Intel 7260?

16.6.0.8 drivers have lower throughput than the previous drivers. Try rolling back to 16.5.3.6 or 16.1.5.2 (I'm using this one) and you should see the 35+ MB/s throughput again.

 

Thanks for the tip. I did try to roll back but the speeds are still limited. I'm also pretty sure that when I first installed 16.6.0.8, everything was fine.

I noticed there is something strange is going on. I removed the current driver by uninstalling it from Add/Remove Programs first and the uninstalling from device manager selecting the option to uninstall the driver software. I end up with version 16.0. I subsequently installed 16.1.5.2. When I connected to my router the driver magically updated itself to 16.5.3.6. Looks like there are some orphaned drivers. Any idea how to get rid of them?

Cheers,
jayrock

 

Well, Intel bundles different driver versions (based on inf files) on a single package. From Intel's Website ( Intel® PROSet/Wireless Software — Intel® PROSet/ Wireless Software Downloads), Windows 8.1 has the 16.5.3.6 so if you install the 16.1.5 package, you'll get the 16.5.3.6 version while Windows 7 and 8 will get the 16.1.5.2. I tested the throughput at my university campus (5 GHz band Aruba Networks AP with WPA-2 Enterprise AES security) but not at my apartment (I only have a 2.4 GHz N router at home), With 16.6.0.8 drivers, I get 2/3 of the throughput that I get with the 16.1.5.2 on 5 GHz but at home, I get about the same throughput with both drivers. However, I don't consider the throughput at home since there are more than 25 nearby APs that can interfere with the throughput of my router at home.

Well, 14 MB/s is definitely in the N specs so what does Windows network connection status say about the connection speed? Is it above 300 Mbps?

 

OK, thanks for the clarification,

I'm on 16.5.3.6 now. Windows connection status reports .ac speeds (650 Mbps at this moment) but the iperf speeds are still limited to around 100 Mbps. Back to square one....

Update: When I looked at my records I noticed that problems may have started when I upgrade to Windows 8.1. As a test I installed 16.1.5.2 again and indeed a connection speed of approx 37 Mbps is there for a short time and then connection breaks - I asumme ths is when Windows 8.1 updates the driver to 16.5.3.6.

Is there any way I can force Windows 8.1 to use the Windows 8 driver 16.1.5.2?

Cheers,
jayrock

 

Well,I gave Intel ProSet v16.8.0.6 a spin for a few days and now have rolled back to v16.6.0.8

Version 16.8 lowered my Signal Quality rating from excellent to good,speed went to where it was before v16.6.0.8.

I never got 5 bars with 16.8.0.6.It was 3 or 4 mostly but sometimes went down to 2 bars.

Downloads were slower as were speed tests.

IMO,for the AC-7260,version 16.6.0.8 is still the best driver available today.

 

Intel is now going downhill with their recent drivers. For Intel 7260N with Windows 7, 16.1.4.4 (currently using) or 16.1.5.2 are still the best drivers. 16.6.0.8 has many speed fluctuations in Windows 7. Intel still hasn't fix the random speed drop issue to 2 - 11 Mbps from 144 or 300 Mbps with disappearance of the 5 GHz band (confirmed by Windows and Inssider) when the adapter is connected to 2.4 GHz band. This occurs on all drivers for Windows 7 (though I haven't tested the 16.8.0.6 yet. I'm waiting for official drivers from the Intel website).

 

I never use 2.4ghz anymore.I'm setup to use 5.2ghz as my band of preference

In my high rise apartment building complex mine is the only network that shows up in inSSIDer on the 5ghz band while I see 75 to 100 on 2.4ghz

From every test I've done on my MSI GT780DX with the AC-7260, driver 16.6.0.8 gives me the best results and most of the fluctuation I get is between 468Mbps and 520Mbps at idle 15' away when I'm not in line of sight with the R6300 router.There's always 5 bars with 16,6,0,8

 

I just had the weirdest thing happen. I was here checking to see if updated drivers had been posted and my out of nowhere my speed went to virtually nil. I thought maybe it was the server but checked other sites and even google took forever to load. Then I check my connection and Im connected to 2.4Ghz at 6 Mbps! First thing I suspected was my ASUS RT68U router as I just updated firmware last night but a reboot of that did nothing. The 5Ghz network wasnt even showing up on the machine. I checked my Iphone and it was connected to the 5Ghz so it wasnt the router. I did a reboot, nothing. Had to uninstall then reinstall the adaptor then still go through the ringer to get it to work again.

