I have an HP Pavilion Gaming 15 ec1016ax laptop with a Realtek RTL8822CE Wi-Fi card running Windows 11. My router is a Huawei HG8145v5 on a 5GHz network. While my laptop only manages a maximum link speed of 144 Mbps on this network — resulting in download speeds of around 100 Mbps — my Android phone nearby pulls over 350 Mbps without an issue. Interestingly, when I boot the same laptop into Fedora Linux, it gets the full 150 Mbps speed. I've tried updating the drivers from HP's support forum, including versions from 2020, 2023, and 2025, but none have resolved the link speed cap. Additionally, I noticed that in the driver properties under advanced settings, I don't have an option for the AC wireless mode, just for 802.11 a/b/g.
3 Answers
Definitely consider BIOS settings as well. Sometimes adjustments there can affect the hardware compatibility with Windows, leading to speed issues. Just remember to back up your important data before diving into BIOS changes!
You might want to download the driver directly from Realtek's website rather than relying on what Windows offers. Sometimes drivers from the manufacturer can optimize performance better than the generic ones provided through Windows Update.
It sounds like a classic driver conflict or limitation in Windows. Have you checked the power settings? Sometimes Windows can throttle Wi-Fi performance to save battery. Make sure that your power plan is set to high performance for better results.
I had the same trouble finding drivers on Realtek's site. They can be tricky to navigate. If you can't locate the RTL8822CE driver there, you might also check if there are community forums for Linux drivers that could shed some light.