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

It's really hard to beat the Ultimate-N 6300... rock solid 3x3 MIMO. I have no issues with in under Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 using Intel drivers. I do find the older drivers to be better than newer ones. It is interesting that some of the oldest Killer drivers are also the drivers that seem to work best.

 

I posted this on the Alienware 17X Forum, but this seems to be the right place for it.

I recently updated to Windows 8.1 and it was smooth sailing.

I've been on W8.1 for two or so weeks and i never really faced any Wi-Fi issues till now, as i read on the forums and downloaded the latest drivers for Killer.

I have a Killer 1103n card on my R4, recently i had to connect to my work VPN from my alien and i started to notice that my connection would drop. This started to make me mad, so i started to look into it further.

I checked with my office mac and i did not see any connection drops on my work VPN. It had to be something with my W8.1, i went checked if there was any update i needed to do for my drivers, and there was none. As soon as i kill the VPN everything works fine, as soon as i get on the VPN things start to break. I spent some more time messing with it and finally i ended up uninstalling the killer wireless drivers set, and let the OS use the windows drivers.

To my surprise this seems to work. It does not drop my VPN or my normal browsing connection. I let it run for 8 hours and it din't drop. I decided to confirm that Killer wireless drivers were the issue so i installed Killer wireless again, and bang in two minutes my connection dropped.

Has anyone else noticed this ?? or is my machine doing some magic ?

What drivers should i be using ? i read through the thread and enabled the setting that will keep the card awake, disabled bandwidth property on the card, anything else i should do ?



Edit : i drop Wi-fi even on Stock windows drivers, the frequency is less but i still do.

Edit 2: So i was just messing around more and i used the latest Killer manager for 1103n, and it turns out that as long as i don't have my VPN connection i do not see any drops. I let it run all night where i was monitoring the internet activity and i had no drops. But when i switch on my VPN i see random drops. My VPN client actually creates a TAP 32 network and routes all traffic through it. Additionally i was trying to use Chromecast and with chromecast i notice that i drop the connection every 5 seconds this is even worse. I plan to look for older drivers as they seem to work. Possibly windows 7.

 

Would it be worthwhile to upgrade from my 2230 to the 6300? I'm satisfied with the performance of the 2230, but if there could be a truly noticeable difference in speed then I would do it. I'm just not enthused about the idea of having to remove the screen and everything just to put in a Bluetooth card to go along with it (for mouse and keyboard).

 

If you're happy with the 2230, I don't know that it would be worth it. I love the 6300 and it gives great performance. I don't do online multiplayer gaming much to speak of and do not frequently transfer large data files across my wireless network. If you do those things, then it probably would be worth doing.

The Bluetooth module (Dell 365 and 375 BT) for the systems that do not use a WiFi card with integrated Bluetooth is not located in the screen. It is connected to a USB port on the motherboard. It is on the left side under the palm rest, near the edge of the motherboard adjacent to the HDD bay. It is on the opposite side of the motherboard than the WiFi/DMC slot.

You can put a USB card in the DMC slot and use a USB micro-BT module internally without having to pull the palm rest. See this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...ci-slot-wihd-socket-systems-without-wihd.html

 

As always, thanks for the info Fox. I read somewhere that the BT module was behind the screen along with the antenna wiring, so I'm glad to know that that is not the case. I don't do online gaming either and I have a 16-port gigabit switch networking all the rooms of my house for file transfers, so I primarily use the wireless at work and on campus. Thinking it through in those terms, I have no need for an upgrade other than curing the "upgrade itch".

 

I think i figured out the best combination to work around the glitches in the drivers.

-I installed the latest drivers from the manufacturers site,
-Disable the killer manager from ever starting.
-Disable bigfoot bandwidth control in the wireless adapter properties.
-Disable ipV6

See none to one drop in wi-fi over a day with the above settings.

I bought Chromecast over the holidays and everytime i stream anything onto chromecast i see a drop instantly. I did not notice anyone else having this problem. If so and you have figured out the problem do let me know.

PS - i own a samsung smart TV and if i stream to the smart TV it drops my connection as well. It definately does not like to stream on the network in my opinion.

 

Under load the latest drivers (1.1.xxx) are not stable. I recommend reverting to stock windows drivers (3.xxx) which are done by microsoft. They can handle high network loads of over 10mb/s without stalling. The latest drivers are not stable under load even with bandwidth manager disabled.