Edit:Still using 16.6.0.8 and have been for some time.

 

Same exact issue as many 7260N / 7260AC connected @ 2.4 GHz. 5 GHz band dies too and the only way is to reset the adapter. The drivers work perfectly @ 5 GHz band though, but what if you get to a place where 2.4 GHz band is the only choice? Then expect at some point that your speed will slow down to dial up speeds. No it's not a router problem since other devices work perfectly fine @ 2.4 GHz band. And based from "WhatsThePoint" observation, the latest driver performs worse than 16.6 @ 5 GHz band.

Basically, the 7260 AC is only good if you have an AC connection or 5 GHz connection as of now. I want somebody to test the Broadcom BCM4352 AC WiFi to see if that card has no issues at both bands.

 

It was on 5Ghz, that's where it stays. I honestly have no need to use the 2.4Ghz. My Laptop is more of a Desktop replacement and isnt exactly the best in portability. ASUS G74SX. For all the power they packed into this machine They skimped on the wireless and put a crappy Intel N6150 that doesnt even do 5Ghz and slow as the dickens on 2.4 Ghz. Ive been running a USB 2.0 wireless adapter since day one until the 7260 came out and upgraded to an ASUS RT68 AC wireless router while I was at it.

Its been running fine with no dropouts since the day I got it. Of course I spent some time reading here and tweaking for top throughput. It was just odd how out of the blue it dumped the 5Ghz connection and connected to the 2.4Ghz at a snails pace. Took uninstalling, rebooting then re installing the device. The software totally lost the profile so I had to do all that over again as well. Maybe it didnt like the fact that I was on here looking to see if there was any driver progression and had a hissy fit to teach me a lesson LOL. Been fine since. My speed tests still fluctuate particularly over WAN at speedtest.net. Seems if I reset everything and reinstall everything I can max out @ 85/40 and that will last until I reboot then Im at 65/35 unless I go through the gambit again. I have a netgear USB 2.0 AC adapter that I bought just before getting the AC7260 and I can plug that puppy in and it stays with the 85/40 regardless so I know its the AC 7260 causing the speed variations. Overall though Im still happy with it. I dont have to have the USB adaptor sticking out the side and it still beats what I had before even at the 65/35.

 

That's the first time I've seen that behavior when connected at 5 GHz band where you get the same snail speed symptom + 5 Ghz band disappearance as the connection @ 2.4 GHz band. It never happened to mine though when I'm connected to 5 GHz band at my university. Though this glitch happens way more when connected @ 2.4 Ghz band. You can easily fix that by setting the Wireless Mode to "802.11a" only, essentially turning off the 2.4 GHz band in your adapter. You won't lose your AC connectivity as long as you set HT mode to VHT mode. I think it's when there's something in 2.4 GHz band that makes the adapter go crazy.

 

Hi all -

Longtime lurker but first post here. I'm about to purchase an Asus N550JV and am debating whether to upgrade the wireless card to the 7260. This would be mostly for future-proofing but also to take advantage of the 5 GHz band at the university where I work. However, we're not planning to upgrade our home router right now so I'd need to have a strong connection to 2.4 GHz at home. From what I've read here and elsewhere on the net, it sounds like there are driver issues that cause speed drops when connected @ 2.4 GHz. I can't get a concrete idea from the thread whether it's going to be reasonable to expect this card to smoothly connect to both 2.4 and 5 GHz bands without constantly changing settings in between or having to keep disabling and re-enabling the router every little while to reestablish a fast connection @ 2.4. Can anyone confirm whether or not this card will work for my situation, or am I better off just putting up with the stock card for now and upgrading later once I buy a new router for home? Is it just a matter of finding the right driver version (sounds like the newest ones are the problem)? I'm not planning on upgrading from Windows 8 to 8.1 right away since it sounds like it's more trouble than it's worth right now (at least for Asus) - can anyone confirm whether drivers are better/connections more stable on Windows 8 vs. 8.1?

