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How to access and configure advanced Wi-Fi adapter settings on Windows Vista*


Access Advanced Configuration Settings for Your Wi-Fi Adapter

Use one of the following methods to access the advanced wireless adapter configuration settings on Microsoft Windows Vista*.

System and Maintenance icon:

  1. Click the Start icon.
  2. Click Control Panel.
  3. Click System and Maintenance.
  4. Click Device Manager.
  5. Click the + sign to expand the Network Adapters entry.
  6. Right-click the wireless adapter and click Properties.
  7. Click the Advanced tab to configure the advanced settings.
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My Computer icon:

  1. Right-click the My Computer icon on the desktop (if available).
  2. Click Manage.
  3. Click Device Manager.
  4. Click the + sign to expand the Network Adapters entry.
  5. Right-click the wireless adapter and click Properties.
  6. Click the Advanced tab to configure the advanced settings.

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Network and Internet icon:

  1. Click the Start icon.
  2. Click Control Panel.
  3. Click Network and Internet.
  4. Click Network and Sharing Center.
  5. Click Manage wireless networks.
  6. Click the current network and then click Adapter properties.
  7. Click Configure.
  8. Click the Advanced tab to configure the advanced settings.

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System Tray Icon:

  1. Right-click the system tray icon on the lower right corner of the desktop and click Network and Sharing Center.
  2. Click Manage wireless networks from the left Tasks panel.
  3. Click the current network and then click Adapter properties.
  4. Click Configure.
  5. Click the Advanced tab to configure the advanced settings.

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Explanation of Advanced Wi-Fi Adapter Configuration Settings

Note Certain properties may not appear depending on the type of wirelesss adapter installed in the system.

802.11n Channel Width (band 2.4/band 5.8)
This setting can be used to set high throughput mode channel width in order to maximize performance.
  • Auto (Default): For band 5.8, this setting will use 20 or 40 MHz depending on the wireless access point or router to which the router is connecting.
  • 20Mhz

Note These settings are available only if the adapter is an Intel® WiMAX/WiFi Link 5350, Intel® WiMAX/WiFi Link 5150, Intel® WiFi Link 5300, Intel® WiFi Link 5100 or Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN.

802.11n Mode
The 802.11n standard builds upon previous 802.11 standards by adding multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO). MIMO increases data throughput to improve the transfer rate. setting can be used to enable or disable supporting the high throughput mode (MIMO - 802.11n).

  • Enabled (Default)
  • Disabled
Notes These settings are available only if the adapter is an Intel® WiMAX/WiFi Link 5350, Intel® WiMAX/WiFi Link 5150, Intel® WiFi Link 5300, Intel® WiFi Link
5100 or Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN.

To achieve transfer rates greater than 54 Mbps on 802.11n connections, WPA2-AES security must be selected. No security (None) can be selected to enable network setup and troubleshooting. An administrator can enable or disable support for high throughput mode to reduce power-consumption or conflicts with other bands or compatibility issues.
Ad Hoc Channel 802.11 b/g
This is the band and channel selection for ad hoc networks. There is no need to change the channel unless the other computers in the device to device (ad hoc) network use a different channel from the default channel; then you should select the allowed operating channel from the list.
  • 802.11b/g (Default):
Select this option when 802.11b and 802.11g (2.4 GHz) ad hoc band frequency is used.
  • 802.11a: Select this option when 802.11a (5 GHz) ad hoc band frequency is used.
  • Note These settings are available only if the adapter is an Intel® WiMAX/WiFi Link 5350, Intel® WiMAX/WiFi Link 5150, Intel® WiFi Link 5300, Intel® WiFi Link 5100 or Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN.

    Ad Hoc Power Management
    Set power saving features for Device to Device (ad hoc) networks.

    • Disabled: Select when connecting to ad hoc networks that contain stations that do not support ad hoc power management.
    • Maximum Power Savings: Select to optimize battery life.
    • Noisy Environment: Select when connecting in a noisy environment to prevent performance degradation.

    Ad Hoc QoS Mode
    Quality of Service (QoS) control in ad hoc networks. QoS provides prioritization of traffic from the access point over a Wi-Fi Local Area Network (LAN) based on traffic classification. WMM* (Wi-Fi MultiMedia*) is the QoS certification of the Wi-Fi Alliance* (WFA). When WMM is enabled, the adapter uses WMM to support priority tagging and queuing capabilities for Wi-Fi networks.