 

I used killer driver cleaner and uninstalled everything, i am now running stock windows driver 3.0.1.155. I still cannot stream to chromecast or my TV

 

Done the basic reboot etc?, check the advanced driver settings, mine are receive buffers 256 and transmit 512.

I'm running windows 8.1 as well. Don't know any further help, maybe check your router settings as well.

Make sure you don't have a network address present in the advanced settings too.

 

I did the basic reboot and i checked the settings, they are what you say they should be. I still lose connection on chromecast

 

What router you have? What speed is the link between you and the router? 450mbs?

maybe router incompatibility to. I use apple airport extreme (last gen) and they seem stable enough.

The wireless is very annoying indeed, I am not very confident in the stability always think the wireless is going to crash on my laptop. But it seems stable now so I won't mess with it.

Try an older atheros driver from station drivers if you need previous versions (they have killer 1103 drivers as well I think).

 

After 3 days of multiple driver installation, i found one that seems to not shutdown the wireless card (1103) during high data download.

1. Device manager: uninstall wireless drivers;
2. KillerCleaner_64bit;
3. CCleaner remove all traces of previous driver and registry;
4. Reboot;
5. Killer_1102-1103_6_1_0_298_Win7_64;
6. Bigfoot Networks Killer Network Manager-->Network-->Internet Provider Speed-->upload and download manually inserted increased values (double the speed from my internet provider).

 

I have problem with bluetooth.

Before install killer wireless driver, it have "send a file" and "receive a file" option.
View attachment 106790

But after install killer wireless driver, that option gone.
View attachment 106791

Any idea how to get that option back ? tried with driver from Dell and killergaming, also did not bring back that option.
I'm using windows 8.1 and Killer Wireless-N 1202
Sending and receive file is working fine. I just want to know why that option gone. TY

 

Thanks, this totally worked for now. Hasn't dropped connection yet, and I pretty much get my 125mb/s download on both wifi and ethernet which is excellent.

 

This may of been said before, maybe even me who said it before, but all my killer 1103 issues were resolved when I un ticked the box that says "allow windows to turn off this device to save power"

 

Aaaarrrghhhh i am done with the Killer wireless n1103 card. It drops my wi-fi , my VPN connection has issues with it all the time.

I was wondering which intel WLAN card should i switch too. I see a lot of people say stuff is for 20$ on ebay. It would be nice to get some info on what suits the best for R4.

I will start looking for a install guide as well. It should not be that hard. i guess.

 

If you plan on upgrading to wireless AC, the 7260ac might be the best choice. I'm considering upgrading to this card when the Linksys WRT1900AC is released.

For Wireless N, the 6300 seems to be rock solid.

 

Hi Mr. Fox,

I followed your advice and kicked out the useless Killer WiFi card and inserted the Intel 6300 WifFi card you recommended. Installing it was a bit tricky because I had to get straight back into opening the Alienware 18 once more and the media card reader did not work during that process which had me a bit worried. I reinstalled the drivers and refitted the cables once more and it works again now (phew!)

The wireless is better than ever, a HUGE improvement. Thanks for the tip ! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Just to conclude matters, do I have to keep the Killer Network manager in the system tray ? And do I need it at all ? And are there any settings I have to change in the configuration or Windows 7 itself ?

 

If you're using the Intel 6300 you can remove the Killer drivers. Glad to see it's working for you!

 

This is how my network items in the System manager look like:



Anything unusual ?

And I still have the Killer Network Manager running.

Should I remove that ? And if yes, how ? I haven't found a way to uninstall it.

And this is a Killer entrance in the msconfig/services section. No clue if I need that...

 

Uninstall qualcomm performance suite in add/remove programs in control panel, should remove everything for you then.

 

I unistalled the Qualcomm Suite but now there is an unknown ethernet controller in the System properties:



Any suggestions ?

 

It looks like you uninstalled the LAN driver, which is also manufactured by Qualcomm. The killer e2200 is LAN, not WAN. I would either just system restore or re-install the driver.

You may see the software referenced as Qualcomm, Atheros, or Killer.

 

I am sorry, but I downloaded the driver from the DELL website and after installation, I got the Killer Network manager in the system tray again.

Is there no way to get the driver without that extra software ?

Atheros, Killer, Qualcomm, Bigfoot.... what the heck is going on ? Extremely confusing, my God.....

 

Hey guys - I stumbled across an article earlier about dropouts with the 1103 and Windows 8.1 and the recommendation was to turn off bluetooth.

