AC1300 Archer T4U V3 - Driver Instability, Frequent Disconnects
Hello,
I'm having some trouble with the drivers provided for the AC1300 Archer T4U V3 (EU). Some info on my setup:
- Windows 10 Version 1909 18363.720
- BT Smart Hub 2 Router, located around 6 meters away from my computer and providing full bars to my computer
- Driver Version: 1030.22.202.2018, downloaded from https://www.tp-link.com/uk/support/download/archer-t4u/?utm_medium=select-local#Driver
- Connecting with 5Ghz
At first I had issues with Windows replacing the TP-Link drivers with generic drivers that were version 1030.27.425.2018. These drivers were unstable, causing latency spikes and general bandwidth problems (videos would buffer, voice chat would be laggy and cut off, etc.). They also continuously replaced the TP-Link drivers every restart. I managed to fix that issue by going to Control Panel --> System & Security --> System --> Advanced Setting --> Hardware --> Settings for device-installation and turning it off. Then I uninstalled the device, uninstalled the TP-Link drivers, unplugged the adapter, restarted my PC, and made sure that when I plugged the adapter back in it didn't work. Then I installed the TP-Link drivers again.
- 1030.22.202.2018 drivers (TP-Link): https://i.imgur.com/jbq0Wa0.png
- Details: https://i.imgur.com/644ViLE.png (IDK what the use of those text files are, they jus thave garbled text)
- 1030.27.425.2018 drivers (Microsoft): https://i.imgur.com/HA7Rcsi.png
- I can't be bothered giving the details page as I've already worked around them. It just shows the rtwlanu.sys and vwifibus.sys that the TP-Link ones do as well.
TP-Link's drivers work better; however, they are arguably worse: General stability is better (videos buffer less, I don't sound all laggy in voice chat anymore, etc.) but when downloading things, even at low speeds of ~1MB/s, the adapter will randomly disconnect from the network and show no available networks until I manually turn wifi off and back on in the taskbar. While the device is 'stuck' unresponsively Windows reports the device as working fine, no events related to driver faults or anything are logged by the device itself (in device manager), and no events related to driver faults or anything of the sort are logged by Windows. Sometimes it'll disconnect every couple of minutes but sometimes it'll last for over an hour before disconnecting.
Device Manager does show that it seems to continuously spam install requests and such but it doesn't really coincide with the disconnects, it just does it every coupe of minutes. Here's a picture: https://i.imgur.com/eauzZz3.png
Aside from that issue there's issues with the adapter sometimes just showing as connecting and disconnecting over and over and over again. This can sometimes happens when updating the driver to TP-Link's or when the disconnect happens using TP-Link's drivers. It will presist for a bit and then stop though sometimes it doesn't stop and requires that manual turning the wifi off and on again.
2.4Ghz signals work but are extremely slow.
Things I've tried aside from the troubleshooting required to get the "proper" (TP-Link) driver to work:
- Going to Windows --> System32 --> DriverStore --> FileRepository --> netrtwlanu.inf folders and removing them. Did not help.
- Going to Windows --> System32 --> Drivers --> rtwlanu.sys and deleting it (then replacing it be reinstalling TP-Link's driver). Did not help.
- Clean-installing 1030.27.425.2018 drivers AND 1030.22.202.2018 drivers. Both still exhibit the aforementioned issues.
- Plugging the adapter in different USB ports (2.0, 3.0, front, directly on the motherboard in the back). Same issues.
- Going to Device Manager > Network Adapters > TP-Link Wireless MU-MIMO USB Adapter > Properties > Power management and unchecking "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power."
Does anyone have an idea about how to fix this?
I'm pretty sure I've tried every solution recommended in any of the posts here and in other forums about this device and other TP-Link devices with terrible stability and drivers.
Is TP-Link planning to release a driver update or is the device considered end-of-life (latest Windows driver is from November 2018)?
I bought it less than a year ago so I could still get it returned so I'd like to know if it's going to be fixed or whether to just send it back and but some other brand's.