Wireless n unavailable, speed fixed at 72mbps

[Cryoman]

I have internet access but I am unable to access 802.11n in the wireless adapter, so connectivity drops rapidly with distance.

Advanced options in Device Manager properties only offers 802.11 b or g (or b&g). NOT 802.11n, but it is a wireless b/g/n adapter!

Connection speed seems to be fixed @ 72mbps when I am sitting 6ft away from the router with no obstructions.
I have updated drivers for the adapter (Realtek RTL8188EEb/g/n) both via "pdate Driver" from device manager and via HP website (interestingly both gave different driver versions but neither fixed the problem. Router is Netgear Nighthawk R7000 and I have tried changing wireless channel. The problem existed with previous router which was a Billion 7800DXL.
Windows 10 64 bit is up-to-date.
Disabling AV has no effect.
Can anybody assist please?

[Huffer]

Realtek RTL8188EEb/g/n is a problem device and causes many issues. The best way to deal with it is to replace it. 

Your laptop does not have the "whitelist" which prevents replacement of the wifi card. We can help with finding a new wireless card and installation instructions. 

[Cryoman]

Thanks for taking the time to respond Huffer. I did consider looking to replace the adapter if it was found to be problemmatic, however, the easiest and cheapest option for me would be to install a USB adapter and I had a spare Edimax Nano 150 unit so I've installed that, really easy as Windows 10 contains generic drivers for the Edimax unit.

However....

Mysteriously this also seems to be fixed at 72mbps, but does show wireless mode as b/g/n.

I checked the status in W10 settings and it is showing Wireless n but 72mbps connection speed.

So I disabled it and re-enabled the Reaaltek on-board unit and checked the status there.

Mysteriously it is also showing protocol as 802.11n in Hardware properties (Under settings in W10)

So now I'm really confused.

Device manager does not give me the option to switch to 802.11n for the Realtek unit but Windows 10 is telling me I'm connected at 802.11n, but is not reporting the speed at any more than 72mbps.

Aaaargh!!

[Huffer]

Most people do not find the usb adapter to be a good solution so I usually do not mention it. But obviously you have something going on with Windows 10 and it is not a faulty hardware situation. 

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

The RTL 8188 1x1 wireless adapter your notebook has is running at the fastest wireless N speed it can, which is 72 MBPS.

It only has one data stream up, and one data stream down (1x1) = 72 MBPS.

Better single band cards have 2x2 or 1x2 data streams which allow them to run at 144 MBPS on the 2.4 GHz wireless band.

It is a hardware limitation.

Wireless G's fastest speed is 54 MBPS.

[Cryoman]

Thanks everybody for your responses, all useful. Paul_Tikkanen seems to have the situation bang to rights, so we can consider the thread closed.

I need to be more careful when I select my next laptop it seems! I guess now we can expect 802.11AC on mid range and up machines.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

I agree.  It is a shame that PC manufacturers do not include dual band N or AC cards with bluetooth in all of their notebook PC's.

I'm sure that we would be willing to pay the extra $10 or $15 the better wlan cards would cost and not have to comparison shop that hardware specification.

I know I would.