Had a bit of time today so I swapped out the 6300 for the 1103 and disabled bluetooth in the bios since I don't use it anyway and the card has been rock solid like it was with Windows 7

Hope this helps some of you pull a little less of your hair out

 

hey everyone
i recently purchased an alienwaren 17 laptop which i plan on using for gaming and other things. i am having issues with ping spikes and packet loss when playing online games throuh wireless connection. has this happened to anyone else?
online gaming works fine when i plug ethernet cable in the laptop but as soon as i go wireless my ping ranges from 200-400 and i get between 5% and 20% packet loss which makes it very hard to play.
the laptop has a killer network card and all drivers updated but still having this issue, also tried it on 4 different routers at friends places and still the same.
not having this issue on my old acer laptop. spoke to dell support but they dont seem to help much on this issue.
if anyone can help me out would be much appreciated
thank you

 

My brothers AW18 has the exact same WiFi card as you and im telling you its gotta be that WiFi card my aliens fine so is my dads old one but my dads new AW18 and my brothers BOTH experience as you describe......you can upgrade your WiFi card if your comfortable opening your PC with the intel 7260AC card its only 30$ on newegg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833106190

Sent from my Nokia Lumia 1520 Black using Tapatalk

 

Welcome to NBR. We're glad you joined our community. I merged your post with our Killer Wireless problem thread. Below is something you might try. BrickTop is a really sharp fellow. Maybe his suggestion will help in your situation. If it does not, you may want to consider upgrading to an Intel WiFi card, as that is what many Killer Wireless owners have done.

 

Thank you for the help i will try what bricktop mentioned with the bluetooth disabling and see how i go

 

I got a Intel AC 7260 with Bluetooth and to be honest its been rock solid since I put it in.

I run it from an Asus AC68U and to be honest its almost always 867mbps. the Bluetooth works well as well. Seeing as I now have 1 use for it.

 

Hey guys, as a big fan of the name Killer Wireless i am glad to say that for now i am happily using the 1103 model in my M18.

A few months back i had a lot of issues with this card on my old Alienware M18xr2 and had it replaced with a different one. Since then i had the card in a box and two days ago i decided to give it a try. HOLY , this thing works

The router i was using wasnt giving me a good signal with the broadcom card in the M18 and when i opened it i found that the card is with 2 antennas. Immidietly changed it with the Killer Wireless 1103 + the latest drivers and i cannot tell you how much the signal improved.

Now i am happly playing with the 1103 and i cant recommend it enough. Тhe card is awesome.

For the people who have had issues before, try the new drivers

 

Anybody on Windows 8.1 with the 1103 card and experiencing random disconnects when browsing the web?

Things I have tried:
Uninstall & clean all Killer drivers & software
Turned off bluetooth in BIOS (One member suggested in a m17x sub-forum)
Use Win 8.1 default driver
Connect to Wifi N 5GHZ
Connect to Wifi N 2.4Ghz

None of these worked.

 

I had problems with the latest killer drivers - when I let windows install the drivers, and I did not install the killer software, the problems went away. That was a year ago, so things may have changed since then.

EDIT: This was on Windows 7, and not 8.1.

If you have an android (maybe iOS has it too) download a free Wifi analyzer and see what channels are crowded. Get into your router and manually set a channel with no other routers on it, or at least minimal strength. I did have issues with Wireless N doing that to me with a crowded channel.

 

Throw it in the bin and buy an Intel card and save yourself the grief.

I Recommend the AC7260 if you are planning on upgrading to an AC router or the 6300 Extreme. Both are 100% stable and just as fast as the 1103 when it comes to Windows 8.

Whilst the 1103 is a great card, that ceased to be the case since the introduction of Windows 8. I haven't found a 100% stable driver since.

Disabling bluetooth in the BIOS cut out about 90% of dropouts for me and made the card bearable but I still had issues with large file transfers causing dropouts.

 

^ This. Trust me the intel cards are more reliable even though they don't boast the super high transfer speeds. Even if they did, intel wouldn't market it because they are more concerned about reliability instead of marketing gimmicks. I personally cringe at any company that gives themselves juvenile names. Skullcandy is another horrible offender in this regard

 

I forgot to mention that I did check for the least crowded channel and no improvements. I will just go ahead and get an intel card. I'll probably go for the 6300 for now, i dont have an AC router yet, plus its not 3x3 if that matters at all for gaming.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

Have you used the AC7260 yourself? If so, did you see a difference since that card has connection for only two antenna wires vs. the 6300 which has 3?

