[Fix] Broadcom 4352 Performance Issues

The Broadcom wireless cards on the new Alienware 2013 models have been giving many users issues. I may be wrong but the issues seems to be from the Automated channel switching and is driver related. Dell's site has outdated broadcom drivers but Lenovo has fully updated drivers that fixes these issues.



Download the files and extract them to where ever, Install them by going to Device manager>Network Adapter> and right click on "Broadcom 802.11ac Network Adapter" and click "Update Driver Software then select "Browse my computer for Driver Software" find when you extracted the drivers at then select the folder "LNC_DriverOnly" then it should be installing and hopefully all your wifi issues are fixed.

http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/downloads/detail.page?DocID=DS037857 -Win8.1(64 bit)

Broadcom 4352 WLAN Driver for Windows 8 (64-bit) - ThinkCentre E93z, E73z and M73z -Win8(64 bit)

http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/downloads/detail.page?DocID=DS036596 -win7(64 bit)

If this doesn't work you can always try the WWM workaround by just going to device manager and in the properties of the "Broadcom 802.11ac Network Adapter" and select the advanced tab, then scroll down till you see WWM and make sure the value is set to Disabled.

 

I'll give these a try. Thanks!

Edit* Works flawlessly. Have no idea if it fixed the performance issue, just that the driver did install. ( I did not have any performance related bugs )

 

Thank you (installed the windows 8.1 and can now game with no lag, WMM mode auto) - but why can Dell not keep up to date with these kind of drivers!!

EDIT: Looks like I still need WMM disabled or I get lag spikes

 

This is really relieving. The problem with WMM disabled is that the package loss problem will be fixed, the speed of download will be reduced significantly. I have addressed this issue to Alienware Tech support in early Oct and they told me they will release a new Broadcom driver at the end of November (that's what they said). Turns out Lenovo is ahead of the game .

Edit: Turns out the version of the Lenovo driver is the same as Dell, which doesn't fix the Wifi issue.

 

Well you cannot fault the OP for trying to help us all!

 

Thanks for the feedback, I know it's not working for some. But the WMM workaround should work, but maybe try to lock the WIFI to a signal channel on both the laptop an router. But hopefully dell with finally release their new drivers and fix most of the issues.

 

This is a problem that Broadcom needs to fix. It is a common misconception that OEMs like Dell, Acer, HP, Lenovo, Sony, etc. have something to do with drivers and that is not correct. They might tweak something now and then, but for the most part they merely provide what the original device manufacturer (ODM) makes available in a reference driver. So, if Broadcom does not fix whatever is wrong, it is likely that it will never get fixed regardless of what brand of laptop the WiFi card has been installed in.

 

I think the issue is the broadcom website sucks and does not actually hold any drivers unlike if you go on the nvidia website for example

 

TRUE, I agree completely.

 

I agree with this. I also would like to let you know that we will soon post a driver update on our website for this issue. We are finishing with the work according to the people above me

 

Porras Be cool if you could post when this is fixed as its most annoying

 

I will once we have it done, in the meantime you can use the one specified on this thread.

 

I thought the edit said that the one from the Lenovo site didn't fix the issue?

 

It does fix the issue for some, but I think some of the problems are coming from the routers. I gotta look in to it soon.

 

tried but still cant i got at least 3% packet loss tested @ pingtest.net, this make my gameplay so delay,but i got solved when i connect to internet via ethernet. Anyway,i still hope that i can solve the packetloss problem, its quite inconvenience for me if i must always use ethernet

 

Yeah, might as well have a desktop if you have to be tethered to an Ethernet cable for gaming. That would suck.

 

Does anyone know if the Alienware 17 uses the same slot as the previous R4? i have an intel 6250 that works just fine with my setup now and was an aftermarket upgrade so it is coming out before I ship the R4 back. If I run into troubles can I just pop that in and fire it up?

I don't have an AC router ATM anyways so seems kinda pointless to fight with it.

 

I think the 6250 should work fine in a new Alienware 17 or 18. No reason to expect it not to. Just install the drivers and go.

 

Sounds good , I will play around with the new one and test it out before I start pulling wireless cards but at least I have the option should I need it.

 

Discussed pretty in depth here:
!! Stay away from Broadcom wireless adapter !! - Alienware Arena Forums


Long story short, seems the best fix is to either upgrade your router or to "downgrade" to a killer N Wireless 1202. I've been experiencing this lag while gaming so I'm going to go ahead and do the Killer N downgrade and report back with results.

Games like LoL and DotA can be massively painful to play with even a split second of lag.

 

I merged your thread with one already established for the same topic. What OS? Windows 8.1?

 

Heh...the more I read about this wireless card the more I think I will just change it out when I put my SSD in the new machine.

 

Yessir, 8.1.

