Killer Wireless Discussion Thread - Look for Solutions and Ask Questions Here

Stevie Jones thanks for the info, it ended up being a bad wi-fi card, how I don't know. I am back on a replacement Intel Centrino, looking at Killer 1103 on ebay, is it really worth it?

For all of those who had to put up with the ridiculously lengthy diagnosis on the last page, my sincere apologies, I had no idea it was that long and couldnt fix it on my smart phone.

 

Glad you got it nailed down - strange that the card itself went funky on you....

I can't give you a direct personal review of the two as I've pretty much had Killer's in all of my Alien's, saying that though, you might find that this is an informative review of the two: Killer Wireless-N 1103 Review: Can Qualcomm Take On Centrino? - as for the "lengthy post", no need to apologize - actually it gave me a bit of a chuckle as my mouse wheel was going like the clappers trying to get to the next post and I was wondering when it would end...:laugh:

 

Thank you for the comparison! I picked up a new Killer 1103 on ebay for $55, should get it next week. Yeah, to my dismay, after an unexaggerated 5 minutes of thumb scrolling that diagnose .txt I was unable to edit it on my android! Well, hopefully I wont have to post much more of those, but I will remember to return here and caption it. Oh and I am going to try the driver you recommended too, I was getting random drop-offs (if thats what you call 999 ping in Natural Selection 2) with the official Killer 1103 driver.

 

Ok the first couple weeks I had it it was great. Never dropped signal or anything. Great speeds and all. Now Ive been getting FREQUENT drops. Im talking 2 sometimes more and hour while gaming. Same game same ISP and all. When I use LAN it works fine. Its just when using the wireless. Ive changed the power saving settings and enabled gaming mode with the manager. have the latest driver installed. It sucks! Supposed to be a GAMING high end wireless card and it sucks....

Anyone else having this issue and found a fix??

 

Your issue probably has nothing to do with the 1103 quality if it was previously working as expected.

I'd say something has changed in your notebook,router,Internet service or your location has walls and floors between the router and notebook that is now causing you to lose signal strength.

How's your router quality and Internet service.

Is this happening on both the 2.4ghz and 5ghz bands?

Have you installed the free inSSIDer program to monitor your signal strength.

Use inSSIDer to find the best(least used) channel.
inSSIDer – Discover The Wi-Fi Around You | MetaGeek

Did you change anything in the router wireless settings?

20 and 40 ghz channel width?

WPA2 AES security?

While in the room with the router how is the connection strength?

Every few weeks the router should be completely turned off to flush the cache.

Have you done a speedtest.net and pingtest.net?

In the Bigfoot Network Manager>Network>hows the transmit and receive Link Speed and %.

EDIT:are you using Windows 7 or Windows 8?

I did experience some connection issues with Windows 8 and the Killer 437 driver from killergaming.com
The Atheros Osprey driver worked better for me.

I don't have your notebook model but I do have the Killer 1103,1102 and 1202.

I've also tested many Intel and Realtek cards and a lot of routers.

 

I moved your question into an existing thread. Please read through the pages and see if you can find a solution through the challenges others have faced with the same hardware.

For Killer Wireless problems that have developed following an "upgrade" to Windows 8, there is this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m18x/699709-killer-n1103-connectivity-issue-win8.html

 

I find the Atheros drivers better than the Bigfoot ones, I am using the 64bit version of 10.0.0.221, without any issues.

www.station-drivers.com • Afficher le sujet - Drivers: Atheros AR5xxx/9xxx Version 10.0.0.xxx Serie

 

Yeah, I may have been experiencing some fluctuating signal strength as well with Killer Wireless but will do more testing between my spare Intel Wi-FI card and the replacement Killer 1103 when it arrives next week.

I was seeing 500,600,700 even 900 (max) ping while playing Natural Selection 2 in various libraries with the Killer 1103, and now, surprisingly, the high peaks of ping are gone.

I may actually just stay with the Intel and sell the Killer 1103 if back to back testing in the same location confirms this, but to be fair I only had the Intel card in for two-three days so it is not enough time with both cards to really confirm this.

The wires were in the right places.

 

We had 4 separate threads with related, redundant or overlapping information regarding problems with Killer Wireless. Those have been merged in this thread to make the process of finding solutions easier for those searching for answers. Many are new members of the Community, or people simply "Googling" for help. Many don't know how or don't bother looking for information before creating a new thread to ask for help. We can move those to this thread as well.

 

Sorry, i didn't know where else to ask this. My Alienware m17x R4 is about 3 weeks old, and recently i upgraded it to Windows 8 Pro. It's been formatted about 5 times and bricked once until i finally did a clean install which was way complicated than it should be. but my systems working perfectly

Now, my problem is my internet keeps dropping every 20-30 mins, and after about 2 mins it'll go back to normal, then in another 5-10 mins it'll disconnect again, i thought it may be a problem with the router/modem but i have my asus which is by my side and the internet on it is working perfectly, so the problem's on my laptop, i checked a lot of things, ran alien diagnostics and checked for updated drivers (They're all up to date), restarted my system, ran my comp on safe mode w/ networking, i tried everything but i still have the problem, sometimes more often and sometimes (like now) it's not happened for about an hour almost.

