New Firmware - July 8, 2014

[demandarin]

It's definitely a problem, but it's definitely not just a Microsoft problem. I remember my ASUS TF201 tablet where they designed the thing with an all-metal back. I'm sure everyone here knows that radio waves don't penetrate metal all that well (hence the SP3 has a plastic strip across the top where I'm sure the antennas are located), and the way that the TF201 was designed ASUS _never_ managed to provide workable wifi. Apple is also notorious for releasing notebooks with wifi problems.

I'm not trying to give Microsoft a pass here, but I'll say that they're working faster on providing a solution than I've seen from some other manufacturers. So far I haven't seen them making excuses and refusing to acknowledge the problem--quite the opposite, in fact.

I thought your name looked familiar. From the Transformer Prime saga on xda..lol prime was a great device. Just that WiFi performance was affected by all metal back.

 

[wynand32]

I thought your name looked familiar. From the Transformer Prime saga on xda..lol prime was a great device. Just that WiFi performance was affected by all metal back.

Yep, that's me. Man, but that was a fiasco. I ended up sending mine back and getting a refund directly from ASUS--the only thing they did right with that device. I stuck with it as long as I could, but eventually had to give up.

 

[wynand32]

So your WiFi was running AND your battery didn't drain?

Well, it was on Connected Standby with WiFi running, and I'd say that my batter didn't drain appreciably (I'm sure it was some amount, just maybe not enough to tick to 99%). I'll be keeping an eye on it tonight to see if the experience is repeated.

 

[tuchas]

My battery did not drain even 1% overnight - even receiving emails, etc. Wifi is not much better, but I'm not seeing it drop completely, which is an improvement. And one problem that I was having, getting no on-screen keyboard in Modern UI after disconnecting the type cover, well that problem is gone. So overall I am pretty happy. Waiting for the 16th to see what kind of WiFi improvements we get.

BTW I have an Apple Airport Time Capsule - most current version with AC. How do I know that I am on AC and not N?

 

[jnjroach]

Typical "N" Speeds for the SP line is around 270 Mbps on 5GHz and around 140 Mbps on 2.4GHz...on AC I get between 585-897 Mbps on 5GHz

 

[diamond.g]

If you look in Task Manager (Performance-> WiFi Tab) it will tell you what standard you are using (N, G, AC)

 

[tuchas]

If you look in Task Manager (Performance-> WiFi Tab) it will tell you what standard you are using (N, G, AC)

Well, I checked on this, and the Connection type is 802.11N. Is there a way of changing to AC? If not, what good is the router I have?

 

[jnjroach]

Well, I checked on this, and the Connection type is 802.11N. Is there a way of changing to AC? If not, what good is the router I have?

Do you know if the router is running the Draft AC or the Ratified AC? If it is still using the Draft Standard the SP3 will connect at "N". It may require a firmware update for the Router.

 

[tuchas]

Do you know if the router is running the Draft AC or the Ratified AC? If it is still using the Draft Standard the SP3 will connect at "N". It may require a firmware update for the Router.

Figured it out. It's an Apple Time Capsule router. Just needed an update and you can set it to connect to the 5 GHz option. Speed is ridiculously faster. Thanks!

 

[Feoen]

Still haven't gotten this update, whereas the 3 other people I know with SP3s all got it.

Starting to get irritated.

 

[bulls96]

Just checking in to let you guys know I got my firmware update last night.

 

[EMINENT]

For me, I got the whole shebang of updates on Patch Tuesday. I thought all was fine I guessed until yesterday I noticed at sign on that there was an update and it needed to be restarted.
After doing so I got the dreaded limited wifi issue. I eventually got it to connect, but not before it irritated me enough to delete the driver and let Windows Update search for the new one again. All was fine after that.

Can anyone tell me what driver version and date we should all have now?