Broadcom is an American company that supplies a wide range of semiconductor products. One of their popular consumer products is their network adapters. If you own a Windows 10 laptop then there’s a possibility that the Wi-Fi card of the device is made by Broadcom. Although the company makes high quality products there are instances when certain issues can occur which we will be addressing today. In this latest installment of our troubleshooting series we will tackle the Broadcom 802.11n network adapter not working issue.
How To Fix Broadcom 802.11n Network Adapter Not Working Issue
Before performing any of the recommended troubleshooting steps listed below it’s best to restart your computer first. This action refreshes the operating system and remove any corrupt temporary data that could be causing the problem.
There are several factors that can cause this particular problem ranging from an outdated driver to a registry issue. Listed below are the recommended troubleshooting steps you need to do to fix the problem.
Run the Network Adapter Troubleshooter
windows 10 has a useful tool called the Network Adapter Troubleshooter which can help diagnose and fix common connection problems.
- Select the Start button > Settings > Network & Internet > Status.
- Under Change your network settings, select Network troubleshooter.
- Follow the steps in the troubleshooter.
Check if the Broadcom 802.11n network adapter not working issue still occurs.
Update your Wi-Fi drivers
If your Wi-Fi drivers are outdated then this problem can occur. You will need to update your Wi-Fi drivers then check if the issue still occurs.
- Press Windows Key + R to open run
- Type devmgmt.msc in the run textbox and hit enter to open the device manager window.
- Go to “Network adapters” and expand that section. You will find the WLAN card drivers here. If you do not see your Wi-Fi network card here, it is probably not installed so you will find it in the ‘Others’ section with a yellow triangle beside it.
- Right click on the device and select “Update Driver Software”
- Click on “Search automatically for updated driver software” to allow an automatic search. Connect to the internet via Ethernet for better results.
- Let the computer search for the drivers and install them.
Check if the Broadcom 802.11n network adapter not working issue still occurs.
Do a clean reinstall of the Wi-Fi driver
- Press the Windows logo key + R to open the Run dialog box.
- Type devmgmt.msc in the Run dialog box, then press Enter to open the device manager
- Go to ‘Network adapters’ and expand that section. You will find the WLAN card drivers here. Right click on your WLAN card device and then click Uninstall.
- Allow the uninstallation. This will clear the corrupt or incompatible drivers.
- Restart your computer.
- Windows 10 will detect hardware changes and install the correct drivers.
If Windows does not install the correct drivers then you will have to do this manually.
- Click on “action” on the device manager window and choose “Scan for hardware changes.”
- This will find the uninstalled driver and install it.
- If scanning for hardware changes does not reinstall your device, you will have to find them manually. From the device manager window, click View and select show hidden devices (unless it already has a tick on the left). If you still don’t see your device, click on Action then select scan for hardware changes.
- Your Wi-Fi adapter device will be listed listed under “Other Devices”with a yellow triangle on it.
- Right click on the device and select “Update Driver Software”
- Click on “Search automatically for updated driver software” to allow an automatic search
- Let the computer search for the drivers and install them.
- Restart your computer.
You can also run the hardware troubleshooter to install the driver.
- Press the Windows logo key + R to open the Run dialog box.
- Type control in the Run dialog box, then press Enter.
- In the Search box in Control Panel, type troubleshooter, and then click Troubleshooting.
- Under the Hardware and Sound item, click Configure a device. If you are prompted to enter an administrator password or provide confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
- Press Next and let the troubleshooter scan for problems. This will install the missing Wi-Fi adapter drivers.
- Restart your computer.
Check if the Broadcom 802.11n network adapter not working issue still occurs.
Reset the TCP/IP settings
You can try resetting the TCP/IP settings of your computer and check if this fixes the problem.
- In the search box on the taskbar, type Command prompt. The Command Prompt button will appear. To the right of it, select Run as administrator > Yes.
- Type netsh winsock reset and select Enter.
- Type netsh int ip reset and select Enter.
- Type ipconfig /release and select Enter.
- Type ipconfig /renew and select Enter.
- Type ipconfig /flushdns and select Enter.
Check if the Broadcom 802.11n network adapter not working issue still occurs.
Turn off the Firewall
There’s a possibility that the Firewall is interfering with the operation of the Broadcom adapter. To check if this is what’s causing the problem you should try to disable the firewall.
- In the search box on the taskbar, type Command prompt. The Command Prompt button will appear. To the right of it, select Run as administrator > Yes.
- At the command prompt, type netsh advfirewall set allprofiles state off, and then select Enter.
Check if the Broadcom 802.11n network adapter not working issue still occurs.
To enable the Firewall at the command prompt, type netsh advfirewall set allprofiles state on, and then select Enter.
Temporarily Turn off the antivirus
If the above steps fails to fix the problem then this might already be caused by your antivirus software. To check if this is the culprit, you should turn off your antivirus If the problem does not occur when it is off then you should consider using a different antivirus software.
Avast
- Right-click on the avast! icon in the system tray. Select avast! shields control and there will be options to disable avast for 10 minutes, 1 hour, until the computer is restarted or permanently.
Bitdefender
- Double click on the system icon for Bit Defender.
- When the Bit Defender window appears, move the mouse arrow to the left side and click >> Virus Shield.
- Move mouse arrow to the black check by Virus Shield is enabled and click.
- The black works will change to red, >> Virus Shield is disabled.
- Move mouse arrow to the top right corner and click the down arrows.
- Bit Defender is now inactive.
- To enable Bit Defender, do the same steps except click to enable.
Microsoft Security Essentials
- Right-click on the MSE icon in the system tray and choose Open.
- Click the Settings tab, then click Real Time Protection.
- Uncheck the box next to “Turn on real time protection”.
- Click the “Save changes” button.
- Exit MSE when done.
ESET
- Double click on the system tray icon to open the main application window.
- Or via Start >> All Programs >> ESET >> ESET Smart Security.
- Click Setup >> Antivirus and antispyware >> Temporarily disable Antivirus and antispyware protection.
- When prompted to confirm temporarily disable select Yes.
- Note: Protection will be automatically started after a system reboot.
McAfee
- Navigate to the system tray on the bottom right hand corner and look for the McAfee icon.
- Right-click it -> chose “Exit.”
- A popup will warn that protection will now be disabled. Click on “Yes” to disable the Antivirus guard.
Check if the Broadcom 802.11n network adapter not working issue still occurs.
Do a system restore
If the above steps fails to fix the problem then you should try to do a system restore.
- On the search bar type “restore” in the dialogue box and select the first program which comes in the result.
- Once in the restore settings press System Restore
- A wizard will open navigating you through all the steps to restore your system. Press Next and proceed with all the further instructions.
- Select the restore point from the list of options available. If you have more than one system restore points, they will be listed here.
- Once you have restored successfully try to check if the issue still occurs.