Any advice is much appreciated!

 

As a user of 7260N since July, I've used all of the drivers for it. I can share my experience with it. One thing that I can guarantee you won't have any problems when connected at 5 GHz band. Also, like one of the users here noted, 16.6.0.8 is the best driver version in terms of range and throughput of AC WiFi @ 5 GHz band. The throughput / maximum speed of 7260N on my signature was obtained with the 16.1.5.2 drivers connected to university @ 5 GHz band. (download speed is throttled so I can't test for its throughput) However, I find that 16.6.0.8 drivers for Windows 7 has less throughput @ 5 GHz N (not AC) band. For windows 8 / 8.1, 16.6.0.8 drivers is the best. For Windows 7, you can use either 16.1.5.2 or 16.6.0.8 for best performance @ 5 GHz N, AC respectively.

@ 2.4 GHz band, 16.6.0.8 for Windows 7 is the most stable but also gives less throughput. 16.1.5.2 for Windows 7 is the fastest in my experience. For Windows 8 / 8.1, 16.6.0.8 is still the recommended driver since 16.1.5.2 is only for Windows 7.

Here's the issue with connecting @ 2.4 GHz band. The first thing is that the connection speed drops that never returns to normal connection (not the actual / real life throughput) happens way more often if you're in a super crowded 2.4 GHz band like I do (over 28 hotspots in range). The drivers aren't yet able to recover from WiFi interference. While other devices also slows down when WiFi interference occurs, they are 100% able to go back to normal speeds when interference subsides. I confirmed this with a simple ping to modem on all of my devices. When the speed drops happen, here's a thread from Lenovo forums that explains the events after you get that super slow speed: WiFi unstable on Lenovo Z510 - Lenovo Community After the interference subsides, the ping from all of my devices except for those with the 7260 returns to normal while the 7260 keeps dropping packets, never able to recover until you reset the adapter. The 16.6.0.8 drivers are able to recover from interference but on some occasions it can't then you get all that symptoms described in the Lenovo thread. Also, don't bother getting the previous drivers since they are a lot less stable than 16.1.5.2 drivers or later. (I get more speed drops with them than this or newer drivers)

I'm not discouraging you to get the 7260. In fact, even with this WiFi glitch, I am not that much annoyed with it since getting the best channel @ 2.4 GHz will lessen the occurrence of this glitch significantly. I haven't had this glitch yet for 4 days since as of this writing. I'd say get the 7260AC since in the future, you won't even bother connecting @ 2.4 GHz which is really a bad frequency to connect to these days.

 

Thanks for the detailed reply! That's what I was hoping to hear - I was worried I'd hear that it's not worth it unless I could be connecting to 5 GHz exclusively, but as long as the drivers are reasonably good and the speed drops don't happen super often, I'll put up with it until we're ready to get a new router. One more thing, if you don't mind - do you find you need to switch settings on the adapter when going back and forth between bands, or does it pretty reliably connect to whichever is available?

 

I don't know the exact behavior but one thing is that it likes to connect to the signal that is stronger when you set the "preferred band" to "no preference" (it's the default setting) as I confirmed this in the university where the 2.4 GHz signals are at least -10 dbm stronger than 5 GHz. Otherwise, it connects to 5 Ghz when available. You can always force the adapter to attempt to connect to 5 Ghz band first by setting the preferred band to "prefer 5.2 GHz band". If the adapter can't find any 5 Ghz band, it will automatically connect to 2.4 Ghz band despite the setting to prefer 5 GHz band. Also, you can always turn off one of the two bands by setting the "Wireless mode" to 802.11g (5 Ghz band is off) or to 802.11a (2.4 GHz band is turned off). You can also turn off N and AC mode by setting the "HT Mode" to disabled or just turn off AC mode by setting the "HT Mode" to "HT Mode" (same name). By default it's VHT Mode which means N and AC mode.

