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An Intel Wi-Fi adapter bug is causing headaches for Surface Pro 7 and Laptop 3 users, but there’s a possible temporary workaround.

Over the past week, several Reddit users have reported issues with their Surface Pro 7 and Intel-based Surface Laptop 3 devices have suffered from an issue that causes Wi-Fi speeds to tank after waking them from sleep. Microsoft has yet to acknowledge the issue, but there is currently an open thread on the Microsoft Answers forum as well.

According to another Reddit post, the issue appears to be related to how the Intel AX201 Wi-Fi adapter handles connectivity when entering and waking from sleep. When the Surface Pro 7 or Surface Laptop 3 is put to sleep, it disables one antenna while putting the other into a low-power state, which is meant to save battery life. The problem is that the disabled antenna doesn’t appear to be activated and the other remains in low power mode when waking the device from sleep, cutting Wi-Fi connection speeds.

In the same post, the poster, Wiidesire, has posted a potential workaround:

Go to the hardware manager -> network adapter -> Intel AX201 -> Advanced -> MIMO power save mode -> Change “Auto SMPS” to “No SMPS”. While this resulted in the bug occurring less frequently, only changing the setting to “Static SMPS” (-> disabling MIMO) eliminated the problem entirely for me.

(Optional) Go to the Windows Settings App -> System -> Power & Sleep -> When my PC is asleep and on battery power, disconnect from network -> Change “Never” to “Always”

The issue appears to be related to driver version 21.40.1.3 for the Intel AX201 adapter.

Presumably, we’ll see Microsoft push out a fix in the coming days or weeks. However, if you’ve encountered this bug, you can attempt to temporarily work around it by trying the steps above. Importantly, you should avoid installing Intel’s generic AX201 drivers, as they are likely to introduce further issues.

We’ll update this post if and when Microsoft acknowledges the problem and provides a timetable for an update.

Rumor site 91Mobiles has spotted renders of a new Huawei tablet that could sit at the high-end of Huawei’s mid-screen range. The tablet has a smooth look with a thin bezel and a ‘hole-punch’ selfie camera on the front screen.

Leaks label this tablet with an internal codename “Marx,” but prolific Twitter leaker Evan Blass chimed in to say this would be the Huawei “MatePad Pro.”

The device is pictured with Huawei’s professional-looking keyboard attachment, similar to Apple’s iPad Pro keyboard. 91Mobiles also claims the tablet will support Huawei’s M-Pen stylus. A few other details can be inferred from the leak, including a USB-C port and bottom-firing speakers, but important items like the stylus silo or the fate of the 3.5mm headphone jack are unclear.

The new Huawei tablet is shown in black and white. What is not so black and white, however, is the fate of Huawei’s Android devices. Huawei is currently locked out of the Google services program while the Chinese company is under investigation by the U.S. government. It’s unclear what OS this new tablet is running, but assuming it’s anything like the Mate 30 Pro, it’ll be a build of Android 10 / EMUI 10 without access to Google services.

The latest Raspberry Pi is about to get a whole lot cooler, literally speaking. The Raspberry Pi Foundation has released a firmware update for the Raspberry Pi 4 which reduces its power usage and correspondingly its heat output — and this time it doesn’t come with a nasty bug that causes certain USB 3.0 devices to switch from throughput measured in hundreds of megabytes to single-digit kilobytes. For those willing to play with beta software, there’s also a new bootloader to unlock the Raspberry Pi 4’s long-awaited network boot functionality.

Test, Then Test Again

The Raspberry Pi 4 has received a number of software and firmware updates since its launch, but one stands out: an updated firmware for the VLI VL805 controller used to add two high-speed USB 3.0 ports alongside two lower-performance USB 2.0 ports. The firmware was released for alpha testing back in July, and appeared to offer a measurable reduction in power draw and heat output with no loss of performance.

“Appeared to” is key here: While many users found that installing the firmware worked fine, plenty of others found that switching from the stock firmware to the alpha version caused the performance of USB 3.0 peripherals to dramatically drop – from hundreds of megabytes to single kilobytes per second. Not all USB devices were affected, with some working fine on the new firmware while others caused no end of trouble.