 

Maybe Windows 8.1 is exacerbating your problems. I'm not sure why, but Windows 8.1 seems to screw things up with WiFi for some users. It works the same as Windows 7 and Windows 8 for me with my Intel Ultimate-N 6300, but that's a notoriously good WiFi card. Perhaps you can grab one on eBay for $25-$35 and ditch the Broadcom card. Unfortunately, you would lose Bluetooth and would need to come up with an alternative if you care about that. I use my Bluetooth all the time and would be lost without it, but it is a separate module and not integrated with the WiFi card.

Have you seen this thread? http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/736944-windows-8-1-problems-wifi.html

 

I purchased a Killer N 1202 on ebay for 30.00. They are used but were "taken from new MSI computers" so I believe they will be fine. The seller had sold tons of them and had a 100% feedback rating.

 

Well, I hope that you are not going from the frying pan to the fire... Killer Wireless has a reputation of working perfectly fine for some and not so much for others. There was a reason I only mentioned switching to an Intel card as a good option and didn't bother suggesting a Killer card. It seems to be hit or miss. I have a Killer WiFi card in one machine that has never given me any trouble, but I definitely feel like I am in the minority. I have had superior results with Ultimate-N 6300 in multiple systems.

You will find a number of examples of Killer owners that have switched to Intel WiFi in this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...thread-look-solutions-ask-questions-here.html. Perhaps you will turn out to be one of the lucky guys that has an excellent experience with it.

 

I sure hope so! And if not, I figure at 30 bucks it's not so terrible a loss. I can probably sell it and get most of my money back. Push comes to shove, I may convert to an AC router. Looks to be about a 200.00 solution though, I'm not big on dropping that sort of cash if I don't have to.

 

Yeah, me neither. I can think of a lot of things I would prefer to spend $200 on instead of a router. My Cisco dual-band N router does everything I need it to.

 

I have an ASUS RT-AC66U and an Alienware 17 with the Broadcom 4352 but I don't think I am getting an AC connection. The router is setup as follows:

Wireless 1: 2.4Ghz, Legacy only (b+g mixed), WPA/TKIP - (for my iPhone 5, I have one of the ones that fails on AES encrypted 802.11n networks)
Wireless 2: 5Ghz, N+AC, WPA2/AES - (for my Alienware 17)

Router firmware is updated. Broadcom driver is the stock driver from factory, I didn't try this Lenovo one yet. I can sit less than 10 feet away from the AC66U and I only get 234Mbps on the 5Ghz 802.11n network. Having not had an AC router/adapter before I am not familiar with how this should display in Windows, but when I see the it in the wireless networks list it is claiming to be a 802.11n network. Is it normal for the wireless network to show as 802.11n when I'm supposed to be getting 802.11ac connectivity?

Edit: I am getting 866Mbps now after forcing 80Mhz, but it still shows 802.11n

 

Well, I ordered the Killer N1202 from XoticPC via ebay and paid 30.00 for it.

My package arrived today, and they sent me...

...and Intel 2230.



Yep. I am rather livid.

 

Anyone know of any more fixes?

I'm still getting horrible performance and my router connection is constantly fluctuating between 1 and 24MBps.

 

I actually haven't had any problems with the Broadcom adapter. It turns out my AC66U had some pretty serious problems with firmware versions. After finding one that worked I now get a constant max link speed (866Mbps). Still using the drivers that came installed, didn't try the Lenovo ones from the first page. Dell was supposed to eventually release their own version of a newer driver, did that ever happen and did you try it if so?

 

No they didn't.

I only have an Asus rt-n16 so the ac speed is useless to me. I resorted o my usb dongle to get my solid connection.

 

Honestly if your still getting horrible performance then look into a replacement card from Ebay as they can be picked up for under $30 usually. I still have trouble on some relatives routers but the problems seem to be router specific and don't affect me everywhere. So far I find the card does not like the Western Digital routers for whatever reasons but it works with my NetGear router just fine. I also have a spare Intel 6250 card that I keep around in case it ever becomes a problem but so far I have not encountered enough issues to bother replacing it.

 

Hi everyone, I know I'm revisiting an old thread, but I just got an Alienware 17 and had this exact problem. I found a solution that worked for me and didn't see it on here so figured I'd post it in case others are looking for help. Speed tests would be inconsistent, but never above 15 Mbps, and sometimes you could see the needle dip down into 3 Mbps for a while. I think once it actually registered as 3 Mbps as the final download speed.
After playing around with all the suggestions above, I tried going to the properties of the WiFi connection (I have a Broadcom 802.11ac Network Adapter), Configure, Advanced, and in the list, Band Preference, and selecting Prefer 802.11a. It went from inconsistent 10-15 Mbps to > 65 Mbps immediately, with no speed dips of the needle. I'm not sure if it's because I have the 802.11 ac and selecting Prefer 802.11 a matches, or if it's completely irrelevant. Someone much more computer-knowledgeable than me would know that.
In any case, it worked for me, and I didn't have to buy a new card.

Hopefully it stays working like this. Good luck!