Tutorial Installing a AX210 Windows 10 Driver that works

[L&LD]

Windows 11 preview bits are now available in the Insider Beta Channel | Windows Central

I'm not suggesting you install Win 11 Beta if you won't be able to troubleshoot (if needed).

But it has been out for over a month and I'm using it without issue since then on a handful of devices.

 

[MJH]

Are folks able to use the latest Windows Intel AX210 driver (22.80) with the formal Windows 10 releases? I've updated as far as 19043 with the October KB5006670 release and am not able to see 6GHz SSIDs.

 

[keenanj]

I just added a AX210 to my windows 10 system the latest intel driver still did not work here is what I had to do https://www.keenansystems.com/wordp...-6e-adapter-to-a-windows-10-desktop-computer/

 

[avtella]

Those instructions should only be needed for earlier iterations of W10. The latest W10 Service packs/Driver combo should allow the card to show 6Ghz automatically. So that is odd/interesting as
I posted the basis for those instructions at a time when 6Ghz was not yet unmasked by the drivers and when W10 still wasn’t fully WPA3 ready (in regards to Hash2Element). Just wanna make sure, WPA3 is working right on 6Ghz or are you stuck with OWE?

 

[keenanj]

I tried the latest intel pro set drivers and the quick install and and no 6Ghz had to back down the driver to the known working version and manually install.

 

[L&LD]

After using newer drivers, are you rebooting and/or fully shutting down the computer before testing?

 

[keenanj]

After using newer drivers, are you rebooting and/or fully shutting down the computer before testing?

yes multiple times

 

[keenanj]

I just upgraded the driver to 22.140.0.3 and the 6Ghz SSID disappeared immediately. When I roll back to 22.45.1.1 I connect to the 6Ghz SSID.

 

[Sushrut]

Why you guys need to do a registry edit when it can be done flawlessly from the device manager itself??

Right click on the adapter name in the device manager, go to the Advanced tab, Enable the Ultra High Band (6Ghz) & do a restart...The registry value will automatically change to 1 after restarting...

P.S. I have another problem...I have a TP Link Archer C20 5Ghz router & my AX210 is not connecting to the 5Ghz band...Tried disabling the 6Ghz band & other things found in Microsoft forums & google searched results, did not work... I don't think it's mandatory that AX210 ONLY needs a 6Ghz router to connect to the 5Ghz band...

 

[Tech Junky]

AX210 ONLY needs a 6Ghz router to connect to the 5Ghz band...

Mine works just fine on a non 6ghz AP. Does it see the AP? Did you try entering the password again? Did you try changing the WPA on the TPL?

 

[RMerlin]

Why you guys need to do a registry edit when it can be done flawlessly from the device manager itself??

Because at the time of this thread (18 months ago), that wasn`t configurable through Device Manager, and required manually enabling it through the registry.

 

[Sushrut]

Mine works just fine on a non 6ghz AP. Does it see the AP? Did you try entering the password again? Did you try changing the WPA on the TPL?

My laptop came with a MediaTek WiFi 6 adapter which had no issues connecting to both the bands but this Intel AX210 sees both the bands with full signal strength but not connecting to the 5Ghz band...I tried everything but in vain...Yes tried entering the password like a million times...I even disabled the wireless security from my router to check & it shows Open connection but still won't connect...

Doesn't matter whatever I tried, I am only getting "can't connect to this network"...My TV, mobile, other laptops have no problems connecting to the 5Ghz band & also the Mediatek WiFi6 card is working so it has to do something with the compatibility issues between the TP Link Archer C20 & the AX210 & also maybe Windows 10...

I tried Windows 11 but didn't like it at all so reverted back to Win 10 Pro...

Tried different Intel drivers, latest & old...Didn't work...

 

[Tech Junky]

@Sushrut

I've been battling with the AX210 on my server running Linux and it's peculiar. I run both Linux and W11 on my laptop and the AX210 works great on both OS. However on the server it's being finicky and giving a DL of 6mbps and UL over 1gbps. If I disable the AX it will connect @ 866 UL/DL as if it were on AC. If I play around with other options I can get it to connect at 1200U/D but it's not stable. I've had some other oddities though with that server since switching to Z690/12700K whether it's the board or something else I'm not quite sure and ordered some new M2 cards the other day to internalize the AP function and get a stable client side connection as well. The idea behind the M2's is that they're ~$65 and not $300+ like a 6ghz AP / router.

Anyway... so, I would check the TPL for updated firmware / default it / setup again on the ff chance it shakes something loose in the process that allows the AX210 to connect. Otherwise if you want some other options other than Intel that seem to just work check out https://www.embeddedworks.net/products/wlan/?frequency=Tri-band&product_list_order=price_asc

Sometimes it's just easier to buy your way to tranquility. Also, the can't connect to network could be WPA version not setup on the TPL side if the AX is trying WPA3 it should fallback to WPA2 but, Intel sometimes doesn't pick up on the option. Then there's the whole hidden / not hidden issues occasionally. Since it's one device / nic I'm more inclined to swap the M2 and be done with it rather than spend hours on it.

