I have a strange problem. Using Windows 8.1 on a Dell Vostro 3558, which came with the AC3160 card. My router is not really a router, it's my phone's "Internet Sharing over WiFi" option (the phone is a Lumia 925). In Windows, the "Connect Automatically" option is not checked, but yet, if i shut down the computer, and then turn it back on (not a "restart", but a power off followed by a power on), I see the computer connects to my phone's WiFi automatically. Is this because of "Fast Startup" in Windows 8.1?
And a second, much more annoying problem, which does not happen all the time, and I have no idea what triggers it, is that the computer refuses to shut down. When I click on settings->power->shut down in the charms bar, instead of shutting down it gets into the "Enter Password" login screen, and flashes "AIRPLANE MODE ON". If I click on shut down again, it flashes "AIRPLANE MODE OFF", so on and so forth (ie, a shut down command logs me out and toggles the airplane mode instead of actually shutting down)... the only way to get out of this weird loop is to click on "RESTART". If I click on restart, the computer restarts fine, and then after a restart, I am allowed to shut it down. But then the problem re-appears, at random, without any specific trigger I can think of, and it starts showing that "AIRPLANE MODE" message again on every shut down request, at which point I have to "RESTART" and then "SHUT DOWN" just to turn it off (or I have to press and hold the power button which I don't like doing).
I've already tried removing the Dell provided driver and downloading Intel's generic driver for the AC3160, but the issue was not resolved (although the Intel driver installed fine and the WiFi worked with it). I have since reverted back to the Dell provided driver. What could be causing this?
Is the AC3160 card incompatible with Windows 8.1's "fast startup" option? Is there something else that I can try? I'm already using the latest BIOS, and the computer is just 3 months old-still in warranty, but Dell's support is useless as it's impossible for me to reproduce the issue at will, I have no clue what triggers the no-shutdown behavior, hence I cannot show it to a Dell support technician, and since it works fine in front of him, he closes the case saying "No issue with the product".
Can someone here at Intel help me?
I understand it's not Intel's responsibility to support a Dell product, but I'm out of options. If anyone knows anything about this weird issue, I'd really appreciate your help.
Thank you, God bless ..