Developers at VLI and the Raspberry Pi Foundation worked to find the source of the issue, and the result is the firmware released this week: All the benefits of the alpha version, but – hopefully – none of the compatibility problems.

Installation

The new firmware comes with an equally new means of installing it, and thankfully it couldn’t be easier. Anyone running the latest build of Raspbian, based on Debian Buster, need only update their system through the apt package manager:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade && sudo apt install rpi-eeprom rpi-eeprom-images

The firmware comes in two packages – rpi-eeprom-images and rpi-eeprom, the latter containing the tools needed for installation. Once apt is finished, rebooting the Raspberry Pi will trigger the installation of the new firmware. When Raspbian has rebooted, you can check the version of both the bootloader and the VL805 firmware with a single command:

sudo rpi-eeprom-update

The new firmware is also installed as standard with the latest version of the NOOBS operating system installer available on the Raspberry Pi Downloads page; it will be added to updated versions of the Raspbian standalone image and the NOOBS Lite network installer in the near future.

Those on earlier Raspberry Pi models – including the Raspberry Pi 3B and 3B+ – needn’t do anything, as the firmware applies only to the USB 3.0-equipped Raspberry Pi 4.

The firmware, which enables previously-dormant power-saving functionality in the VL805 USB 3.0 controller, is functionally identical to the alpha release, and the same effects can be seen: Power draw is lowered by around 0.4W while the Raspberry Pi 4 is at idle, and around 0.3W under loaded conditions.

In temperature terms, that equates to a rough 2.6°C drop at the SoC – enough to push back the thermal throttle point at which the CPU drops from its stock 1.5 GHz to 1 GHz, but not enough to prevent throttling altogether. Anyone looking for peak performance should combine the new firmware with an aftermarket cooling add-on like the compact Pimoroni Fan Shim or impressive 52Pi Ice Tower.

The difference extends beyond both the VL805 chip and SoC, though, as a thermal analysis of the board reveals.

On the stock firmware, the heat from both the SoC and the VL805 spreads throughout the board, reaching even the power management circuitry at the bottom-left near the USB Type-C power input.

With the updated firmware, heat at all points is reduced – and while it may only be by a handful of degrees, it’s hard to argue with a free improvement in efficiency.

The new firmware has undergone a lengthy testing period, including with devices known to trigger the throughput-sapping bug in the original alpha release. So far, all tests have indicated that the bug is resolved – though the more cautious user may want to hang fire for a week or so to see if any issues are reported once the update is widely spread among the Pi-using populace.

The launch of the Raspberry Pi 4 added a wealth of new features, from more computational performance to USB 3.0 connectivity, but it also took a couple away — temporarily, at least. The Raspberry Pi 3 family has the ability to operate without a microSD card installed, loading its operating system from a USB storage device or over the network from a trivial FTP (TFTP) server; the Raspberry Pi 4, at launch, could do neither.

While USB booting is still in development, network boot is ready now, in beta form. Those looking to try it out ahead of its official launch will need to switch to the beta firmware branch on the understanding that it may contain bugs that could leave the Raspberry Pi 4 unable to boot at all without the use of the EEPROM recovery image.

To switch to beta firmware, edit the file:

/etc/default/rpi-eeprom-update

Change the section of the file which reads:

FIRMWARE_RELEASE_STATUS=”critical”

To:

FIRMWARE_RELEASE_STATUS=”beta”

Then run:

sudo rpi-eeprom-update

Reboot to load the new bootloader, then follow the instructions on the Raspberry Pi Network Boot Tutorial to set up the server. Details on configuring how the Raspberry Pi 4 boots are available on the Pi 4 Bootloader Configuration page. Remember that the network boot functionality should be considered in beta, and may not yet work as expected on all networks.

Intel is wheeling a ton of its NUCs (Next Unit of Computing) into the retirement home and, maybe even more notably, the ones based on the chipmaker’s unfruitful Cannon Lake (CNL) microarchitecture.

