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Re: I think I solved the a7000 USB 3.0 issue... Thoughts please.

paulie12
Guide

I think I solved the a7000 USB 3.0 issue... Thoughts please.

I think I solved the problem with the A7000 that turns off intermittently and also the problem with it only using USB 2.0 speeds.

It seems the problem with ALL usb wifi dongles is overheating. I believe the RunSwUSB.exe file is also realtek's program that switches from USB 3.0 to 2.0 when the dongle overheats.

I belive it's a problem with overheating.

 

I've opened up the A7000 plastic case and removed the plastic cover/tape covering the chipset metal cover. I was unable to remove the metal cover that protects the chipset but I attached some copper pennies (1982 and older) to the metal cover to act as a cheap copper heatsink. I noticed that after keeping the dongle completely open with the pennies attached on both sides, I seem to be able to achieve 3.0 USB speeds without disconnecting. I'm going to try adding an actual copper heat sink with thermal paste. I will try to look to attach a USB fan somehow using the power that normally would go into powering the blue LED.

 

I believe the disconnecting issue with the A7000 all comes from the lack of proper cooling. I wish the metal case wasn't there so I could add thermal paste and a cooling solution to the actual Realtek chip. If this doesn't work long term, I'm going to try to pry open the metal casing that protects the chipset.

 

Hopefully this helps. I purchased the A7000 to run USB 3.0 speeds, NOT to be limited to 300mpbs on Usb 2.0 speeds. You are limited to USB 2.0 speeds when you disable the RunSwUSB.exe program which is dumb because I've paid a premium for this product to run faster speeds.

 

I am using the most updated standalone driver, windows 10, and have also removed the allow windows to turn off the power to the device to save power option. 

 

Is there a way to change the temperature threshold in the next update? Thanks. 

Model: A7000|Nighthawk AC1900 WiFi USB Adapter - USB 3.0
Message 1 of 14
paulie12
Guide

Re: I think I solved the a7000 USB 3.0 issue... Thoughts please.

Windows also seems to disable the 3.0 once you shutdown windows. I had to use task scheduler to basically turn off RunSwUSB and turn it back on when logging into windows. This brings up the 3.0 speeds once again after a shutdown vs. restart. 

Message 2 of 14
paulie12
Guide

Re: I think I solved the a7000 USB 3.0 issue... Thoughts please.

Spoke to soon. I got a good 5 hrs out of it then it disconnected. I can't reconnect and my windows doesn't recognize any USB 3.0 ports. The port shows a triangle with exclamation point on the 3.0 USB port and it won't let me reconnect unless I restart the system. I'm going to do more digging but 5 hrs is a lot more than I've gotten in the past.

Message 3 of 14
paulie12
Guide

Re: I think I solved the a7000 USB 3.0 issue... Thoughts please.

I solved it: Purchase a powered USB 3.0 hub and connect it to that. 

Message 4 of 14
njweb
Luminary

Re: I think I solved the a7000 USB 3.0 issue... Thoughts please.


@paulie12 wrote:

I solved it: Purchase a powered USB 3.0 hub and connect it to that. 


Thanks Paulie!

 

After wasting 3 days with this issue (one computer works fine with this adapter, the other one has the issues EVERYONE is complaining about - where you either have to deal with disconnects out of the box OR disable the RunSwUSB which prevents disconnects, but at the expense of consistent / high speeds).

 

Since the adapter works fine in one of my computers - speeds of 858 Mbps without a hub with no disconnects, whereas it has issues with my other newer computer - disconnects after a while and computer has to be rebooted or adapter has to be removed), I am convinced it is a USB chipset / USB power issue and your hub solution makes sense.

 

Which hub are you using?

Message 5 of 14

Re: I think I solved the a7000 USB 3.0 issue... Thoughts please.


@njweb wrote:

....I am convinced it is a USB chipset / USB power issue and your hub solution makes sense.

 


Do you think it could be down to the Windows drivers for the USB chipset? (Not the drivers for the USB adapter.)

 

I mention that because the same thing has happened with wifi chips, no USB anywhere in sight.

 

Windows update rarely picks up driver updates at the motherboard/chipset level. The only way to get those updates seems to be to track down the motherboard maker's site and to see what they have to offer. In some cases it is down to finding the chipset maker. For example, in the case of the wifi problems, it was Intel that had the right drivers. Another regular guilty party is Realtek, which does audio, wifi and bluetooth chips.

Message 6 of 14
njweb
Luminary

Re: I think I solved the a7000 USB 3.0 issue... Thoughts please.


@michaelkenward wrote:

@njweb wrote:

....I am convinced it is a USB chipset / USB power issue and your hub solution makes sense.

 


Do you think it could be down to the Windows drivers for the USB chipset? (Not the drivers for the USB adapter.)

