Subject: Intermittent Wi-Fi timeouts and severe RX degradation on HP laptop with Realtek RTL8723DE

[ihateRealtek]

I am experiencing intermittent and severe Wi-Fi degradation on my HP laptop running Arch Linux/Omarchy.

Hardware

• Wi-Fi adapter: Realtek RTL8723DE 802.11b/g/n PCIe Adapter
• PCI ID: 10ec:d723
• HP subsystem: 103c:8319
• Interface: wlo1
• Driver: rtw88_8723de
• Kernel: 7.2.3-arch1-3
• linux-firmware: 20260810-2
• Firmware: rtw8723d_fw.bin, version 48.0.0

Problem

The Wi-Fi connection intermittently remains associated with my router but becomes extremely slow or effectively unusable.

During the problem, the Wi-Fi signal remains reasonably strong, around -60 dBm, but the receive rate collapses to approximately 1–2 Mbps.

For example, during one occurrence:

signal: -62 dBm
rx bitrate: 2.0 MBit/s
tx bitrate: 39.0 MBit/s MCS 4

The station information also showed:

tx retries: 0
tx failed: 1
beacon loss: 6
rx drop misc: 453

The router itself was reachable, but latency became extremely unstable. A 20-packet ping to the local gateway previously showed:

20 packets transmitted
20 packets received
0% packet loss
min/avg/max/mdev = 1.863/174.197/1403.265/351.467 ms

So this is not simply an Internet/DNS problem. The local Wi-Fi link itself becomes severely degraded.

PHY/driver evidence

During the degraded state, the rtw88 debug information showed:

Noisy = 1
Rx Rate = CCK_1M

and:

HT CRC OK = 18
HT CRC ERR = 300

There were also 1415 false alarms reported by the PHY.

At another point, the kernel reported:

rtw88_8723de 0000:02:00.0: failed to get tx report from firmware

I also observed repeated Wi-Fi authentication/deauthentication events during earlier incidents.

Important observation

My router was originally operating on 2.4 GHz channel 1.

A scan showed several nearby 2.4 GHz networks, including a particularly strong AP:

Parab
freq: 2417 MHz (channel 2)
signal: -50 dBm

There were also other APs operating on channel 1.

As a controlled test, I changed my router from channel 1 to channel 6 and reconnected.

Immediately afterward, the connection showed:

signal: -59 dBm
rx bitrate: 65.0 MBit/s MCS 7
tx bitrate: 72.2 MBit/s MCS 7

and a 20-packet ping to the router produced:

20 packets transmitted
20 packets received
0% packet loss
min/avg/max/mdev = 1.807/2.348/6.676/1.031 ms

However, I cannot yet conclusively determine whether changing the channel itself fixed the problem or whether the forced Wi-Fi reconnection temporarily reset the adapter/firmware state.

Additional troubleshooting already performed

I have already verified that:

• The adapter remains associated with the correct AP during the failure.
• Signal strength is not disappearing when the problem occurs.
• Interface-level RX/TX error counters do not show conventional hardware link errors.
• PCI runtime power management is set to active.
• Wi-Fi power saving is disabled.
• I tested unloading and reloading the rtw88_8723de module, which temporarily restored normal operation.
• Firmware loads successfully at boot.
• fw_crash reports 0.
• The problem can occur even while the laptop remains associated with the router.

Request to HP

I would like HP to investigate this as a possible RTL8723DE hardware/firmware/driver issue, rather than treating it only as an Internet or NetworkManager problem.

Specifically, please provide:

1. The latest HP-supported BIOS/UEFI version for my exact laptop model that contains any RTL8723DE/WLAN/PCIe stability fixes.
2. Any HP-recommended firmware or driver update for the RTL8723DE.
3. Any known issues involving the RTL8723DE and intermittent RX-rate collapse, CRC errors, beacon loss, or firmware TX-report failures.
4. Whether HP recommends replacing the WLAN card or antenna assembly if these symptoms are consistent with a hardware fault.
5. Any official HP diagnostic procedure that can determine whether the WLAN hardware is defective.
6. If this adapter is known to have compatibility or stability problems, please provide HP's recommended replacement WLAN card for this specific HP laptop model.

