Wireless NIC card causes internet modem to crash

[TMorris91]

My new HP laptop has a Realtek RTL8822CE 802.11AC wireless network card.

If I connect to my internet modem/router, then within 60 seconds the network drops completely.  

The WiFi Analyzer app on my phone shows that both my 2.4 and 5Ghz SSIDs are no longer visible, and any device connected to either goes offline.

If I disconnect the laptop from the wifi,  the router resets itself after a while, and the network comes back on it's own, and the 2 wifi networks are visible again. 

If I use an external USB wifi dongle I have and plug that into the laptop, it connects just fine, no problem.  Also no problem with wired ethernet cable.

I can make it all drop on demand 100% of the time as soon as I connect the laptop using the built-in wireless NIC.

Any ideas **bleep** is going on here?  I called the ISP, this appears in the logs at their end to be the "modem flapping", which just started after I got the new laptop. 

The drivers for the internal NIC have been updated to latest available Windows 10 drivers, all other updates to OS have been applied.  No detected malware on the laptop.

I've read that modem flapping can be caused by too many concurrent connections, which may cause the modem to run out of memory and crash.  Is there a NIC setting I can adjust to correct this ?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

There is a newer driver than what is listed on your notebook's support page.

2024.0.10.209      Dec 6, 2019

https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp100501-101000/sp100552.exe

Fix and enhancements:
- Fixes an issue where the system cannot connect to 2.4G wireless access point after the Wi-Fi disconnects automatically.
- Fixes an issue on a system connected to a wireless access point where the Wi-Fi driver automatically disconnects when the system is idle for approximately 30 minutes.
- Provides the DCH-compliant driver.
- Improves throughput for Wi-Fi/Bluetooth coexistence.
- Provides the following drivers:
Realtek RTL8188EE/RTL8723BE, v2024.0.4.208
Realtek RTL8821CE/RTL8723DE/RTL8822BE/RTL8822CE, v2024.0.10.209

You can click on the advanced tab for the wifi adapter in the device manager and see what settings are listed that might make a difference.

[TMorris91]

Thanks Paul, that is newer than what the "update driver" button in the windows device manager would give me.

I just tried installing that, and the same problem persists.   I had a support call with HP technician earlier, he verified that the BIOS and everything was updated, and the hardware diagnostic scan of the wireless NIC module was showing as fine, but we can still reproduce the problem on demand.

He suggested I do a factory reset to re-install windows, so I'll try that next.  I dont have much optimism that will help, as my aftermarket USB wifi dongle would share the same (supposedly damaged?) windows network stack, and it works fine. 

Honestly, my 20 years of IT experience tells me theres a problem with the hardware itself that is not being caught by whatever simple diagnostic scans the BIOS can run.  Three different versions of windows drivers all fail the same way, as do 2 different versions of BIOS firmware.    A deep search thru online support forums shows this particular wifi adapter (RTL8822) is the source of TONS of grief for all kinds of people using it, in a variety of different brands of laptop.     Had I done this much research before, I probably would have shied away from this particular laptop because of it's infamous NIC.

If reset of OS doesnt work, then I'll just return the laptop and try something else.   The HP tech wanted me to take it to an HP service center, but that is far too inconvenient when I need a laptop, faster to just return to the store and get a different one... I expect hardware that just works when I take it out of the box brand new.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

Sorry the driver update didn't work.

Yes, the Realtek wifi adapters -- particularly the 8822BE and the 8821CE cards are terrible.  Nothing but issues.

I don't know why HP continues to use those cards in their notebooks.  They can use the more reliable Intel cards.

They may cost a tiny bit more, but would save them a fortune in warranty support, trouble calls, and bad press.

If it wasn't so darn hard to take these new slim and light notebooks apart, I would recommend that you just swap out the Realtek card for an Intel 9260 and be done with it.

[chriscruzca]

I have the same problem with me new HP Laptop 15-dy1xxx. I even opened a case with HP support (ref 5042049102) but all I got from them was troubleshooting by trial and error:

1) updating network adapter driver and bios didn't work

2) asked me to reset my laptop to factory settings, and after booting up and it connects to my home wifi, the wifi crashes

3) more network and adapter and bios updates as well as tmp file clean up .. same problem.

So I ended up buying a Linksys wireless-AC mini usb adapter (AE6000) from Bestbuy, disabled Realtek RTL8822CE on device manager, shutdown my laptop, plugged in the Linksys Wifi USB to my laptop, powered up my laptop and connected it to my home network via the Linksys Wifi USB and the problem goes away.

I phoned back HP Support to give them this update. The support technician disabled Linksys wireless USB, enabled the Realtek adapter, then not even a minute .. the wifi crashes.

I told HP Support it's the Realtek RTL8822CE that's causing the wifi to crash but HP support can't seem to figure out. I told them that if they google "Realtek RTL8822CE crashing wifi" that there are so many hits about the problem but nothing really fixes it.

They wanted me to ship my laptop to back to them so that they can troubleshoot but I told them that's not acceptable as I use my laptop for personal and business.

So I told HP Support to close the case and I will just use Linksys Wifi USB. I told HP Support they can make me happy by reimbursing me for my purchase of the Linksys Wifi USB but they say they can't do that. I am not impressed.

[dbz2k]

did the RTL8822CE wifi come out recently I noticed that there is only a couple forum threads about it?

[TMorris91]

I had the same thing; the HP tech support technician wanted me to take the device into an HP service center.  Who knows how long that would take and would I get a loaner in the meantime?  I also bought it because I need it for work; it's much faster and easier to just return the laptop and get a different one ( bought mine at Costco with a generous return policy)

It seems this card (or similar variant) is used in a lot of laptops, there could thousands of affected devices; hard to imagine HP service centers being able to handle the load if everyone who had a problem did follow their advice and take the device in for repair.    

Perhaps there are some routers whose response to the traffic generated by this card is to not simply crash? Surely everyone buying a laptop would heavily rely on the wifi capability?  If it works for some, what are they doing that we are not?