All in All, the adapter is pretty smart at which bands to connect IMO and I rarely, if ever, change the band to connect to when I'm at university.

 

That's great to hear, thanks again for taking the time to reply!

 

Just to add my 2 cents. If you have device that only have 2.4 band, they will suffer downgraded performance. I have 7260AC and netgrear R6250. I had to switch some laptops to A band instead of G to get performance back, but some tablet I have are only 2.4 N band and they are slow.

The 7260Ac I bought was only $25 US, but if I would know how bad it is I wouldn't buy. The biggest issue I have with intel is that they are not admitting they have issue with drivers. Look at their community forums.

 

Just a quick update in this thread.

I've been playing with the 16.8.0.6 drivers for more than a week and it's literally the most stable driver for 2.4 GHz band so far.. I've been able to exceed the 24 hour threshold test twice. This driver is able to climb back to 144 Mbps when it reaches the speed drop of no return (2 - 11 Mbps) unlike all the previous drivers. Throughput @ only 2.4 GHz is excellent too which is very similar to the 16.1.5.2 drivers. However, it literally sucks @ 5 GHz where the signal reported by inssider is 20 dbm weaker than all of the previous drivers! That's a bummer. Just when they finally fixed the 2.4 Ghz band issue, they royally screwed up the 5 GHz band. Here's a screenshot where the 16.8.0.6 drivers was able to stay connected with excellent speeds for more than 24 hours:

 

Got my first 5ghz dead in a few weeks since Running 16.8.0.6

Another problem, not sure if 7260 related, is that after some time, my machine refues "make new connection". essentially, old connection is working (i.e games, downloads etc) but new web browsing tab will not work. IT is fixed after a re- login.

 

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but where do I find the 16.8.0.6 drivers?
I don't see it on the Intel site or in Windows Update.

 

Here you go: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ww7cye44ossstfl/Intel 16.8 beta drivers only.zip

 

The 16.8.0.6 driver is originally from Gigabyte

Windows 7/8/8.1
32/64bit
DriverVer = 12/05/2013,16.8.0.6


http://download.gigabyte.us/FileList/Driver/slate-driver-s11m-win8.1-64bit-wlan-16.8.0.6.zip

 

Win 8.1 PRO
Dell Vostro 5470, i7, 8GB, 250 GB Samsung SSD ... and Wireless-N 7260

Connected to Airport Extreme (5th gen)

Nothing until now worked here.

I've tried all flavors and versions of drivers in Win 8 PRO and Win 8.1 PRO, including the beta 16.8.0.6. --> Nothing worked
Really, I can't count the number of times I've uninstalled drivers and the 7260 itself. Removed all PRO tools. Reinstalled them all --> Didn't work
Tried drivers WITHOUT protools --> didn't work
Tried to disable the feature that doesn't allow the computer to disable card for energy saving --> didn't work

I still get limited connection every hour or so no matter what. Turn airplane mode ON and then OFF and everythings works
again for another 30mins-1 hour.

I'm trying now the extreme way. Reverted to the last "official" driver (16.6.2.1). I've limited the 7260 to work only in 802.11b mode (11 Mbps). Lot's of performance loss, but my main concern now is stability. will let you know soon enough if it works.

 

OK. Now it's working. No more disconnections.

It's more like avoiding the problem than solving it, but it works for me while Intel figures out a driver that actually works.

I've "downgraded" my adapter to 802.11b (11Mbps) by forcing it to work this way.

Control Panel --> netowork .... --> open settings for the 7260 --> click configure --> advanced TAB --> "wireless mode" = '1. 802.11b'

This allows me to work without being bothered every 30 mins while Intel fixes the driver glitches.