I looked online and a lot of people with the Killer wireless card are having the same problem. Whenever the problem happens, i can fix it by either waiting or when i right click the networking icon in my taskbar and click troubleshooting problems, then it runs some diagnostics and resets the wireless adapter. which always fixes the problem.

however, other gamers must understand that those 1-2 minutes you're disconnected from game could be crucial, especially when playing something like League of Legends where getting dc'd in lane is horrifying.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Hi Mendameister,

I have the same issue as you with my M17x R4 and the Killer N 1103. I have pretty much solved it by removing the Killer N drivers and software, and letting it use the default Windows 8 driver (the one installed automatically). With this driver, the connection is rock-solid. I ran my M17x R4 on Windows 7 from when I got it in July, until Oct when I upgraded it to Windows 8, and did not have the problem under Windows 7. The issue seems to be with the Killer N Windows 8 driver or software. Good luck!

Rich S.

 

Did you install the Killer driver from their website for Windows 8? - if so, a lot of people have been having problems with the exact thing you are describing. No fix as of yet, as far as I know. If you didn't install them, you should be running the native drivers which should work fine. I've tried both and am currently using the native driver support until Killer release a good driver for Windows 8. The only thing you lose using the native driver support is access to the Killer Network Manager software.....

This issue is currently being discussed in the 18x forum but should be applicable to 17x owners too, afaik: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...thread-look-solutions-ask-questions-here.html

 

It's the latest killer drivers they are e.

 

Running stock windows drivers, no stability issues so far. Killer drivers under windows 8 had stability issues. You need to do killer cleaner and restart computer thoroughly including a shut down and restart for the effect to take place I noticed.

 

Okay, thanks for the help, I guess i'll uninstall the killer driver and then run the killer cleaner + do a shutdown + restart then.

 

I can't say I dislike the Killer 1103, the tech is great, but I really dislike their drivers. I have a MUCH better and stable connection using my trusty Intel 6300.

 

Weird.. I am experiencing the exact same problem as of today but on Windows 7. It's been rock-solid for about 6 months now but today it's been way awkward. I thought it might be my ISP but now you have me wandering...

 

Did a Windows update "help" create this problem, GaryBray? If it has been working great with Windows 7 (which it normally does) something had to change suddenly if it is not your ISP. It seems like Windows Updates have been causing a variety of issues lately. I have disabled Windows Updates from working automatically. I tell Windows to do nothing... not even notify me when updates are available because it can sometimes sneak an installation in with my permission. (That has actually happened to me more than once before.) I check for updates whenever the urge hits me, and then choose only those that I think might be useful. I find a lot of them that Windows wants to install by default are totally unnecessary.

 

Thanks for the reply. I don't think any Windows Updates were installed overnight, but I can't be sure as I wasn't the last person to use the computer. I have the luxury of being able to use the wired connection for now so I should be able to see whether or not it's an ISP problem.

I decided to check up on my drivers and software and there was just one thing to update and it is the new BIOS A10. I will install it anyway but I don't think A09 would cause this issue..

 

Make sure the adapter is set to never sleep under the power performance profiles (on battery, on mains etc.)?

 

I had a failed Killer 1103 card and replaced with an Intel Centrino and I have to agree that the lag spikes are gone, what I do notice is that the wi-fi range is reduced, as in there are a few networks that my rig no longer sees but I am enjoying much greater stability with the Intel Wi-Fi. I even purchased a replacement Killer 1103 but am probably not going to put it in.

 

As Mr. Fox mentioned many times nothing compares to Intel 6300. I had it for near 2 years and I regret selling that card. I have the killer installed now on my computers and it bothers me sometimes to wait or troubleshoot the problem of not being able to connect. The Intel 6300 is the most stable and reliable card I have ever seen so far. I totally agree with Heihachi88, those cards suck or this company is not able to provide a proper software and driver support.

Now I am keeping those killer cards installed with the default windows driver and I do not have an issue...

 

At the moment using stock drivers on Windows 8, I didn't really need the bandwidth management. Occasionally I still get loss of connectivity, but far less compared to the killer drivers for my m17x with killer 1103. Just started using google as the DNS server as well, see if that helps the issue.

Edit:

Shouldn't this thread be somewhere else? M17x owners won't see it and I assume sager etc. people might have the same issues as well.

 

Agree... I'll move it to the main Alienware forum. It affects owners of other models as well.