I can provide complete diagnostic logs, iw output, kernel logs, PCI information, and firmware information if required.

I would specifically appreciate a concrete troubleshooting procedure or hardware/firmware solution, rather than generic advice to reinstall the operating system or reset the router.

Thank you.

[Deep_World]

Hi  @ihateRealtek 
 
Welcome to the HP Support Community!

Thanks for reaching out!

Thank you for taking the time to provide such a detailed technical analysis of the issue. I can see you've already performed extensive troubleshooting and gathered valuable diagnostics.

From your observations, this does appear to be related to the wireless adapter, driver, firmware interaction rather than a Internet connectivity issue. 

To better assist you, could you kindly provide the following details?

• Exact HP laptop model or product number 
• BIOS version currently installed
• Whether the issue occurs only on 2.4 GHz networks or if you can also test with a 5 GHz network
• Results of the HP Hardware Diagnostics Wireless Module Test, if available

In the meantime, I would recommend a few targeted checks:

1.Verify BIOS and Wireless Firmware

Kindly ensure the notebook is running the latest BIOS version available for your exact HP model. BIOS updates occasionally contain WLAN, PCIe, and power-management improvements that can affect wireless stability.

2.Run HP Hardware Diagnostics - Click here for steps 

During startup, repeatedly tap F2 and run:

• Wireless Module Test
• WLAN Test
• System Extensive Test

These tests can help determine whether the WLAN hardware is reporting any faults.

Regarding replacement of the part recommendations, HP generally determines WLAN card compatibility based on the specific notebook model and BIOS requirements. Once the exact product number is available, we can check which wireless modules are officially supported for that platform.

I hope this helps. 

[ihateRealtek]

Hi,

Thank you for your response. I have collected the additional information you requested.

1. Exact HP laptop model / product number

The system identifies itself as:

• Manufacturer: HP

• Product Name: HP Laptop 15-da0xxx

• Product/SKU: 5XD50PA#ACJ

• Family: 103C_5335KV HP Notebook

Relevant SMBIOS information:

Manufacturer: HP
Product Name: HP Laptop 15-da0xxx
Version: Type1ProductConfigId
SKU Number: 5XD50PA#ACJ
Family: 103C_5335KV HP Notebook

2. Current BIOS version

The currently installed BIOS is:

BIOS Vendor:                         Insyde
BIOS Version:                        F.36
BIOS Release Date:                   02/03/2021
Platform Firmware Revision:          15.36
Embedded Controller Firmware Revision: 80.50

Could you please confirm whether F.36 is the latest BIOS available for product/SKU 5XD50PA#ACJ?

If there is a newer BIOS applicable to this exact SKU, please provide the version and release date.

3. HP Hardware Diagnostics

I followed your instructions and pressed F2 during startup to enter HP PC Hardware Diagnostics UEFI.

The installed diagnostics environment reports:

HP PC Hardware Diagnostics UEFI version: 1.24.0.0

However, the available menu contains only:

1. Memory Test

2. Hard Disk Check

3. Language

4. Exit

There is no Wireless Module Test or WLAN Test available.

Therefore, I cannot run the requested Wireless Module/WLAN test from the installed diagnostics environment.

4. 5 GHz testing

I also checked the wireless adapter's capabilities.

The installed Realtek RTL8723DE currently exposes only 2.4 GHz frequencies. No 5 GHz frequencies are available.

Therefore, I cannot perform the requested 5 GHz comparison with this WLAN adapter.

5. Wi-Fi issue

The original issue is an intermittent and severe degradation of the Wi-Fi connection.

During the problem, the laptop remains associated with the router and the signal remains around -60 dBm, but the RX rate can fall to approximately 1–2 Mbit/s.