 

Update....

Regular install connects to Access Point @ 115 Mbps --> Unstable (regardless of driver version)
Forcing 802.11b connects @ 11 Mbps --> OK. Stable (but slow)
Allowing 802.11b/g, but disabling HT mode (setting it to off) connects at 54 Mbps --> OK. Stable

Will stick, for now, with the 54 Mbps connection.

 

@ BernardoFortes

I recommend for you to just upgrade the the 7260AC or to at least 7260N dual band. I used to have a single band 2.4 GHz router at my apartment. I recently saw a deal for $25 deal on a 5 Ghz Netgear WNDR3400v1 router and used it as an AP next to my Netgear WNR2000v2 router and now I'm happy to say that all of my WiFi issues with the 7260N dual band such as ping spikes, speed dropping to 2 - 11 Mbps, 5 GHz band disappearing are now gone. I have my laptop 8 meters away with 2 walls from the 5 GHz AP and can still get 5 bars albeit with the speed of 216 - 300 Mbps.

Before I used to have intermittent ping spikes to 500 - 1000 ms (interference at 2.4 GHz) now it's very stable at 5 GHz band. Here's a sample that I just did earlier:

Code:

Pinging 192.168.1.1 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
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Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
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Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
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Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
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Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
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Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
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Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
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Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
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Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
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Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
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Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
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Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
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Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
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Ping statistics for 192.168.1.1:
    Packets: Sent = 360, Received = 360, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 22ms, Average = 1ms

Good enough for WiFi online gaming for me at least.

 

Just installed my new AC-7260 using the beta drivers. Download speed has double over my wireless compared to the Killer Wireless N 1103 I replaced.

What are the best drivers for this card?

 

In my laptop with 7260N, 16.8 beta drivers for 2.4 GHz stability in radio congested areas. For Windows 7, 16.6.0.8 or 16.1.5.2 drivers for both bands. For Windows 8/8.1, 16.6.0.8 drivers. The 16.8 beta drivers for Windows 7 are weak at 5 GHz at least on my laptop. YMMV

 

I cannot believe the frustration and waste of time this issue has caused people all over the world. How many lay-persons will be able to dive into the settings to turn off this or that?

Intel have released a faulty product that is not fit for purpose. OEMs have blindly integrated this faulty product in their laptops. The end result? Millions of people who are unable to reliably use the Internet (try keeping an SSH tunnel open for more than 5 minutes on a laptop with an Intel 7260 installed).

I very much doubt Intel are able to solve this issue with a software update, as they have been aware of the issue for a long time now (and many firmware/driver updates have been released since). I'm skeptical this is fixable via software. This drop-out issue for the Intel 7260 occurs on Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and even Linux - all show the exact same symptoms.

The thing that worked for me is turning off HT Mode (as suggested above by BernardoFortes). This works on both Windows and Linux. The other workaround is to buy and use a USB network adapter.

I'm seriously considering a class action lawsuit. I just wouldn't be sure who to direct it at: the OEMs for being incompetent and not testing a vital component thoroughly before including it in their products, or Intel for releasing a faulty product.

What makes this issue worse is that so many OEMs are now using the Intel 7260. Just about every laptop I've considered purchasing has one (the most recent being the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro). I am not going to buy another laptop with an Intel 7260.

 

@ scottdeagan

That's true and it's not the first time it's happened. Issues with drivers for 6230 were never resolved (I assume past tense it the right one in this case).

I've been following this thread from the very begging and to be honest I'm just waiting for a different ac card to be easily available, because 7260 is - unfortunately - not a card to recommend yet at this point seems to be the only one that everyone can buy.

 

@ downloads

Are you willing to try a Broadcom based AC card? This is the only one I've seen on the market that has AC capability other than 7260.