 

I mention that because the same thing has happened with wifi chips, no USB anywhere in sight.

 

Windows update rarely picks up driver updates at the motherboard/chipset level. The only way to get those updates seems to be to track down the motherboard maker's site and to see what they have to offer. In some cases it is down to finding the chipset maker. For example, in the case of the wifi problems, it was Intel that had the right drivers. Another regular guilty party is Realtek, which does audio, wifi and bluetooth chips.


Good points. I would not be surprised if it could be USB drivers, although it appears Netgear drivers have an issue; note that they have not been updated since 2017 (if they were working fine that would not be a concern).

 

The USB switcher appears to be most of the issue; the adapter seems to revert from USB 3.0 to USB 2.0 / reduce throughput when it does not need to or otherwise possibly because it generates too much heat?

Turning off the switcher seems to put it in USB 2.0 eventually, which brings speeds down.

The speeds observed / behavior of the A7000 are odd / inconsistent, especially on certain USB ports / USB controllers.

 

I ordered a powered USB hub (not ideal due to extra cost and another cord across the floor to the outlet) to test paulie12's potential fix.

While waiting for that, I will see if anything else could help... Not seeing any USB or chipset drivers for my laptop (Samsung Galaxy Book Flex). 

 

I am going to leave the service (RunSwUSB) enabled for several days and try to track how it fares.

Ran three speed tests just now and got 608, 680 and just under 718 Mbps. 

Now the test is to see whether BOTH wifi download speeds and connectivity remain stable all day today / the next few days.

Message 7 of 14
njweb
Luminary

Re: I think I solved the a7000 USB 3.0 issue... Thoughts please.

Sure enough the problem is still occurring  - the adapter disconnects intermittently multiple times a day and I have to unplug the adpater before the laptop will reboot, half the time or more unplugging it cause a crash (Blue Screen of Death - BSOD). Then I reconnect to the wifi network manually and the A7000 works again for a while and does the same thing. MULTIPLE times daily.

 

I am suprrised that while Netgear still actively produces and sells this adapter, they are not acknowledging or fixing the issue given the percentage of owners impacted based on forum posts and tons of comments in videos of this issue.

 

If the USB hub works (not ideal since it was an extra purchase which should not have been required for a $75 MSRP adapter and it also takes up space on the floor (cord) and on the table (I like to use this particular laptop - 16GB Galaxy Flex 15 in the kitchen eating area...

If the hub doesn't work, I will ask Netgear for another solution since I bought 2 of these (for a total Retail value of $150) and only 1 is of any use.

 

 

 

Message 8 of 14

Re: I think I solved the a7000 USB 3.0 issue... Thoughts please.

Are there any clues in "Computer Management" as to who actually produced the chips for these USB adapters?

 

Netgear doesn't make comms chips, so it buys in core technology and packages it. The device "Properties" should offer some clues. All too often they track back to Realtek.

Message 9 of 14
njweb
Luminary

Re: I think I solved the a7000 USB 3.0 issue... Thoughts please.


@michaelkenward wrote:

Are there any clues in "Computer Management" as to who actually produced the chips for these USB adapters?

 

Netgear doesn't make comms chips, so it buys in core technology and packages it. The device "Properties" should offer some clues. All too often they track back to Realtek.


Thanks.

There is no chip info in Device Manager on my end, which is what Computer Management screen actually points back to for these USB ports (devices). I think a tool like Aida 64 or HWiNFO64 may provide some insight.

 

The problem is Netgear has been selling this adapter for 4 1/2 years or so and the drivers are 4 YEARS old. They keep producing a device that has known issues.

I have been playing around with computers for many years and able to resolve a number of tricky hadrware, driver and software (app) issues over the years (whether it be with desktops, laptops, SageTV, TiVO and countless other devices and software). Typically I do this with either my own workaounds or leveraging solutions provided by other users by scouring the net on my own time (often many hours of seaching and experimentation with various workaounds or fixes), which I should not have to do.

I have had a number of issues recently (top-rated USB hubs preventing computer from resuming after shutdown even when boot drive is put as top item in BIOS boot order etc. - but it works fine for a while after restart and then the cycle continues).

I initially only used this on my Predator laptop and luckily it works amazingly well there.

 

Have not had to do a regedit in ages, but I am performing a registry edit to enable the 'USB selective suspend' setting under "power Optiins in Win 10 (my 16GB i7 Galaxy Book Flex does not nave this setting at all by default - some custome implementation of popwer options I guess). I will also look for the registry key to enable the wifi power settings - that is also missing in 'Power options'.