For example:

signal: -62 dBm
rx bitrate: 2.0 MBit/s
tx bitrate: 39.0 MBit/s MCS 4

The station information showed:

tx retries: 0
tx failed: 1
beacon loss: 6
rx drop misc: 453

A local gateway ping during the degraded state showed:

20 packets transmitted
20 packets received
0% packet loss
min/avg/max/mdev = 1.863/174.197/1403.265/351.467 ms

The rtw88 PHY debug information also showed:

Noisy = 1
Rx Rate = CCK_1M
HT CRC OK = 18
HT CRC ERR = 300

There were approximately 1415 PHY false alarms.

The kernel also reported:

rtw88_8723de 0000:02:00.0: failed to get tx report from firmware

I have also observed authentication/deauthentication events during previous incidents.

I changed the router from 2.4 GHz channel 1 to channel 6 as a test. After reconnecting, the connection returned to:

signal: -59 dBm
rx bitrate: 65.0 MBit/s MCS 7
tx bitrate: 72.2 MBit/s MCS 7

A local gateway ping then returned to normal latency:

20 packets transmitted
20 packets received
0% packet loss
min/avg/max/mdev = 1.807/2.348/6.676/1.031 ms

However, I cannot determine whether changing the channel itself resolved the issue, because reconnecting also reset the wireless connection. Reloading the rtw88_8723de driver has similarly restored normal operation temporarily.

6. Battery issue relevant to the BIOS update

You recommended ensuring that the laptop has the latest BIOS.

There is an important power-related issue I need to clarify before attempting a BIOS update:

The laptop immediately shuts down when the AC adapter is disconnected. The battery cannot currently power the laptop.

For this reason, I have not attempted the BIOS update from F.36.

Could you please confirm the BIOS version applicable to my exact SKU and provide the HP-recommended procedure for updating it given that the battery cannot provide backup power?

Thank you.

[Deep_World · Accepted solution]

Hi @ihateRealtek,

Thank you for providing such a detailed analysis and the additional information. Based on the diagnostics you've shared, the issue appears to be related to the Realtek RTL8723DE wireless adapter, driver or wireless interference, rather than an internet service problem.

For your HP Laptop 15-da0xxx (Product Number: 5XD50PA#ACJ), the latest BIOS available on the HP support website for Windows 10 20H2 is:

• HP Notebook System BIOS Update (Intel Processors)
• Version: F.48 Rev.A
• Release Date: May 7, 2024

Your system is currently running BIOS F.36 (February 3, 2021), which is significantly older. Updating to F.48 may include improvements for system stability, power management, and device compatibility.

Document linked for steps on how to update the BIOS -  Click here 

Important Before Updating the BIOS

You mentioned that the notebook powers off immediately when the AC adapter is disconnected because the battery is no longer functioning.

In this situation, HP does not recommend performing a BIOS update until the battery issue is resolved, as loss of power during a BIOS update can result in system corruption and may require motherboard service.

Kindly Address the Battery Issue First

• Verify that the AC adapter is genuine and functioning correctly.
• Run a battery health test, if possible.
• If the battery has failed, consider replacing it before proceeding with BIOS updates.

  Update Wireless Drivers

• Remove the current Realtek wireless driver completely.
• Install the latest wireless driver available for your notebook from the HP support page.
• Restart the notebook after installation.

 Disable Wireless Power Saving In Windows:

1. Open Device Manager.
2. Expand Network Adapters.
3. Open Realtek RTL8723DE Properties.
4. Under Power Management, uncheck: 
   • "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power."
5. Apply and restart.

Regarding Wireless Card Replacement

The RTL8723DE is a 2.4 GHz-only wireless adapter, which limits performance and troubleshooting options. If the issue continues after driver updates and BIOS updates (once the battery issue is resolved), you may consider replacing the WLAN card with an HP-supported compatible model for your notebook platform.

I hope this clarifies the situation.