Amazon.com: Azurewave AW-CE123H 802.11ac/nbg WiFi+BT PCI Express Module
Broadcom BCM4352 / Bluetooth 4.0+3.0 HS Class II: Electronics

From a bit of Google search, they use this in Asus ROG, some ASUS motherboards, and Alienware laptops. I don't know how well it performs though or if it's more reliable than the 7260 as of now though since adding a 5 Ghz router as AP with WPA2-personal AES encryption seem to eliminate the disconnection issue to me. I haven't a drop off nor speed issues with 5 GHz band for 4 days since adding that AP. At school, 5 GHz WPA2-Enterprise AES encrytion, I never had any WiFi issues with it, but seeing some people still have 5 GHz drops with WPA2-personal AES encryption, I wonder now if the drivers are only stable with enterprise encryption.

While it may seem that the 7260 itself is a faulty hardware due to not working properly on may OS flavors, I still think it's a driver issue and Intel doesn't have enough volunteers to help debug their drivers.

I can't wait for Atheros mini-pcie half mini AC cards to appear on the market so we can have a comparison between Intel, Qualcomm and Broadcom to see which chipsets and drivers give the best and most stable performance.

 

My money is on a driver too although there's no way to be sure.

I have to say I'm waiting for a three stream card to show up though - this one I'll buy and test.

 

Here is an interesting one, I had transfer rate issues throughput problems all sorts of wobblies on my M17x r3 when using this card, But while i am waiting for a replacement LCD panel (Logic board went poof) I stuck this into some run of the mill random old funky toshiba laptop and it seems to be doing ok which is wierd, Because it only did "ok" in the R3 when i had a game running otherwise transfer rates would sit at 5mb/second, Here i'm getting 30+

 

These are the 3 stream 802.11ac mini pcie cards I've seen so far.

WLE900N5-18

DAXB-81 - 802.11ac/n/a single band 3x3 PCIe mini card, BCM4360

The problem with these cards may be getting working Windows drivers.

 

They are not half sized. They might work with old laptops that have full size slots and the Broadcom drivers for BCM4352 might also work with the BCM4360 chipset. I don't know if they'll even work with laptops that have WWAN slots.

 

Easy now

There is nothing new that hits the market without bugs......nothing. Dont care what it is or who made it from Wireless AC cards to washing machines or the latest Iphone. Manufacturers use info provided by feedback to improve it after the fact. You cant get a better test bed than the general public or in this case a forum full of PC geeks who try everything under the sun to test it out, max it out and plain break it in some instances.

Ive been running this card for several months with no dropouts period. I did have one glitch where it reverted to N mode and very slow. reinstalled and no issues since.

One other thing to consider is the source where you bought the card. Yes they are being counterfeited in China like everything else and they are running rampid from many blind online retailers, particulary any card purchased off of Amazon is a fake. Intel does something stupid like every other manufacturer and has them made in China. Well the Chinese take intellectual property and violate the hell out of it, no laws preventing this in China. They run what is called a ghost shift on the very same assembly line using rejected or inferior materials then find a channel to sell them. I bought one from Amazon and it didnt look right and didnt work right either. I bought another from Newegg.com and a side by side comparison confirmed my suspicions.

 

I bought my AC-7260 through Gentech and it works great with driver 16.6.0.8 on 5ghz.

I also have excellent Internet service.

Speedtest is usulally about 95Mbps~100Mbps up and down

The card also works well transferring data across devices on my home network.

Transfers on the network can reach 42MB/s

I use the 5ghz band exclusively and channel 161 yields the best results for me.

 

Yup I agree. The $25 Netgear WNDR3400v1 refurbished on 5 GHz only as AP to my WNR2000v2 made a world of difference with the Dual Band N 7260 behavior with the 16.6.0.8 drivers. For the past 2 weeks, I have never had a single drop yet nor irregular ping spikes since I moved to 5 GHz channel 36. Heck I can now game on my laptop wirelessly without sudden lag spikes! Clearly this card (mostly due to the drivers) is geared for 5 GHz operation. 2.4 GHz is okay for me and it's not like it disconnects many times a day like from the horror stories I've seen with the Centrino 2230 / 6235 cards. I only get the speed drops of no return to normal speeds once per two weeks with the 2.4 GHz band but the 5 GHz band is unimaginably perfect at least for me.

