for Windows users with a Intel WiMAX/WiFi adapter installed in their machine, below are the advanced settings that i am using (with Intel WiFi Link 5300 AGN adapter). these settings enable my ThinkPad to connect to the Time Capsule/AirPort Extreme at a link speed of 450Mbps! the advanced settings below can be accessed via the Windows Device Manager, under Network adapters.
802.11n Channel Width for band 2.4GHz | Auto
802.11n Channel Width for band 5.2GHz | Auto
802.11n Mode | Enabled
Fat Channel Intolerant | Disabled (allows 40MHz operation)
Roaming Aggressiveness | Lowest (disables roaming, see Intel support site)
Transmit Power | Medium (reduce power to lessen interference)
Wireless Mode | 802.11a (5GHz operation)
NOTES: contrary to popular fiction, it is NOT (necessarily) a good idea to set the Transmit Power to the highest setting. in a wifi environment where there are only a FEW clients, which are all relatively CLOSE to each other, it is actually a better idea to REDUCE the power levels on ALL wireless devices, including the wireless access point (router). lower power means less noise, signal reflections & interference from nearby networks, and vice versa. if everyone would LOWER the power on their wireless networks, we'd all end up with better connections to our respective networks. i also reduced the power on AirPort to 50% (use the AirPort Utility to do this), which seems to have minimized interference even more, without sacrificing signal quality at all (it went up in fact). then again, my computers are relatively close to the base station (time capsule), so ymmv. also set the AirPort Radio Mode to 802.11n only (5GHz) - 802.11n only (2.4GHz) operation, assuming all of your wireless clients support Draft-N wireless.
in any case, the most important settings (above) are:
Fat Channel intolerant: must be disabled to allow 40MHz (wide channel) operation
Roaming Aggressiveness: when set to Lowest, the wireless client stops roaming (for other networks with better signals), which is often the source of random/annoying disconnects. when the adapter is configured to not roam, you're basically locking it onto your own network. in a typical home network scenario (only one WAP), you definitely don't want your wifi clients roaming onto nearby (your neighbours') networks. so try setting the adapter for Lowest Roaming Aggressiveness, you might be surprised at how stable the wireless connection becomes afterward.
Wireless Mode: set to 802.11a to restrict bandwidth to 5GHz-only (2.4GHz networks will be ignored, which reduces interference from nearby b/g networks)
references:
How to configure advanced wifi settings
Roaming Aggressiveness
Throughput Enhancement
Draft-N recommended settings
download latest drivers for Intel WiFi 5300
802.11n Channel Width for band 2.4GHz | Auto
802.11n Channel Width for band 5.2GHz | Auto
802.11n Mode | Enabled
Fat Channel Intolerant | Disabled (allows 40MHz operation)
Roaming Aggressiveness | Lowest (disables roaming, see Intel support site)
Transmit Power | Medium (reduce power to lessen interference)
Wireless Mode | 802.11a (5GHz operation)
NOTES: contrary to popular fiction, it is NOT (necessarily) a good idea to set the Transmit Power to the highest setting. in a wifi environment where there are only a FEW clients, which are all relatively CLOSE to each other, it is actually a better idea to REDUCE the power levels on ALL wireless devices, including the wireless access point (router). lower power means less noise, signal reflections & interference from nearby networks, and vice versa. if everyone would LOWER the power on their wireless networks, we'd all end up with better connections to our respective networks. i also reduced the power on AirPort to 50% (use the AirPort Utility to do this), which seems to have minimized interference even more, without sacrificing signal quality at all (it went up in fact). then again, my computers are relatively close to the base station (time capsule), so ymmv. also set the AirPort Radio Mode to 802.11n only (5GHz) - 802.11n only (2.4GHz) operation, assuming all of your wireless clients support Draft-N wireless.
in any case, the most important settings (above) are:
Fat Channel intolerant: must be disabled to allow 40MHz (wide channel) operation
Roaming Aggressiveness: when set to Lowest, the wireless client stops roaming (for other networks with better signals), which is often the source of random/annoying disconnects. when the adapter is configured to not roam, you're basically locking it onto your own network. in a typical home network scenario (only one WAP), you definitely don't want your wifi clients roaming onto nearby (your neighbours') networks. so try setting the adapter for Lowest Roaming Aggressiveness, you might be surprised at how stable the wireless connection becomes afterward.
Wireless Mode: set to 802.11a to restrict bandwidth to 5GHz-only (2.4GHz networks will be ignored, which reduces interference from nearby b/g networks)
references:
How to configure advanced wifi settings
Roaming Aggressiveness
Throughput Enhancement
Draft-N recommended settings
download latest drivers for Intel WiFi 5300