Why is my Wi-Fi signal degraded after upgrading Wi-Fi card?

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I recently upgraded my desktop's Wi-Fi card from an Intel 6230 to the latest, greatest Intel 7260 AC. I used 5GHz 802.11n, but after the upgrade, the 5GHz band becomes unusably slow (some web pages now take a minute to load). I tried moving my Linksys E2500 router from 30 feet away to a few feet away, which fixes the problem, but this can't be a long term solution. I have no trouble with 2.4 GHz channels however.

Does anyone know why this can happen? I'm using the same antennas and router as before, and I haven't moved my computer. I see my 5GHz signal strength is reduced to 3 bars out of 5 (I think it was 3 or 4 bars before the upgrade too).

One thing I'm suspecting is the transmit power of the new card is reduced. Is there a way I can measure it? Is the signal strength in Windows only for the received signal?

Yale Zhang

Posted 2013-09-20T21:31:39.307

Reputation: 119

lastest != greatest – Sammitch – 2013-09-20T22:13:07.810

Do you have the same problem when you hard wire it? You can measure signal strength on the 5Ghz band using inSSIDer. (No affiliation)

– Moses – 2013-09-20T22:32:16.540

1Your 'desktop' computer uses a half-length mini PCIe card? Interesting. :) Anyhow, sounds like you got the antennas on backwards, or one isn't seated properly. Are you sure you didn't kink, nick, or move the antennas during install? Did you get the latest PROSet/wireless drivers from Intel? – Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007 – 2013-09-20T23:12:24.897

"latest != greatest" - I admit I have a I don't care if it's crap as long as its the latest crap problem :) I'm using Maximus VI GENE motherboard, which has a mPCIe & M.2 slot, but so do a lot of small motherboards. I'll look at the antenna connection again when I get home. I'm using 1 short antenna (5GhZ) and 1 longer antenna (2.4 GHz) and tried swapping the order, but it didn't seem to help. "inSSIDer" - thanks, I'll try that. And yes, I'm using the latest Intel drivers. – Yale Zhang – 2013-09-20T23:23:58.507

Those little antenna connectors are pretty easy to mis-connect -- and damage, so check them to ensure you didn't dent the shields or the pin. – Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007 – 2013-09-20T23:37:01.800

Answers

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OK, problem solved. I don't know exactly what caused it, but it seems to be a combination of antenna direction and short circuiting.

I checked the antenna connections as suggested and they seemed OK. Then I noticed the SMA connectors and tightening nuts go through a sheet metal cover plate on the rear of the case, which I was so sure of as a short circuit.

After painting the SMA connector contacts, the Internet was still very slow. After adjusting the antennas to have 180 degrees separation, I can finally get decent speeds (4 bars of signal too). I was thinking maybe this has to do with destructive interference? since unlike routers, my 2 antennas are only 2cm apart at the base, where they come out of the cover plate.

Yale Zhang

Posted 2013-09-20T21:31:39.307

Reputation: 119

Asked: 2013-09-20T21:31:39.307

Viewed: 608 times

Active: 2013-09-22T20:43:05.647