    • WMM Enabled (Default)
    • WMM Disabled

    Note This feature is not installed through an Administrator Package when a user's computer has an Intel® PRO/Wireless 2915ABG Network Connection or an Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200BG Network Connection.

    Fat Channel Intolerant
    This setting communicates to surrounding networks that this Wi-Fi adapter is not tolerant of 40MHz channels in the 2.4GHz band. The default setting is for this to be disabled (turned off) so that the adapter does not send this notification.

    Note These settings are available only if the adapter is an Intel® WiMAX/WiFi Link 5350, Intel® WiMAX/WiFi Link 5150, Intel® WiFi Link 5300, Intel® WiFi Link 5100 or Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN.


    Mixed Mode Protection
    Use to avoid data collisions in a mixed 802.11b and 802.11g environment. Request to Send/Clear to Send (RTS/CTS) should be used in an environment where clients may not hear each other. CTS-to-self can be used to gain more throughput in an environment where clients are in close proximity and can hear each other.

    Note This setting is not valid when 802.11n mode is enabled.

    Roaming Aggressiveness
    This setting allows you to define how aggressively your Wi-Fi client roams to improve connection to an access point. Click Use default value to balance between not roaming and performance.

    • Lowest: Your wireless client will not roam. Only significant link quality degradation causes it to roam to another access point.
    • Medium-Low/Medium-High: Allow Roaming.
    • Medium: Balanced setting between not roaming and performance.
    • Highest: Your Wi-Fi client continuously tracks the link quality. If any degradation occurs, it tries to find and roam to a better access point.

    Throughput Enhancement

    Enhance the transmit throughput by enabling packet bursting.

    Enabled

    Disabled (Default)

    Transmit Power
    The optimal setting is to set the transmit power at the lowest possible level still compatible with the quality of their communication. This allows the maximum number of wireless devices to operate in dense areas and reduces interference with other devices that share this radio spectrum. If you decrease the transmit power, you reduce the radio coverage.

    • Lowest: Sets the adapter to the lowest transmit power. This enables you to increase the number of coverage areas or confine a coverage area. You should reduce the coverage area in high traffic areas to improve overall transmission quality and avoid congestion and interference with other devices.
    • Medium-low/Medium/Medium-high: Set by country requirements.
    • Highest (Default): Sets the adapter to a maximum transmit power level. Use this setting for maximum performance and range in environments with limited additional radio devices.

    Note

    This setting takes effect when either Network (Infrastructure) or Device to Device (ad hoc) mode is used.

    Wireless Mode
    These Wi-Fi modes (modulation type) determine the discovered access points within range of your network adapter. The available bands depend on the adapter.

    • 802.11b only: Connect the wireless adapter to 802.11b networks only.
    • 802.11g only: Connect the wireless adapter to 802.11g networks only.
    • 802.11a and 802.11g: Connect the wireless adapter to 802.11a and 802.11g networks only.
    • 802.11b and 802.11g: Connect the wireless adapter to 802.11b and 802.11g networks only.
    • 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g (Default): Connect to 802.11a, 802.11b or 802.1g wireless networks.

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    Operating System:
    Windows Vista Starter, 32-bit version*, Windows Vista Home Basic, 32-bit version*, Windows Vista Home Premium, 32-bit version*, Windows Vista Business, 32-bit version*, Windows Vista Enterprise, 32-bit version*, Windows Vista Ultimate, 32-bit version*, Windows Vista Home Basic, 64-bit version*, Windows Vista Home Premium, 64-bit version*, Windows Vista Business, 64-bit version*, Windows Vista Enterprise, 64-bit version*, Windows Vista Ultimate, 64-bit version*

    This applies to:
    Intel® PRO/Wireless 2100 Network Connection
    Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200BG Network Connection
    Intel® PRO/Wireless 2915ABG Network Connection
    Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection
    Intel® WiFi Link 5300 and Intel® WiFi Link 5100 products
    Intel® WiMAX/WiFi Link 5350 and Intel® WiMAX/WiFi Link 5150 products
    Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN

    Solution ID: CS-025393
    Date Created: 08-Jan-2007
    Last Modified: 29-Jan-2009
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