Surface Pro 6 slow WiFi

Question

I just purchased a Surface Pro 6 and the WiFi performance on it is incredibly bad.  

I just ran a speed test on my Dell laptop (using only WiFi) and achieved 18.4 Mbps download and 7.8 Mbps upload.

The same test on my Surface gives me either incredibly low numbers (e.g. 0.03 Mbps download) or it times out because it can't access the remote server.

I have updated everything; current Marvell driver is 15.68.17015.112

I'm connecting both devices through a NetGear WAC104 dual-band WiFi on the 2.4GHz band, running 802.11n protocol.  I am running the latest FW on this WAP.

It's very frustrating to have purchased a brand new PC and have this kind of fundamental access issue.  Any suggestions, please???

Thank you,

Bryan

Answer 1

I received my new WAP, installed it, and the difference was significant:

So this seems to solve it.  I'd really like to understand what was going on with the old WAP and why the Surface was fine on uploads but hated downloads.  I guess we just chock it up to the mysteries of WiFi...

Bryan

Answer 2

my WAP can't be that bad, but to the Surface, they suck.

Every so often we get reports of specific routers or access points where Surface
devices with the Marvell WiFi get lower speeds. This has usually been older
802.11n only dual band devices. Yours is a newer WAP. You can certainly file a
Feedback Hub problem report using the Feedback Hub App, but I can't promise that
Microsoft will try to hunt down the problem. You can also contact the vendor of
your device and see if this is a known issue. The Netgear 802.11ac gear has been
pretty good. I've got an X10 R9000 that is great.

Answer 3

Hi Barb, thank you for your help!

First off, my WiFi already has separate names for the two frequencies, e.g. ourhome and ourhome_5G.  Using one or the other doesn't seem to affect this issue.

Second, your suggestion to try my Surface somewhere else was a good one.  Here are the results:

I was absolutely amazed to see the Surface download over 40Mbps at Starbuck's, easily exceeding the same test on my Dell, which has been my gold standard for WiFi performance.  On the other hand, my Dell continues for FAR outperform the Surface here at home.  Clearly there is something that the Surface does not like about my WiFi setup here at home.

Given that my Dell does great here at home, I am really at a loss here to understand what's happening.  My LAN and my WAP can't be that bad, but to the Surface, they suck.

Any thoughts????

Answer 4

why this Surface seems to be so unhappy in my home's WiFi environment

how does your Surface perform elsewhere? I know it may be tough with COVID-19
restrictions to test elsewhere, but every once in a while I see problems with
specific access points or routers.
do you have different names for the 2.4 and 5GHz SSID and if not can you try
renaming one of them?

Answer 5

Hi BryanCowger,

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Community.

Please do these steps first to troubleshoot the issue on your Surface Pro 6:

1: Run Surface Diagnostic Toolkit and check Windows Update

2: Update drivers and firmware

                               Check what is the current OS Build of your Windows version by going to Settings > System > About.

                               Go to Download driver and firmware for Surface, choose Surface Pro 6 then click Download on the next page.

                               Choose the .msi file that matches your current OS Build and click Next.

                               After downloading, run and install the .msi then Restart.

3: Run System File Checker Tool in Windows 10

4: Uninstall/Re-install driver

                              Open Device Manager > Network adapters

                              Right-click Marvell AVASTAR Wireless-AC Network Controllerand choose Uninstall device

                                      Note: Leave box unchecked to Delete driver software for this deviceif prompted

                              Hit Uninstall then Restart your Surface

5: Change Bandwidth

                            Open Device Manager > Network adapters

                            Right-click Marvell AVASTAR Wireless-AC Network Controller and choose Properties

                            On the Advanced tab, highlight Band then change value from Auto to 2.4GHz

You may check this page also for more steps: Fix Wi-Fi connections issues in Windows 10.

If this answer your question, we highly encourage you to inform our Community by clicking on Yes or marking my post as an answer. This will help other members who may have the same issue as you. Otherwise, don't hesitate to update us so we can further assist you.

Kind Regards,

Marrion Y.