 

I went from a killer 1103 to an Intel 7260AC. Connection is 866.7mbps vs about 400mbps. I do remember the killer transfer speeds were quite low, 10 to 20 MBps (160mbps). The 7260, depending on what drive over the network, pulls 60+ MBps (480mbps) consistantly.

 

How do you get over 15mbps with the 7260AC!? I bought one yesterday installed it, and the speeds were horrendous. I have a 50mbps speed at home while using the ethernet cable...

 

I had to mess with my wireless router settings quite a bit. Lower lower, 80 MHz spacing, channel 36 come to mind without having access to it right now.

 

When you can, please let me know the settings. I'll play around with my router when I get home.

 

Either no encryption or encrytion set to WPA2 AES - it's required as other encryption methods limit speeds. Wireless 5GHz to AC only, channel 36, 80MHz channel spacing, extension channel to lower, lower.

Those settings allow me to connect at 866 mbps on my 7260 AC.

 

Played around yesterday max I can get up to would be 48mbps but it's not reliable. Even if I'm next to the router. Wireless is 2.4Ghz only :'[. It doesn't support AC either. 1-11 channels as well. D: Seems like the router from Shaw is a pos. .-.

 

Is this the card MrFox?

Intel Advanced-N 6300 Wireless wifi 633ANHMW | eBay

 

So I've been having issues with my Killer Wireless card for about a Year now. While browsing I can usually stay connected for at least an hour but If I download anything at all or play any game that is online it disconnects me. I think I may have finally found a solution. I've been downloading Metal Gear Rising at 11MB/s now for at least half an hour now and not a single disconnect. I also had league, updating in the background, WoW on in the background, and was playing Dark Souls 2 Coop as well. Not one disconnect so far. This is what I did:

I'm using Windows 8.1:
Go to your Network Connections:
Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network Connections
Right Click on WiFi -> Properties -> Configure -> Driver Tab -> Update Driver
Click Browse my Computer -> Let me pick -> Uncheck "Show compatible hardware"

Qualcomm Atheros Communications should be highlighted under Manufacturer
On the right side under Network Adapter find exactly and click on: "Qualcomm Atheros Wireless Network Adapter"
Click Next and install it.

This solution worked for me.

 

Thanks for the reply man. I was googling like crazy and see a lot of people are having issues. Stumbled across this thread and just happened to see your post thankfully. So far that seems to have fixed my issues. Since I got my new laptop with a 1202 I've had nothing but issues with the WIFI. When I first started my computer it would take a couple minutes to work and I'd frequently have to "troubleshoot" or disable/enable the wifi adapter. Then I started getting bad disconnects which stopped when I disabled bandwith control. But even then I'd get bad lag spikes when gaming. But then it kept re-enabling it by itself anyways randomly. This was when I installed the killer drivers from the disc I got with my laptop.

Also, bluetooth wouldn't find my bluetooth speaker with an old bluetooh version. I found the latest 1202 wifi/bluetooth drivers (which was a task in itself) and that fixed my bluetooth issue but didn't do anything about the above.


At any rate I have bandwith control enabled now and everything seems good so far! I was almost about to see if I could return just the WIFI adapter or was just going to uninstall everything killer related and just use the windows wifi drivers.


And lastly, not sure if it matters, but I found two options for "Qualcomm Atheros Wireless Network Adapter"


"Qualcomm Atheros Wireless Network Adapter (Microsoft)"
"Qualcomm Atheros Wireless Network Adapter (Qualcomm Atheros Inc)"

I THINK I went with the top one.

Alas, thanks again! I'll come back here if I have any issues Pretty disappointed in all this considering they advertise it like some elite gaming product but it doesn't even work out of the box!

 

I´ve had serious problems with my Killer lately, and turning off Bluetooth in the Bios has drasticly improved.
Only have had 1-3 drops outs this week and before I had a minimum of 4 a day.

 

Try the fix 2 posts up it worked for me!

 

sry if I'm digging this thread up but I've been having problems with this card in myp170em since I ever got it. I'm trying the solution from xeffer but I got really aLOT of qualcomm Atheros wireless adapter versions to choose from..

 

Depends on which model Killer you have.

For the Killer Wireless-N 1103: Qualcomm Atheros AR9380 802.11a|g|n WiFi Adapter (I did this and it's been working 100% so far)

For the 1202: Qualcomm Atheros AR9462 802.11a|b|g|n WiFi Adapter (haven't tried this but it is the corresponding chipset).