Windows 8 wireless issues

I have 2 SSD drives in my laptop, one is the 180GB Intel 520 with Windows 7 Pro installed and the other is Mushkin Enhanced mSATA 120GB drive with Windows 8 Pro installed. I have noticed issues in multiple locations where Windows 8 would experience frequently dropped packets when connected to a wireless access point. I would boot back into Windows 7 and it did not exhibit the same behavior so I suspect it is not specific to the hardware. While in Windows 8, I plugged in a TP-Link USB wireless adapter (TL-WN722N use the AR9271 Chipset) and did not experience any issues with it either. I only saw issues when running Windows 8 while using the on board wireless adapter. It makes me sad because the Intel Centrino 6205 wireless adapter are great for penetration testing but using it along side with Windows 8 will inhibit your ability to work productively from some locations.

After battling it for many months I think I nailed it down to two things:

1) Change the advanced power settings of the wireless adapter to never go to sleep
2) Disabled the multi-band frequency settings of the wireless adapter

The first part will need to be configured in the Windows control panel, under power options, and advanced power settings & wireless adapter settings – set everything to maximum performance.

The second change needs to be made under the wireless adapter properties. Open the advanced settings tab for the wireless adapter properties and scroll down to wireless mode and change the band to G only.

This is not an ideal solution if you plan on using multiple frequencies but at least it will stabilize your wireless connection. I don't know why it is a problem in some locations and not all. Maybe because it is the wireless router? I have not tested but I bet disabling ABN on the access point and only allowing G will fix the problem as well. But it is much easier to change the adapter's setting on your laptop than every wireless hotspot you visit.