were well seated, reattached the plastic tape.

Ok, so the antenna's have to pop into place, they're like clothes poppers, they take a bit of force to get into place. There shouldn't be any tape there, if they're properly in place, they won't come off at all. Until they're properly popped into place they're not connected properly.