ROG Strix z490i Gaming Problem - Intel WiFi 6 AX201

[__J0k3r__]

Good morning/evening,

I have encountered a problem with Wi-Fi/Bluetooth on my motherboard. I am running Windows 11 Pro, and am enclosing a copy of my hardware and connection properties for adapters:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name: Npcap Loopback Adapter
Description: Npcap Loopback Adapter
Physical address (MAC): 02:00:4c:4f:4f:50
Status: Operational
Maximum transmission unit: 1500
IPv4 address: 169.254.158.213/16
IPv6 address: fe80::310e:6ccb:9236:9ed5%16/64
DNS servers: fec0:0:0:ffff::1%1 (Unencrypted)
fec0:0:0:ffff::2%1 (Unencrypted)
fec0:0:0:ffff::3%1 (Unencrypted)
Connectivity (IPv4/IPv6): Disconnected
Name: VirtualBox Host-Only Network
Description: VirtualBox Host-Only Ethernet Adapter
Physical address (MAC): 0a:00:27:00:00:13
Status: Operational
Maximum transmission unit: 1500
Link speed (Receive/Transmit): 1000/1000 (Mbps)
DHCP enabled: No
IPv4 address: 169.254.52.168/16
IPv6 address: fe80::75ef:af62:ff2:34a8%19/64
DNS servers: fec0:0:0:ffff::1%1 (Unencrypted)
fec0:0:0:ffff::2%1 (Unencrypted)
fec0:0:0:ffff::3%1 (Unencrypted)
Network name: Unidentified network
Network category: Public
Connectivity (IPv4/IPv6): Connected to local network / Connected to unknown network
Name: Ethernet 2
Description: Intel(R) Ethernet Controller I225-V #2
Physical address (MAC): d4:5d:64:d2:c5:63
Status: Operational
Maximum transmission unit: 1500
Link speed (Receive/Transmit): 1000/1000 (Mbps)
DHCP enabled: Yes
DHCP servers: 192.168.5.1
DHCP lease obtained: ‎April ‎3, ‎2022 6:52:32 PM
DHCP lease expires: ‎April ‎4, ‎2022 6:52:32 PM
IPv4 address: 192.168.5.103/24
IPv6 address: fd48:d1e1:35e8:4dcc:ec7f:c591:908e:184c/64, fd48:d1e1:35e8:4dcc:3c5c:bbd8:83c0:3039/128, fe80::ec7f:c591:908e:184c%4/64
IPv4 default gateway: 192.168.5.1
DNS servers: 192.168.5.1 (Unencrypted)
DNS domain name: home
DNS connection suffix: home
Network name: Network
Network category: Private
Connectivity (IPv4/IPv6): Connected to Internet / Connected to unknown network
Name: Ethernet 3
Description: TAP-NordVPN Windows Adapter V9
Physical address (MAC): 00:ff:d6:18:11:da
Status: Not operational
Maximum transmission unit: 1500
IPv4 address: 169.254.118.148/16
IPv6 address: fe80::89:40ae:ac51:7694%21/64
DNS servers: fec0:0:0:ffff::1%1 (Unencrypted)
fec0:0:0:ffff::2%1 (Unencrypted)
fec0:0:0:ffff::3%1 (Unencrypted)
Connectivity (IPv4/IPv6): Disconnected
Name: Bluetooth Network Connection 2
Description: Bluetooth Device (Personal Area Network) #2
Physical address (MAC): 04:33:c2:65:8e:d3
Status: Not Present
Maximum transmission unit: 0
Connectivity (IPv4/IPv6): Disconnected
Name: Ethernet
Description: Intel(R) Ethernet Controller I225-V
Physical address (MAC): d4:5d:64:d2:c5:63
Status: Not Present
Maximum transmission unit: 0
Connectivity (IPv4/IPv6): Disconnected
Name: Wi-Fi
Description: Intel(R) Wi-Fi 6 AX201 160MHz
Physical address (MAC): 32:33:be:cb:9b:8b
Status: Not Present
Maximum transmission unit: 0
Connectivity (IPv4/IPv6): Disconnected
Name: Local Area Connection* 1
Description: Microsoft Wi-Fi Direct Virtual Adapter #3
Physical address (MAC): 04:33:c2:65:8e:d0
Status: Not Present
Maximum transmission unit: 0
Connectivity (IPv4/IPv6): Disconnected
Name: Local Area Connection* 12
Description: Microsoft Wi-Fi Direct Virtual Adapter #4
Physical address (MAC): 06:33:c2:65:8e:cf
Status: Not Present
Maximum transmission unit: 0
Connectivity (IPv4/IPv6): Disconnected
Proxy Auto Detect: On
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As the AX201 is "not present," I am unable to do anything in Device Manager to try and change settings or change the driver. I have tried an earlier restore point, and changed the antenna used for Wi-Fi. I have looked at the UEFI advanced onboard settings, and Wi-Fi/Bluetooth is enabled.

The computer has the following additional hardware:
- Intel Core i7 10700k
- 64GB DDR4 ram
- I am using two Samsung Evo 970 M.2 SSDs
- Asus Strix Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080
- Asus BW-1601HT (Blu-ray drive)

Does it sound like the card is dead? If so, are these easily replaceable like ASRock ones are?

Thanks!

[Saltgrass]

You have several devices which show as not present so that just means no connection is available or made. Since it does see the card, can I assume it does show up in the Device Manager and what driver version is it using? Currently my drivers shows as 22.120.0.3 for that adapter but has used previous versions without problems.

I do not use any of the other non-standard devices, loopback and VPN, you show as installed so they may have some effect on your connection.

Your Ethernet is also connected so that may turn off the Wi-Fi.

[__J0k3r__]

Hi Saltgrass,

Thanks for your reply. I had to plug the computer in by Ethernet to the network so I could make the post. Unfortunately, the AX201 does not show up in device manager, and that remains the case if I remove the Ethernet cable. The only thing that shows up is the Intel Ethernet controller I225-V #2 in device manager. I have tried removing Nord VPN, but the controllers that show up now are only the Intel Ethernet Controller. It's almost like it is stuck in airplane mode, but I have no options to "re-enable" it.

[Saltgrass]

When you check the Device Manager make sure and use the View options to show hidden devices. It may show up there but that would mean it was currently disconnected.

The AX201 card uses components on the system's chipset. Have you installed all of those drivers?

There have been times when a system would not recognize a device and disabling it in the Bios and rebooting a couple of times before re-enabling it, got it recognized again.

I don't think I have ever seen a Wi-Fi card fail. So it still could happen but I would start by looking elsewhere. Those cards can be replaced but not easy to do.

[__J0k3r__]

Thank you for the suggestion on Device Manager. I was able to see a disconnected AX201. I have removed and reinstalled all drivers for the motherboard from the ASUS support site for the model, with no luck. I also tried you suggestion of disabling, rebooting a few times, and then reenabling without success. I tried using CAINE live to see if it was limited to Windows. AX201 was not recognized under CAINE (ubuntu distro if I remember correctly?). The last thing I have tried is upgrading the BIOS with the latest version from Armoury Crate (2403), with no success.