Cannon Lake will forever be a dent in Intel’s push for 10nm supremacy. With just one single chip, the Core i3-8121U, to show for it, it’s a wonder why Intel didn’t retire Cannon Lake sooner. Only a handful of devices, including Intel’s own NUCs, employed the Core i3-8121U. While the chip’s performance wasn’t horrible, the lack of integrated graphics certainly didn’t earn it any extra points, either.

Cannon Lake-powered NUCs, codenamed Crimson Canyon, are officially discontinued as of October 28. Intel’s customers can put in their last orders before December 27, and the final shipments go out on February 28, 2020.

The list of retirees also includes various NUC kits under the Pinnacle Canyon and Rock Canyon codenames. The aforementioned devices date as far back as five years and utilize long gone Braswell and Broadwell processors.

The last product order and shipment dates for the Pinnacle Canyon and Rock Canyon NUC kits are the same as the ones for Crimson Canyon.

As the company previously promised, it has begun rolling out firmware updates based on AMD’s latest microcode (AGESA 1.0.0.4), for its X570 motherboards, some of which are on our list of the best gaming motherboards. According to MSI, these BIOS updates bring with them over 100 improvements and fixes, and can shorten boot times as well.

“The latest 1.0.0.4 Patch B BIOS (SMU v46.54) comes with a massive improvement at all points concerning debugs and optimization for the previous version. There is a loooooooooong list regarding improvements and amendments. The most attractive one to me is optimized system boot up procedure that allows us to shorten boot time and less waiting,” MSI stated in a blog post last week.

Compared to BIOS releases based on the previous microcode, MSI says it has seen boot times improve by as much as 8 seconds, after clearing the CMOS.

These claims are a week old, but what’s new is that owners of certain X570 motherboards can now put this to the test, if desired.

It’s always a good idea to back up your data before flashing the firmware, in case something goes wrong. Also take note of your BIOS settings—you may need to adjust the settings after flashing to maintain that overclock you spent time fine tuning, to avoid a broken RAID array, and avoid other potential problems.

Whether the allure of faster boots is enough to warrant a BIOS flash, you’ll have to decide that for yourself—SSDs are a boon for boot times and you may find Windows (or Linux) loads fast already.

Beyond faster boots, AMD’s 1.0.0.4 microcode is also supposed to increase all-core boost clocks on Ryzen processors, though to what extent is not known.

Looking ahead, MSI says it will have new BIOS updates available for its 400 Max series motherboards around the middle of November, and for all 400 and 300 series motherboards by the end of next month. Other motherboard makers are expected to release new BIOS updates soon as well.

Having just lifted the lid on three new smartphones, the Moto E6 Play, Moto G8 Plus and the Moto One Macro, Motorola has further flooded the market with midrange budget camera phones – but with a dedicated 2cm macro lens, it’s the Moto One Macro that’s piqued our interest the most.

Packing midrange internals, a triple rear camera setup, huge battery and generous amounts of storage (the same starting capacity as the iPhone 11 and Pixel 4), we can’t fail to be impressed, given the Macro’s price.

Motorola Moto One Macro price and release

The One Macro costs £179.99 and is available in the UK from the 28 October, with a US release yet to be confirmed. There’s one capacity – 64GB, and it will be available from Amazon UK, John Lewis, Carphone Warehouse, EE and Argos.

Motorola Moto One Macro features

Despite having a plastic body, the Moto One Macro doesn’t feel or look particularly cheap. It’s high-gloss plastic frame and back emulate glass, and when sheathed in the soft-touch case, included with the phone, doesn’t really matter that it isn’t made of the stuff.

The screen’s a 6.2-inch HD+ panel, not a Full HD resolution display as found on some sub-£200 phones. With a sharpness of 295PPI though, it’s hardly dull, and the size is a decent balance of large and manageable.

