Windows 10 Creators Update wrecks Wi-Fi driver [FIX]

by Radu Tyrsina

Founder & Editor-in-Chief

December 14, 2017

The release of the much talked about Creators Update has made many Windows 10 fans happy. The Creators Update improves many areas of the OS, bringing new features to the table, continuing to trend set by the Anniversary Edition and making the platform a more refined and efficient environment.

Unfortunately, the experience hasn’t been all that smooth for many users because certain features won’t work anymore. The situation is bad enough that many users are considering going back to the previous OS build. There have been multiple problems surfacing, including that of a faulty Wi-Fi driver. A user on Microsoft’s online platform has declared that upon installing the Creators Update, his Wi-Fi driver failed to work and resetting it didn’t help at all.

Ran the hardware and devises troubleshooter… it couldn’t fix it. Suggested reinstalling adapter driver but of course no internet access to do that.

Rebooted several times… didn’t wor. Ran the Network. Reset twice… didn’t work. Ran the Netsh Winsock Reset…. didn’t work. Any suggestions short of restoring Anniversary Edition? This WIFI driver worked perfectly before the upgrade.

According to this messageposted by Rick T_935 on Microsoft’s forum, getting rid of this problem isn’t as easy as it may first appear. The traditional solutions don’t seem to have any effect of the faulty driver.

How to fix Wi-Fi driver issues on Windows 10

Many people have chimed in to help Rick and each tried to add something new to the table in order to find a solution for the problem.

Try the following: Open the Device Manager and right-click the Intel wireless adapter > Uninstall > proceed with the uninstall and then restart the computer.

1. Update your Wi-Fi drivers manually

In the end, a solution has been found in installing the latest driver manually. The user auggy provided the details about the steps to follow to install the drivers manually and make the Wi-Fi connection fully functional again.

Version 19.50.1.5 appears to be the latest version of the driver for the AC 3165 so try reinstalling the driver. Download the driver (32-bit – assuming 32-bit installation of Windows) from the following link on a computer that has internet access:

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/26653/Intel-PROSet-Wireless-Software-and-Drivers-for-Windows-10

Transfer the driver file to a USB flash drive and then plug the USB flash drive into the tablet and install the driver that is on the flash drive.

Update drivers automatically

Downloading drivers manually is a process that carries the risk of getting the wrong driver installed, which may lead to serious malfunctions. The safer and easier way to update drivers on a Windows computer is by using an automatic tool such as TweakBit Driver Updater.

Driver Updater automatically identifies each device on your computer and matches it with the latest driver versions from an extensive online database. Drivers can then be updated in batches or one at a time, without requiring the user to make any complex decisions in the process. Here is how it works:

1. 1. Download and install TweakBit Driver Updater
  2. Once installed, the program will start scanning your PC for outdated drivers automatically. Driver Updater will check your installed driver versions against its cloud database of the latest versions and recommend proper updates. All you need to do is wait for the scan to complete.
  3. Upon scan completion, you get a report on all problem drivers found on your PC. Review the list and see if you want to update each driver individually or all at once. To update one driver at a time, click the ‘Update driver’ link next to the driver name. Or simply click the ‘Update all’ button at the bottom to automatically install all recommended updates.
    
    Note: Some drivers need to be installed in multiple steps so you will have to hit the ‘Update’ button several times until all of its components are installed.

Disclaimer: some functions of this tool are not free.

There you go, we hope that this solution fixed the problem for you. If the issue persists, continue the troubleshooting process using the solutions listed below.

2. Disable and re-enable your Wi-Fi connection

In order to fix Wi-Fi driver issues sometimes all you need to do is imply disable your connection and then enable it again. As simple as that.

1. 1. Open Network and Sharing Center > go to Change adapter settings.
  2. Locate your Wi-Fi connection, right click it and choose Disable.
  3. Right click the same connection again and choose Enable.

3. Check DNI_DNE in Command Prompt

If your Wi-Fi driver fails to work after upgrade, run the following commands:

1. 1. Open Command Prompt as administrator
  2. When Command Prompt starts, type the following and press Enter to run it:
    - reg delete HKCRCLSID{988248f3-a1ad-49bf-9170-676cbbc36ba3} /va /f
  3. Now enter the following line and press Enter to run it:
    - netcfg -v -u dni_dne
  4. Close Command Prompt and restart your computer.

4. Reset TCP/IP

1. 1. Launch Command Prompt (Admin)
  2. Enter the following lines and hit Enter after each one
    - netsh int ip reset
    - netsh int tcp set heuristics disabled
    - netsh int tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled
    - netsh int tcp set global rss=enabled
  3. Restart your computer and Wi-Fi is working now.

If you’ve experienced other Wi-Fi issues after upgrading to Windows 10 Creators Update, use the comment section below to tell us more about your experience.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in April 2017 and has been since completely revamped and updated for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.

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In my case, the broken wifi adapter did not even appear in Device Manager. Therefore I could not uninstall it. The ONLY thing that worked was to open the computer, manually pull out the wifi module from the motherboard, reboot, then turn off the computer, plug in the wifi module and restart the computer. After doing this the wifi started working again without even having to reinstall the drivers.

I downloaded Microsoft Windows Fall Creators update version 1709, on my Dell 5755 laptop 2 times, both times my Wi Fi would not work after the install, Wi Fi was off, I would click to turn it on and it would show “no connections available”, when I usually have dozens in there, then it would shut off, I tried updating my Intel Duel Band Wireless AC 3160 to driver version 18.33.9.3 and it still would not work. I reverted back to previous version of windows and after that my wi fi worked fine. Any help would be appreciated. This did not affect my Ethernet connection, when I plugged a hard cable in I had internet access, just no wireless.

now if i didn’t have another computer available id be screwed unless i used my cellphone etc… but downloading onto the thumb drive and then using it into issue machine worked like a charm, back in business thank you. it was amazing tho because 2 machines in my home did creators update with no issues what so ever but the 3rd say nope go get your hands dirty…..

Wifi still works but it’s much slower and unable to pull signals from areas of the house which had great signal before. Took it to a shop but they were unable to fix it. Was told my only solution was to wait for a fix from Dell or Microsoft. Ugh.