I have a Windows 11 desktop using an MSI MAG X670E TOMAHAWK WIFI motherboard with a MediaTek/AMD RZ616 Wi-Fi 6E 160MHz adapter. The PC intermittently loses internet access even though my phone and other devices remain connected to the same Wi-Fi network. Sometimes it works for hours, while other times the problem appears shortly after startup. I initially suspected games such as THE FINALS or Marvel Rivals because launching them often coincided with Chrome and Discord disconnecting, but the issue also happens when no games are running.
When the problem occurs, websites commonly show DNS resolution failures or ERR_CONNECTION_RESET errors, while Discord and online games lose connectivity. Windows may display "No internet, secured." In some cases, I stay connected to a multiplayer game while web browsing and Discord stop working. The connection sometimes recovers after a few minutes, but not always.
Continuous pings have shown latency spikes and occasional timeouts to the local router gateway as well as to 1.1.1.1 and google.com. Because the gateway can also time out, this does not seem to be only a DNS problem.
I have already restarted the computer and router, restored DNS to automatic, flushed DNS, reset Winsock and TCP/IP, renewed the IP address, updated the RZ616 driver from 3.5.0.1380 to 3.6.0.1425, checked Wi-Fi power-management settings, and disabled IPv6. Disabling IPv6 appeared to help immediately once, but the issue returned after about 24 hours. I cannot currently test the system over Ethernet.
Could the RZ616/MT7922 adapter be unstable or failing, or should I investigate router settings, band steering, or other Windows configuration issues first?
2 Answers
Try preventing the router and adapter from switching between bands. Disable band steering in the router if that option is available, or open the Wi-Fi adapter’s advanced properties in Windows and set the preferred band to 5 GHz. A fixed 5 GHz connection may be more stable than Wi-Fi 6E or automatic band selection.
The adapter could be the culprit, especially since you are seeing packet loss to the local gateway rather than just DNS failures. If possible, test with a different Wi-Fi adapter or a temporary USB adapter. That would help separate an RZ616 hardware or driver problem from a router or Windows issue.
I’ll try setting 5 GHz as the preferred band first. That seems like a useful way to test whether band switching is involved.