Getting N instead of AC WiFi

[umka83]

Dear Community

I have AC capable router (RT-AC68U) and AC capable adapter (ROSEWILL RNX-AC1900PCE)
Latest drivers (updated on Dec 6, 2017) and firmware aare installed.

However, for some reason, Windows 10 x64 WIFI details shows that I am connected via N not AC

AC has a number of benefits over N like beamforming etc. Has anyone had this problem before? How can I force the network to be connected via AC?

Thank you

 

[captaincharisma]

you need to have a device that supports AC too. there are still devices out today that support wifi but not the newer AC band

 

[mikeynavy1976]

I had this issue before with an old Netgear USB AC1200 USB adapter. It was 2 x 2 so even though Windows reported the protocol as 802.11N when I went to check link speed it was connecting at 867 MHz which was 802.11ac. You check in Network and Sharing Center>Connections (Top right)>Speed. Also, are you using Rosewill's drivers? One other thing to try is to determine what chip it is using and get the generic drivers (e.g. from Snappy Driver Installer or similar program, or online drivers site). I have an ASUS PCI card that, when using the Asus drivers had very low connection speed. I did some research, followed it, and installed generic Broadcom drivers and am connecting at 1.3 Mbps every time, from the opposite corner of the house as my router. It looks similar to yours with 3 x 3 configuration so they might even have the same chipset or manufacturer.

 

[umka83]

you need to have a device that supports AC too. there are still devices out today that support wifi but not the newer AC band

Which of my devices does not support AC - Asus RT-AC68U or ROSEWILL RNX-AC1900PCE?
As far as I understand - they are both AC capable

 

[umka83]

I had this issue before with an old Netgear USB AC1200 USB adapter. It was 2 x 2 so even though Windows reported the protocol as 802.11N when I went to check link speed it was connecting at 867 MHz which was 802.11ac. You check in Network and Sharing Center>Connections (Top right)>Speed. Also, are you using Rosewill's drivers? One other thing to try is to determine what chip it is using and get the generic drivers (e.g. from Snappy Driver Installer or similar program, or online drivers site). I have an ASUS PCI card that, when using the Asus drivers had very low connection speed. I did some research, followed it, and installed generic Broadcom drivers and am connecting at 1.3 Mbps every time, from the opposite corner of the house as my router. It looks similar to yours with 3 x 3 configuration so they might even have the same chipset or manufacturer.

Thanks for your reply. I think I have 3x3 on my adapter and my route is also triband... I am using default drivers from Rosewill website ROSEWILL RNX-AC1900PCE and speed in Control Panel > NetworkSharingCenter > Adapter properties is shown to be 585Mbps
Could you please suggest which drivers may I try to use with ROSEWILL RNX-AC1900PCE? it actually has another problem - it does not see 2Ghz network at all... only 5Ghz for some weird reason

 

[bill001g]

Part of the problem is 802.11n is a subset of 802.11ac. So some encoding you can call either so windows may just say its N.

In any case the speed is negotiated based on the best quality signal it can get.

What you do is take the number you see and look it up in this table

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11ac

In your case 585 is only in the 80mhz which means it MUST be 802.11ac. The 20 and 40mhz columns can technically be called 802.11n...although all encoding is not supported by 802.11n.

Pretty much your equipment is only using 2 feeds and is not getting a real strong signal because it can only run 64-QAM.

There is not much you can do about this other that maybe trying to get better signals. In any case it is running 802.11ac no matter what windows says.

 

[scar99]

Dear Community

I have AC capable router (RT-AC68U) and AC capable adapter (ROSEWILL RNX-AC1900PCE)
Latest drivers (updated on Dec 6, 2017) and firmware aare installed.

However, for some reason, Windows 10 x64 WIFI details shows that I am connected via N not AC

AC has a number of benefits over N like beamforming etc. Has anyone had this problem before? How can I force the network to be connected via AC?

Thank you

If your connection properties say N then you are connected N. The Drivers for the ROSEWILL RNX-AC1900PCE are bugged and this is what I found on a Newegg review:

"Bruce D. The Wi-Fi adapter would only connect using the n protocol.Therefore, I went to Rosewill's website and downloaded and installed fresh drivers, yet the problem remained. I ended up going to the TP-Link website and downloaded the drivers for the TP-Link Archer T9E Wireless Adapter, and decided to give those drivers a shot. After I downloaded the TP-Link drivers, I uninstalled the Rosewill drivers, and then I installed the TP-link drivers. Once the new drivers were installed, to my pleasant surprise, the Rosewill adapter connected using the ac protocol. After running a few speed tests to monitor the adapter's performance, I'm happy as a clam. Note: If you get the Rosewill wireless adapter, I recommend you go to the TP-Link and download and use the Archer T9E drivers. They are newer than Rosewill's drivers, and in my case, work much better."

So TP-Link Archer T9E is the same as ROSEWILL RNX-AC1900PCE but with better drivers. Worked for me (I'm connected AC now), should work for you.