The One Macro runs Android 9, Google’s OS, in tandem with some very light touch additions from Motorola. Powered by a MediaTek MT6771 Helio P70 processor which is paired with 4GB RAM, this isn’t a power-beast, and at the price, we wouldn’t expect it to be. That said, day-to-day tasks should be more than manageable, and the fact there’s a generous 64GB storage on-board too, as well as microSD card expansion up to an additional 512GB only adds to the phone’s value proposition.

Add to the mix a hefty 4000mAh battery and you get an impressive mix in the Motorola One Macro – but what about those cameras?

Motorola Moto One Macro: camera

The main camera on the One Macro is a 13MP, f/2.0 module with a 1/3.1” sensor and 1.12µ pixels, as well as phase detection and laser autofocus.

Next up, there’s that namesake macro lens with its f/2.2 aperture, combined with a 2MP 1/5“ sensor and 1.75µ pixels. Finally, there’s a 2MP depth sensor with exactly the same specs as the macro camera – this enables bokeh and foreground/background separation effects.

The macro camera has its own mode, and if you forget to fire it up, the camera UI will prompt you to make the switch, though be warned, unless lighting is fantastic, macros shots will be relatively low on detail and muddy, given the 2MP sensor resolution.

The phone captures video at up to Full HD resolution, 120fps from the rear camera, and the 8MP f/2.2 selfie camera grabs Full HD video at 30fps.

Motorola Moto One Macro: Early verdict

We’ve had a bit of time with the Motorola One Macro’s camera, and have managed to get a couple of cracking shots and a couple of pretty terrible ones – it’s definitely not one for casual snapping.

That said, its main camera seems to do a decent job for the price when paired with a steady hand. In turn, if the power under the hood checks out, then for £179.99, it’ll be yet another stonking midranger from Motorola – watch this space for the full review. 

Yesterday we reported on rumored prices for Asus’ upcoming AMD TRX40 motherboards, with the TRX40 chipset targeting AMD’s upcoming 3rd-generation Ryzen Threadripper CPUs. Today we bring you a new rumor: a list of Gigabyte’s upcoming TRX40 boards, as spotted by Computerbase. Sadly, we don’t have pricing for the boards this time around.

The info (PDF) comes from a compatibility listing for Gigabyte’s Aorus Gen4 AIC Adaptor and lists the following motherboards:

TRX40 Aorus Xtreme

TRX40 Aorus Master

TRX 40 Aorus Pro Wi-Fi

TRX40 Designare

Aorus is one of Gigabyte’s sub-brands targeting eSports and other PC gaming. But it also taps into other audiences, as shown by its Designare series.

There’s also a document (PDF) with details on PCIe support. As seen below, they all will apparently work at PCIe 4.0 speed, which doesn’t come as a surprise given that AMD’s mainstream X570 motherboards (for today’s generation of AMD CPUs) already do PCIe 4.0 too.

This leak follows an subtle reveal from just over a week ago, where Gigabyte South Africa’s Twitter revealed an image of what we suspect is one of its TRX40 boards (pictured below).

AMD’s upcoming TRX40 platform is said to debut in November and serve as AMD’s HEDT (high-end desktop) segment. It will launch alongside the Ryzen Threadripper 3000-series, which will pack up to 32 CPU cores.

If there is one thing computer accessories are in desperate need of, it’s more RGB lighting, right? Maybe, maybe not, depending on your perspective. Either way, like a runaway freight train coming down the side of a steep mountain, there’s no stopping the RGB locomotive. Rather than try, Razer went the opposite direction and outfitted its new Firefly V2 mouse pad with more and shinier RGB lighting than the original version.

There are two parts to the lighting upgrades. Razer says the Firefly V2 uses brighter LEDs than the original Firefly, and there are also now 19 lighting zones around all four sides of the mat. That’s four more zones than before.

“It is now the brightest RGB mouse mat powered by Razer Chroma—the world’s largest RGB lighting ecosystem, which supports over 500 devices and integration with over 130 top PC games of today,” Razer says.

The Firefly V2 is also thinner this time around. It measures 3mm wide, compared to 3.5mm for the cloth and 4mm for the hard editions of the original Firefly. Overall dimensions are 355mm x 255mm x 3mm.