 

I think its such grabage crap that this is supposed to be a high end gaming card and its so crappy.... does anyone have this card working without issues for awhile? Id like to hope its just driver issues and not hardware issues but im losing faith in that....

 

I also want to add that since I have removed a malfunctioned Killer 1103 card and replaced with an Intel Centrino (not even 6300!) that all my ping spikes are GONE, not only this but my Cyborg R.A.T. 9 wireless mouse has been working without what I thought were laser tracking issues since the switch, which leads me to believe that the Killer 1103 card was interfering with the wireless signal of this mouse.

I am now looking at Intel 6300 on ebay, they are pretty cheap, under $40!

Edit: My problem with intermittent tracking with my Cyborg R.A.T. 9 returned, after over a week, RIGHT AFTER I posted this LOL, as if it was aware somehow, or maybe my conscious attention did it, not sure but I need to correct what I said about the Killer 1103 wi-fi card being a potential suspect, it is surely not interfering with my wireless mouse. But the lag spikes are not a hallucination.

 

how to get fix the random lag spikes ?!!! i got my m18x r2 for a month, when i play dota 2 or bf 3 . random lag spikes KILLS ME !! HELP PLEASE

 

I need to correct what I stated earlier about Killer 1103 possibly interfering with my wireless mouse, I also added this directly to the original comment:

My problem with intermittent tracking with my Cyborg R.A.T. 9 returned, after over a week, RIGHT AFTER I posted this LOL, as if it was aware somehow, or maybe my conscious attention did it, not sure but I need to correct what I said about the Killer 1103 wi-fi card being a potential suspect, it is surely not interfering with my wireless mouse. But the lag spikes are not a hallucination.

Oh and I went ahead and ordered an Intel 6300, $38 shipped, will install when I re-paste my CPU+GPU's with IC Diamond next week.

I'd like to download the drivers beforehand, can anyone point me in the right direction?

Will report observations.

 

You would probably be fine with the R1 Win 7 Driver via Dell here: Driver Details | Dell United Kingdom

 

Pulled out the Intel 6300 and replaced it with the 1103 again a few weeks ago and it seemed to be working fine in Win 8, until today that is.

After disconnecting during file transfers I tried a reinstall of the drivers as it worked last time I had issues, but no dice. Completely killed the networking in win8. No amount of reinstalling drivers or switching to windows default drivers or resetting everything with netsh would do the trick.

Windows would show a full strength wireless connection, but I couldn't actually use it. Reinstalled the 6300 and the problem persisted.

I've run respawn just to get a workable system as I cbf installing Windows 8 right now, and I think i'm gonna go back to 7 after using it for the last hour or so. The 1103 works with no issues whatsoever.

 

Someone can possibly merge this thread with the other Killer thread.

So, for the whole weekend I used my laptop with wired internet on windows 7 and I never experienced one internet dropout.

I tried to use the Wireless again today and I still get dropouts, maybe 2 an hour.

Chris_c81, I checked my power settings and the wireless adapter is set to 'Maximum Performance' on battery and when plugged in. It happens half way through online games so I don't think it is a sleeping issue.

It's really annoying. On Windows 7, are there any other drivers I can install for it rather than the stock?

 

In addition to what Chris suggested, you can try going to device manager and selecting you wifi card under network adapters. Go to the power management tab and make sure the box that says "allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" is unchecked. If it is checked, uncheck it and apply and see if that makes any difference.

 

I have a new killer card coming to see if it fixes my total disconnects... Never had lag spikes just total disconnects and no its not my router or IP.... Its the card 100% the card. If this dont fix it ill be selling the killer and replacing with something else. I can go with a little slower but stable. Stable > Speed in my book anyday!

Side note: I got parts only service without a fight and the tech was pretty awesome, nice guy and got what I wanted quickly. TY Dell!

 

UPDATE ON THE KILLER CARD REPLACEMENT! :

Dell sent the new card overnight which was super awesome of them It was waiting for me when I got home tonight (I called about it just yesterday!). Im using it now and speedtest.net results were 2x the speeds of the old broken card!?!? Maybe there really was an issue with that card from the get go as I dont remember getting those speeds ever on the old card?! Hopefully it dont drop connections ALL THE TIME like the old card. Got my fingers crossed and will update later.

Again, This is my first warranty experience with Dell and it was AWESOME! Thumbs up to you Dell on this one!

 

Ok... the drops are still here. Dropped signal again this morn.. . Ive tried everything other than putting in a different card at this point. No other wireless devices or laptop in this house has this issue so its the card....

Any chance this could be the mobo or sonething???? I damn sure hope not.

ANYONE have this card running with zero issues? Seems like more people have issues than not.

 

I'm running 100% fine on windows 8 with the first drivers that killer released for windows 8 (haven't bothered to check for an update as it's working fine).

