The Broadcom 802.11 Network Adapter

[Laylow Skidmore]

Has there been ANY update on this? I have seen many people (myself included) still getting blue screens while running Windows 10 using Boot Camp thanks to this driver. I am also unable to now roll back to an earlier version and am weary of getting the old driver from a 3rd party site.

I tried downloading and "repairing" using the Apple Support software for Windows 10 on the off chance they rolled back the driver but nothing changed. The Broadcom site is also abysmal with no way of getting old versions of drivers. Someone on an old thread suggested removing every device under network adapters, but didn't know if anyone else had success doing this?

The safest method is on the macOS side, BC Assistant -> Action -> Download. Also, see Download and install Windows support software on your Mac - Apple Support for reference. Check Bootcamp.xml before you try to re-install the drivers.

This method - -us/help/2500967/how-to-stop-windows-7-automatically-installing-drivers - should also work on W10. You will first need to uninstall and remove the adapter and driver, and remove the corresponding files from the DrvStore using pnputil.exe.

Thank you for the detailed response Loner T! My current driver version is: 100.10.459.0 from 12/13/2018. I believe the one you're using is the one I had most success with before the most recent Windows update. The same update which unfortunately has prevented me from reverting the driver back. Do you know of a safe way to obtain the older version of the driver? As I've said before it's not available directly from Broadcom(as far as I know), and I have little experience with third-party distributers.

I know how to prevent automatic driver updates for all devices, but would you also happen to know of a way to lock the driver version of the Broadcom adapter specifically, or prevent it from updating in the future?

Out of curiosity, how did you personally prevent your driver from updating? Or did you simply prevent all automatic updates? There are some ways to accomplish this like you said using the hardware ids and the command line, but I didn't want to mess with it at this time. There doesn't appear to be any built-in feature to accomplish this unfortunately.

Frustrating followup: I just recevied another blue screen with stop code 0x00000827. I thought this was the error caused by the Broadcom adaptor's newest driver, but I went back and confirmed that it was still using the old driver. So now, I have NO clue what is causing this.

Is Apple going to actually fix this or am I going to have to download debugging software and teach myself how to parse through minidump files just to ensure my computer can actually run? Error code 0x00000827. Seriously struggling to find time to look into their hardware issues.

Here's where I'm currently at. I examined the .dmp file created as a result of the most recent bsod. I determined that the issue is still pertaining to the Broadcom driver. WinDbg pathed the error specifically to the file "bcmpciedhd63.sys". So what I did was first turn off automatic driver updates and then uninstall and remove the driver through device manager(what I did previously). However, after doing this, I noticed that this file "bcmpciedhd63.sys" was still present in my system directory. So, just for good measure, I changed it's permissions to allow me to remove it completely. I'm suspecting that perhaps this file contained info for the updated (unstable) version, and was still being utilized by the system? I could be completely wrong on that, but regardless, I re-ran the windows support for boot camp and re-installed the driver once again. I will have to wait and see if this works (It probably shouldn't take long, my faithful computer likes to bsod at least once a day).

The odd thing is, out of curiosity, I went into device manager, verified the adapter as the old version, and hit update just to see if one was available. To my surprise, it said the driver was up to date. So either something is still wrong, or they removed the latest version. However, I CAN verify that the version I currently have is the one you also have. Or at least that is what device manager is telling me.

Well I should clarify, I tried everything pertaining to the BROADCOM driver haha...I had issues with the Audio Driver early on but was able to resolve that fairly quickly. I will continue to work and report back anything that happens. I suppose one nice thing is to definitively know it's still the Broadcom driver, thanks to your suggestion to examine the .dmp file. I just wish someone would finally address this. It's a shame because it truly is the sole thing ruining the Boot Camp experience for me.

Sure, I'll email it to you next time it blue screens in this way (which will likely be soon). I removed some drivers I suspected might be problematic, so I want to provide the most accurate .dmp file.

At this point, this computer is becoming a liability and if the issues persist I will have to seek a replacement. I really would rather it not come to that so any help you could provide would be most welcome!

Did you ever have a chance to look at the minidump? I think I may have narrowed down where the issue is stemming from, but I'd like to see if you reached the same conclusion. I am noticing that whenever I have my computer hooked up on my desk, to my monitor, mouse, keyboard, etc...I never get the blue screen. Therefore, I have started completely removing the devices before disconnecting them. SO FAR I have not received any bsods after being diligent and removing them. However, I haven't tested it out nearly enough. If this solves the problem, that would be great, though it is an absolute pain having to reconnect my wireless devices every time I want to use my laptop at my desk.

We have the weirdest network issues with a few Dell servers, all at different customers, where the Broadcom NetXtreme NICs randomly disconnect from the network until the NIC is disabled and re-enabled.

The servers will run for about a day without any problems, and then the traffic on the NICs start to drop. No errors or anything are logged in the eventviewer and no Windows updates have been installed recently that can cause anything to break. I have had permanent pings running to 8.8.8.8 and our internal gateway and when the problem occurs, everything just starts to timeout. I then need to either physically unplug the network cable and plug it back in or I need to disable the NIC inside Windows and re-enable it. Doing so will immediately restore all connectivity for the time being, until the next time it decides to go down again. Whenever the problem happens, the activity LEDs on both the switch and server NIC port are on and flashing. Nothing that indicates there is a physical connectivity issue.

This has happened with multiple customers and only on Dell servers. Rebooting the server, installing updates and installing latest NIC drivers do not resolve the issue. Has anyone ever seen this before?

Turned out the problem was having VM Queues enabled, supposedly the issue was resolved in a firmware update or driver update but I never saw the difference. Same with disabling it computer management. Best solution was buying Intel cards instead.

It sounds like a similar problem indeed. When we get the first alerts from our monitoring system, pings still go through but with about 2000ms delay until eventually the traffic goes completely dead and time out. Then all I do is restart the NIC inside Windows and everything is restored. But this is causing a lot of problems with running backup jobs and other systems that rely on a stable connection.

I was going to try the USB to ethernet adapter option as it is the most inexpensive solution. What was your experience with it? Did it resolve the problem and is it stable enough to run on a production server?

We added the USB NIC and compared to the broadcom it was fantastic. The toughest part was explaining why a $30 adapter was out performing a brand new much more expensive one. But we had it running sql, file shares, active directory without an issue.

Thank you. I will pick one up today and install it tomorrow and see how it performs over the weekend. Will mark as correct answer if no issues arise. Right now the server is going down about twice a day.

This article provides information on troubleshooting issues when a network adapter fails. The ESXi/vCenter UI and ESXi logs show NIC adapter alerts and messages. This KB goes over typical checks that can be done for troubleshooting.

For more adapter troubleshooting steps, please open a support ticket with the hardware vendor.

i want to switch from broadcom to intel because its better. Do i need to order anything or how can i do that? I have a wireless connection, when i search online not much comes up. looking forward for a reply

It is worth mentioning that Intel does not support wireless integrations (installing a different wireless adapter into your system/laptop). We recommend you speak to the Manufacturer of your equipment for support on wireless integrations and replacement parts to ensure compliance with the regulatory requirements of your country and support. It is important to check for compatibility with the System Manufacturer, as there could be certain cards that will not work with the system.

Intel does not verify all solutions, including but not limited to any file transfers that may appear in this community. Accordingly, Intel disclaims all express and implied warranties, including without limitation, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement, as well as any warranty arising from course of performance, course of dealing, or usage in trade.

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