 

 

Back to the A7000, aside from the potential powered USB hub workaound (which I can test tomorrow once my extra powered hub has been delivered), this A7000 issue can not be solved for impacted computers - you either disable RunSwUSB which comes at the expense of lower / inconsistent speeds OR you keep this service enabled, in which case the adapter will disconnect several times daily and require a reboot before it even works again (and along the way, in order to restart the computer, you have to remove the adapter which causese the BSOD).

Message 10 of 14

Re: I think I solved the a7000 USB 3.0 issue... Thoughts please.


@njweb wrote:


The problem is Netgear has been selling this adapter for 4 1/2 years or so and the drivers are 4 YEARS old. They keep producing a device that has known issues.

 

That's partly why I was asking about the chips. If Netgear uses chips from someone else, it is down to the chip maker to provide drivers. (That's why I check Realtek for audio drivers from time to time.) If the chip shop hasn't done anything in four years, that's possibly why Netgear hasn't mended them.

 

Either that or it relies on Microsoft to bundle drivers in with Windows. In the past I have used those generic drivers. There have been updates in Windows in four years that could have fixed things.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Message 11 of 14
njweb
Luminary

Re: I think I solved the a7000 USB 3.0 issue... Thoughts please.


@michaelkenward wrote:

@njweb wrote:


The problem is Netgear has been selling this adapter for 4 1/2 years or so and the drivers are 4 YEARS old. They keep producing a device that has known issues.

 

That's partly why I was asking about the chips. If Netgear uses chips from someone else, it is down to the chip maker to provide drivers. (That's why I check Realtek for audio drivers from time to time.) If the chip shop hasn't done anything in four years, that's possibly why Netgear hasn't mended them.

 

Either that or it relies on Microsoft to bundle drivers in with Windows. In the past I have used those generic drivers. There have been updates in Windows in four years that could have fixed things.

I was multi tasking when I read your post and even when I replied. I see where you're coming from.

That would be a good justification if the adapter worked fine initially and as new Windows enhancements / updates rolled in, the adapter started to have issues.
However in this case, these issues have been there from day one (check Youtube posts of this exact same issue which date way back to 2017...) around the time Netgear initially released this adapter to market.
So, without going into too much detail, IMHO QA testing before launch (checking stability on a variety of PCs over a day or so) should have caught the stablity issue (disconnecting after a certain time interval).

Message 12 of 14
njweb
Luminary

Re: I think I solved the a7000 USB 3.0 issue... Thoughts please.

UPDATE:

 

Using regedit, I add back the following important registry keys to give me the missing Windows 10 Advanced Power options:

 

1. 'Wireless Adapter Settings' > 'Power Saving Mode' - After adding the key and rebooting, I then set it to 'Maximum Performance' for both 'on battery' and 'plugged in'.

 

2. 'USB settings' > 'USB selective suspend' - After adding the key and rebooting, I then set this to 'disabled' for both 'on battery' and 'plugged in'.

 

I'll see if this helps; so far it has not disconnected, but it has only been 5 hours or so... Fingers crossed.

If it continue to disconnect, I will try the fix for the disconnection issue shared by Paulie - using a USB powere hub - mine arrives tomorrow. This fix is working for him. 

Message 13 of 14
njweb
Luminary

Re: I think I solved the a7000 USB 3.0 issue... Thoughts please.


@njweb wrote:

UPDATE:

 

Using regedit, I add back the following important registry keys to give me the missing Windows 10 Advanced Power options:

 

1. 'Wireless Adapter Settings' > 'Power Saving Mode' - After adding the key and rebooting, I then set it to 'Maximum Performance' for both 'on battery' and 'plugged in'.

 

2. 'USB settings' > 'USB selective suspend' - After adding the key and rebooting, I then set this to 'disabled' for both 'on battery' and 'plugged in'.

 

I'll see if this helps; so far it has not disconnected, but it has only been 5 hours or so... Fingers crossed.

If it continue to disconnect, I will try the fix for the disconnection issue shared by Paulie - using a USB powere hub - mine arrives tomorrow. This fix is working for him. 


Well, the USB hub solution worked for about 24 hours, then the A7000 disconnected again and the A7000 was literally stuck / in a hung state - it could not be reconnected to wifi until I unplugged the A7000's cord from the USB port and restarted the laptop (laptop would not restart until I removed the A7000 from the USB port.

 

Someone in a 2020 post mentioned that their disconnecting problem (their issue was worse - it was disconnecting at least once every 5 mins- mine varies, but it can go up to 24 hours when plugged into a powered USB hub) seemed to go away after he stopped using the cord /cradle and instead plugged the A7000 directly into the USB port. Not sure that will work; firstly speeds will be spomewwat slower at distances away from the router if it is plugged directly into a USB port and secondly, this adapter is large and it is not ideal to have it sticking out of the USB port.

 

 

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