 

WiFi - no any problems. Speed is great, no dropping (with Linksys EA6900 AC). Smooth. It's a good part.
Bad part is Bluetooth - Damn! After installing into NP700 and Acer LT21 completely killed BT on the both laptops. So tried move back original 6230 and have no BT at all with old cards as well. Damn-damn-damn!
After few nights has been resolved on the Acer (Gateway) LT21 with two mini-PCIe slots:
1. Update chipset .inf files (from intel website). Important step, dont skip!
2. Re-update wifi and BT drivers (from intel web site)
3. Remove 7260 from "half" slot
4. Tape pin 51 on 7260 and insert in the second slot (full lenght mini PCIe). Card with no tape on the pin 51 has blocked laptop (freezing laptop before bios message so no access to BIOS or OS)
5. Wait for Windows loading, found new hardware installing something and vio'la - got AC wifi and Bluetooth 4.0.
6. Buy "Mini PCI-E Half to Full Size Extension" on the e-bay as $2 and secure card in second slot.



BT on the Samsung still unresolved yet
UPD Resolved as well - just taping pin 51. No control of BT by Fn-F1 or Fn-F12 but it's ok for me.

 

I had to same problem on my samsung NP300E5C with the BT.

I was on win 7 and the WiFi was fine but bluetooth would only appear for a few seconds on boot up without the intel drivers. To fix this I upgraded to win 8.1 and now my bluetooth now works fine (except i can't connect to my iphone 3gs)

The 16.8 drivers work fine for me 2.4GHz btw

Thanks for posting all the drivers updates for this card, i check this thread once a day to keep up to date. hopefully 3x3 ac cards will appear on the market in the summer and i will upgrade again and pass this card on to someone stuck on 802.11G

 

Windows Update updated my AC-7260 driver from 16.6.0.8 to 16.6.2.1 on my Windows 8.1 Pro x64 installation.

Gave it a try then rolled back to 16.6.0.8

 

why did you roll back ? mine also just updated from 16.6.0.8 to 16.6.2.1 // im also using WIN 8.1 PRO x64

 

With 16,6,0,8 I had mostly a steady connection speed at 520 Mbps to 602 Mbps while at a non line of sight ocation 15" from my R6300 router going through 2 cement walls.

Once 16.6.2.1 was installed I noticed drops down to 180 Mbps and staying there for short periods of time.

My steady 5 bars with 16,6.0.8 would now drop as low as 2 bars with 16.6.2.1

Moving to a line of sight location in my apartment 8 feet from the router saw saw a steady 866.7 Mbps.The same speed with both drivers.is experienced from the line of sight location.

I'll try the driver again after my next clean install of W8.1 during the 3 day Lunar New Year holiday later this week.

I use the Windows 8.1 RTM ISO unpacked onto a USB 3.0 flash drive for clean Windows 8.1 installations.

No real difference in speedtest.net. With both drivers getting around 95 Mbps up and down.

 

how to change MAC on this wifi card?

 

Does this tutorial work? How to Change a Computer's Mac Address in Windows: 7 Steps

 

Where can you download the Win8.1 RTM ISO?

 

PM sent

10char

 

how did you test your connection speed? did you use a specific software?

 

See post #202 in this thread.

I've also done the Lan Speed Test and Passmark Performance Test.

 

Has anyone been able to figure out a foolproof way to keep a stable connection with the 7260? My friend recently purchased a Lenovo U430 Touch with the single-band wireless-N 7260. It constantly drops to a "Limited Connection" in Windows (8.1, but also did it on 8).

I've walked her through upgrading to 16.8.0.6, we've installed all possible Windows Updates, and have even tried disabling HT mode, but it's still happening.

Anything else that can be done to make this stable, or is it just that bad of a Wifi card?