 

Nah man, it's the card. Quite a few people have had the same problems. They seem to be inconsistent, maybe due to poor quality control. They are awesome when they work correctly, but not so much if they do not.

See if Dell will send you an Ultimate-N 6300 in exchange or just buy one one and put the Killer card away for warranty purposes. They are not very expensive and they do an awesome job. You'll also be able to stream HD video to your TV wirelessly when using the IGFX with a wireless receiver if that interests you. (I know it does interest some folks, although I am not one of them.)

You can buy one for like $20 here: DELL Latitude E6520 E6510 E6420 Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 Wifi Card (more than 10 available)

Be sure to only buy an OEM version or a Dell version, not one for a Lenovo or HP because those have proprietary firmware.

 

I guess Ill ask for the 6300 and try that. I know they are only $35 or so to just buy on my own but thats still $35. Maybe I'll just keep asking for replacement killer cards till I get a good one lol.

Is it the card or is it the card in these computers? Im still wishing for a driver to fix this issue and it not be a hardware issue with the card or computer.....

 

Personally I think its a driver issue, some sort of poor coding since if the connection is active but there will be no internet access, a restart/shutdown or toggling it off and on usually sorts the issue for me, some sort of memory leak or something getting corrupted or timing out to itself I guess.

Stock qualcomm drivers under windows 8 seem the most stable for me, it appears randomly, sometimes under heavy load but not always, can download steam games at 7MB/s without any issues for 6GB, but something like youtube will drop out.

All power saving features have been disbaled for my card as well.

 

I think it is probably a driver issue except when you get a defective card. It seems like there may be some of them in circulation that are having problems. Spending a measly $20 for an Ultimate-N 6300 is not money lost if you still have the Killer card to try using later on, hopefully with better driver support. I'd say having a good experience while waiting for Qualcomm to produce better drivers is money well spent. And, if they don't get it right, just keep on using the $20 beast. Other than for slightly improved results with a few things like online gaming, I doubt you would find any quantifiable (seat of the pants) difference in performance. They are both 3x3 MIMO with 450Mbps.

 

I know $20-$30 isn't much but its the fact that I PAID EXTRA for a premium card that works like crap lol.

Although, I don't hold Alienware responsible for that in any way. They just offered a good card to customers and they made very good attempts to fix the issue. Dell has no control over Killers lack of driver support.....

Ill probably just put in a 6300 and hope Killer finally fixes this issue one day.... I just use a wired connection for now and really like it My girl on the other hand finds the Ethernet cable strung around the house a issue lol. So 6300 card it will be, eventually.....

 

Hey guys,

I received my Alienware m18x R2 a few days ago and i am having problems with the card too :/
Tried every single driver out there. Changed them like 30 times already and i am getting drops :/

Sometimes its 5 times in 10 mins, other times 2 times in 5 hours. I am giving it a last go with .298 version and if i get drops again i will call Tech support for a replacement or something.

:/

 

@tyxpx - well, you could also grab a USB Wireless-N micro-dongle network card for less than $20 and use it on whatever computer you feel like using it on. It is not unusual to have driver issues with a new OS like Windows 8 and we did not see a high rate of problems with Killer wireless before Windows 8 was in production. Rosewill makes a good one that is like $10 or so. We use one of those on my son's gaming desktop machine. It is no larger than a USB mouse micro-dongle.

 

I feel like I'm in the minority of my card working without issues. I don't think I have done anything special and I bought my card off of amazon a few months back. Sounds like a hardware issue, but not sure what could be broken.

 

Yea I know about the USB things but I dont wanna use one. Ill just use a 6300. Not using a port and not in the way and the card isnt much money. And I dont have windows 8, I have 7. So they should have a good driver for it but guess they are dragging their feet. I am sure they are well aware of the issues everyone is having with their cards.

Never heard of "dongle" lol. Funny sounding word.

I see you have windows 8 and every other person I have heard say they have no issues have windows 8 also. maybe its just windows 7 users?

 

I ran it under 7 before 8 came out as well, so I don't think that is the problem.


Edit: Screenshot of the driver I currently have: and I have tweaked some of the settings in device manager as well just for personal preference. Not sure if that could help or not either.

 

Nothing made a difference, i'm just using the windows default drivers atm (and i can see i have like 80mbps instead of the 110 i'd hit with killer) but at least my internets not dropping.

 

Default drivers at the minute for me. Windows 8 stock drivers 3.0.0.130 i have enabled only Preamble 'long' as it is more compatible. No issues so far.

 

You should be able to install an atheros 9xxxx series driver.

It's the bigfoot software which messes things up.

 

I don't think that is the issue. I haven't had a single issue with either windows 7 or 8 and my killer card and the bigfoot software. I don't use the software, but it's still running in the background. Seems like I'm one of the few people to not have an issue at all. TBH though, I bought my card aftermarket through amazon, and not through dell, so I don't know if there is a difference or not.