 

[Sushrut]

@Sushrut

I've been battling with the AX210 on my server running Linux and it's peculiar. I run both Linux and W11 on my laptop and the AX210 works great on both OS. However on the server it's being finicky and giving a DL of 6mbps and UL over 1gbps. If I disable the AX it will connect @ 866 UL/DL as if it were on AC. If I play around with other options I can get it to connect at 1200U/D but it's not stable. I've had some other oddities though with that server since switching to Z690/12700K whether it's the board or something else I'm not quite sure and ordered some new M2 cards the other day to internalize the AP function and get a stable client side connection as well. The idea behind the M2's is that they're ~$65 and not $300+ like a 6ghz AP / router.

Anyway... so, I would check the TPL for updated firmware / default it / setup again on the ff chance it shakes something loose in the process that allows the AX210 to connect. Otherwise if you want some other options other than Intel that seem to just work check out https://www.embeddedworks.net/products/wlan/?frequency=Tri-band&product_list_order=price_asc

Sometimes it's just easier to buy your way to tranquility. Also, the can't connect to network could be WPA version not setup on the TPL side if the AX is trying WPA3 it should fallback to WPA2 but, Intel sometimes doesn't pick up on the option. Then there's the whole hidden / not hidden issues occasionally. Since it's one device / nic I'm more inclined to swap the M2 and be done with it rather than spend hours on it.

1) As I mentioned that I already have a Mediatek WiFI6 card that came with the laptop (not the 6E but it doesn't matter as I don't have an AX router anyways) so I will just try & research for some more days & open the lappy again & insert the Mediatek WiFi6 card there...So, I don't need to buy any card for this...

2) I already tried firmware upgrade on the router & no further updates were available so, I re-flashed same the firmware which is already installed on the router...

3) I also mentioned that I tried disabling the wireless security on the 5Ghz band on the router & enabled the AC mode from device manager...So, AX is disabled & also I disabled the WiFi6 support from device manager so, it's only wireless AC on both the adapter settings & with no login security on the AP...The network also shows as open & the AX mode is disabled so I have no clue why it would not connect...

Maybe even after disabling the AX mode & 6Ghz band, the adapter still trying to connect to the 160Mhz and/or 6Ghz which my router doesn't support...This is the only explanation I can think of...

 

[Sushrut]

EDIT : The card now is not even getting detected in the device manager...Tried reseating & also tried another laptop...Not getting detected there either...So, the card seems to be dead now...

I bought this from eBay in May, so the eBay return policy is over...I messaged the seller last night to either reship the product or refund or I might have to open a dispute on PayPal as PayPal gives 180 days coverage...The seller wanted some photos & I sent him those now...Let's see...

 

[jsmiddleton4]

I have a 210AX card and 6E working great on an older HP Windows 10 laptop. It’s an X360 m3-001DX. Old enough that I can’t automatically upgrade to Windows 11. I tried all sorts of recommended stuff to get it to work. One thing and one thing only made it work, the Intel 22.45.xx driver. I don’t care if Intel says its current driver works for both Windows 11 and Windows 10. Did nothing for me.

With the 22.45.xx driver I’m getting 2.4 to 2.5gbs consistently.

Also I’m using the Arris Surfboard W6U 6E access point. Not outrageously expensive and simple way to add 6E to an existing network. I am not going to toss my AX86U JUST for 6E. That’d be dumb.

 

[jsmiddleton4]

“Those instructions should only be needed for earlier iterations of W10”

Sorry but in my experience that is not the case.

 

[jsmiddleton4]

Interesting the 22.45 driver does not have the Advanced Option to enable the 6ghz channel. It is enabled without a specific instruction to do so. No registry tweak either.
Whatever it is that is preventing the simple installation in Windows 10 can not be THAT big a deal. Why Intel can't figure out how to do this kinda hard to explain.

 

[Ripshod]

Why Intel can't figure out how to do this kinda hard to explain

They simply don't want to. They want everyone on 11.

 

[lazer5]

Hello Everyone,

I've owned a PCIe card with the Intel AX210 module for a few years already and read a lot about that Windows 10 Wi-Fi 6E issue. I even downloaded some of those old driver versions back then, in order to be ready to go when I get a router supporting the 6 GHz band.

Now the time had finally come and I was very exited.
However, the exitement didn't last very long, as for some reason this workaround doesn't work for me.

I started with the driver version 22.45.1.1, which is the one that's being mentioned the most in numerous articles all over the Internet that cover this Windows 10 Wi-Fi 6E issue. But it doesn't work for me.
I even added the "Is6GhzBandSupported" = 1 registry key, although it shouldn't be needed for that specific driver version.

Then I tried a few other old drivers versions, including 22.30.0.11, which is the one referenced in the top post of this thread. (I went through that post step by step)
And I rebooted after every driver installation.

So my question is, does this old workaround still work for everyone in the year 2024, with a Windows 10 that is updated to the latest patches as of today? (Windows 10 Professional, 22H2, 19045.4046)

By the way, to rule out any hardware problems or router problems I installed a copy of Windows 11 on another disk of the same computer and things work nicely. The SSID of the 6 GHz Wi-Fi was shown right away and I was able to connect to it without issues.