I received my new laptop from Acer today after they assured me the wifi issue had been tested on the laptops waiting at the call centers (Texas in my case) for people like all of us.
Bottom line: The laptop they sent me seems to be much better. (My early posting details that I had original purchased an R7 and had issue with the wifi. I bought another one, which had the same issue, and shipped it to the repair center to be fixed. When it was returned to me (supposedly "fixed") I saw very little improvement with the condition in which I sent it to them. I was then told I could have a new laptop shipped to me, and return mine once I received the new one.)
Here are some results of the testing I performed today (10-15+ speed tests per computer):
Computer #1: From store, BIOS 2.04, no wifi modifications
Computer #2: From store, but "fixed" at call center and shipped back to me, BIOS 2.08, wifi modifications (not sure what 'modifications' were made to it...they wouldn't tell me)
Computer #3: From call center, BIOS 2.04, wifi modifications (again, not sure what this means)
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Test #1: 12-15 feet from wireless router, through 1 wall.
Computer #1: Download 15-25 Mbps, Upload 4.6+ Mbps
Computer #2: Download 20-29 Mbps, Upload 4.6+ Mbps
Computer #3: Download 36+ Mbps, Upload 4.6+ Mbps
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Test #2: 30 feet from wireless router, through 3 walls.
Computer #1: Download 1.5-2.0 Mbps (or less), Upload 1.5-2.6+ Mbps
Computer #2: Download 3.0-6.0 Mbps, Upload 3.0-4.0+ Mbps
Computer #3: Download 20.0-22.0+ Mbps, Upload 4.6+ Mbps
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General Notes:
1. I performed these tests before and after I downloaded and installed all of the most current Windows Updates. I didn't see any degradation in speed times after the updates were installed.
2. All 3 computers had the same wifi card, and same driver version.
Conclusions:
1. Based on both tests, I consistently saw Computer #3 perform much better than #1 and #2. So this leads me to believe Acer has improved the wifi functionality with the laptop they sent me over the two I purchased in my local store. (I'm not going to go as far as say the issue is "fixed" since I've only had the laptop for <12 hours.)
2. It seemed that the wifi was "fixed" to a certain extent on the machine I shipped to them (Computer #2), but I can't say it was because of the BIOS upgrade (from 2.04 to 2.08). I can't say that because Computer #3 (shipped from their Call Center) was on BIOS version 2.04 (lesser version than Computer #2).
3. Based on my testing of all 3 computers with similar software, wifi card and drivers, I am lead to believe that Acer modified something with other hardware or with the structural design on Computer #3 that they shipped me.
I will let all of you decide whether or not it's worth having Acer send you a new laptop, but I guess I'd lean towards it being worth it.
I'd really like to have Acer announce what "modifications" they have made to the laptops sitting in their Call Centers that are performing better than the ones all of us have purchased in retail stores. I've asked this question to the many Acer contacts I've dealt with in the past 3-4 weeks and nobody can give me a straight answer.
I hope this helps everyone.
TB
United States