This time around, however, Razer is only offering a hard version. There’s no cloth variant, though from Razer’s vantage point, the micro-textured finish and surface coating “provides the right amount of friction and glide that caters to any play style.” For anyone who prefers a cloth mouse pad, Razer says to look into its Goliathus Chroma range.

Other features include a cable catch to keep your wired mouse’s tail out of the way, and an anti-slip rubber base.

We have not tested this Firefly V2 and so we can’t compare it with the best mouse pads for gaming. We have played with and like the Firefly Hyperflux, though part of the appeal with that one is the wireless charging capability. This one doesn’t have that feature. It’s also quite a bit cheaper, though.

Last year, Honor launched its very first smartwatch dubbed Honor Watch Magic in China. It seems like the company is now working on the next generation of smartwatch. Although the name of the upcoming smartwatch is still unknown, we expect it to be called Honor Watch Magic 2. Earlier today, the smartphone maker confirmed the launch timeline as well as shared a glimpse of the design. Here is what we know about the upcoming smartwatch as of now.

HONOR WATCH MAGIC 2: LAUNCH TIMELINE, AVAILABILITY

According to the recent report, Watch Magic 2 will see its official unveiling by the end of this year. Sadly, the exact date or month is still unknown. Looking at the previous trends, the wearable should first hit the Chinese market followed by India and Europe. Since this is early development, there is no word on the pricing as well.

Well, the smartphone maker will soon begin to tease the product across its social networking channels. The promotional material will follow the Halloween theme. As you can see from the image above, the brand is using the same theme for the marketing push. Furthermore, the teaser material gives us a glimpse of design. It seems like Honor Watch Magic 2 will follow the same design ideology as that of its predecessor. The watch will feature two crowns on the left side which will be used for controls.

When it comes to the software, we are expecting the wearable to run on the company’s own LiteOS. This is the same software which is found on the previous-gen Watch Magic and Huawei’s Watch GT 2. The smartwatch should also feature an AMOLED panel, week-long battery life and affordable price tag, just like its predecessor.

Apart from all these, we don’t have any other key information on the product as of now. On the contrary, we are expecting more information and promotion materials to come forward in the coming days.

Someone has posted data claiming to be 3DMark 11 benchmark results for the upcoming AMD Renoir APUs on Reddit. According to the Redditor, these are results that aren’t accessible by the general public because they’re set to “private.”

There are three results which seem to show Renoir APUs running on a ‘Celadon-RN’ motherboard. We suspect that Celadon could be the name of the platform for Renoir. Unfortunately, the results don’t reveal APU model names or core counts. We have no way of telling if the results are supposed to represent one, two or three different APUs. All things considered, we should take these mysterious results with a grain of salt.

In the first setup, the Renoir APU ran with a 1.7 GHz base clock with the iGPU (integrated graphics processing unit) clocked at 1.5 GHz. The second setup had the APU running slightly faster at 1.8 GHz; however, the iGPU’s speed wasn’t available. In the last setup, the APU operated at 2 GHz with its iGPU working at 1.1 GHz.

The use of DDR4-2666 RAM is what really surprised us. In August, Renoir was mentioned with LPDDR4X-4266 memory in a Linux driver patch. Intel’s upcoming Tiger Lake-U chips could adopt LPDDR5 memory. APUs strongly benefit from high-speed memory, so we’d love to see Renoir make use of faster formats.

Based on the results, the tested chips seem to have low base clocks, but this is normal considering this would be very early silicon. If these really were Renoir chips tested, AMD probably still has a lot of tweaking to do. Alternatively, the low clock speeds could be a sign that Renoir will come with higher core counts. The current generation of AMD APUs, Picasso, tops out at four cores.

Another thing that stands out with these alleged benchmarks is the iGPU clock speed. One of the setups had the iGPU at 1.5 GHz. Picasso APUs’ iGPU maxes out at 1.4 GHz. Renoir potentially surpassing Picasso at this early stage makes AMD’s next-generation APU look promising.