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MFLW Author

Level 1

8 points

[HELP!] 5Ghz Wifi Driver for Bootcamp Windows 7 (Macbook Pro 13" 2015)

Hi,

I am running Windows 7 64 bit on my Macbook Pro 13'' 2015 and have experimented with numerous drivers but am unable to find one that enables me to connect to the 5Ghz band on my router.

The 2.4Ghz connection is consistent and quite stable except for certain areas of the house where a 5Ghz signal would be optimal. I have a fibre optics plan and have been extremely frustrated by this driver induced bottleneck. When connecting over WiFi, my other mobile devices easily reach speeds of just over 300 mb/s whereas my Macbook does not even reach 100 mb/s in the same locations.

Please can somebody point me to the correct driver so I can enjoy the speeds I've paid for. I've read every guide I could find and have tried uninstalling and reinstalling sooo many Broadcom drivers to no avail (though this DID cause the name of the device in device manager to change to "...Full Dongle Adapter #8" at one point though now it's "#3"??; might need some help with cleaning up the registry as reinstalling does not fix this naming convention).

None of the drivers I've tried have the supposed "5Ghz preferred band" setting in advanced properties. I've tweaked and tweaked and tweaked settings of several different Broadcom drivers but have experienced no change other than at one point not being able to see my network at all!

See attached screenshot (below) for info. Current driver I'm running is "1.400.87.0 (26 Nov 2015)".

I'm at the end of my tether with this issue and will be supremely grateful to anyone who can help.

Many thanks.

---

Additional info:

Chip is BCM94360CS (Broadcom; 100% capable of 5Ghz connections)
WiFi router is Google Wifi (mesh); 2 nodes; 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz are combined on one SSID
Other than one unidentified PCIE and one Portable Device in Device Manager, all other devices are operational; Windows 7 runs perfectly save for the slow WiFi
My desktop achieves the expected speeds of over 900 mb/s download and upload via ethernet connection (so the ISP is not the issue)
I reached out to Broadcom directly for a driver but they told me to ask the manufacturer (ie Apple)

MacBook Pro 13", OS X 10.11

Posted on May 14, 2020 7:43 AM

Similar questions

36 replies

MFLW Author

Level 1

8 points

May 17, 2020 8:09 AM in response to Loner T

W10 is not an option due to incompatibility with some essential programs. Neither compatibility mode nor running in a virtual environment are sufficient.

Not sure what you mean by BIOS mode but I installed W7 as a separate partition just like any other bootcamp installation.

Everything works perfectly other than 5Ghz connections...it's the only complaint I have but it is quite a limiting one.

The driver I have now is still that 802.11 ac dongle but I just can't find a way for it to utilise 5Ghz. Wish there was a setting I could tweak or that someone could just update the inf...

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Just to let you know though, I am using some unsigned drivers (for the trackpad) which I found to be more stable than the corresponding support software.

I have also used third party Bluetooth drivers from Lenovo as the Apple drivers did not work for me. Works perfectly.

I'm just wondering if there isn't something similar for the WiFi card but with 5Ghz capabilities... I've looked quite extensively but with no success just yet.

Loner T

Level 9

59,513 points

May 17, 2020 8:33 AM in response to MFLW

MFLW wrote:

I cannot find the specified driver to test under "Have Disk". Are the cards the same / similar?

Your card is capable of .11a/b/g/n/ac. The 2012 models are .11a/b/g/n cards. The 2013 models are the first Macs to get .11ac. 2012 drivers are too old for your 2015 Mac.

Loner T

Level 9

59,513 points

May 17, 2020 10:55 AM in response to MFLW

The 5G band can run in .11ac/n and be .11b/g compatible. Do you have any tools which show details of the beacons? If you need to you can download Acrylic WiFi for personal use (or any other tool of your choice).

Wireshark can also be useful in debugging 802.11 frames.

MFLW Author

Level 1

8 points

May 14, 2020 11:34 PM in response to Loner T

Got this information from About This Mac ---> System Report

Bluetooth:

Wifi:

MFLW Author

Level 1

8 points

May 15, 2020 7:21 AM in response to Loner T

Downloaded the support software and put it on my USB. This is what's in the folder:

MFLW Author

Level 1

8 points

May 17, 2020 11:37 PM in response to Loner T

That's all I can see in Device Manager. Should be the same as the ids in MacOs if not?

MFLW Author

Level 1

8 points

May 19, 2020 7:48 AM in response to Loner T

Loner T

Level 9

59,513 points

May 14, 2020 2:53 PM in response to MFLW

2013 and later Macs have had 802.11ac support. Can you post the PID/VID of the BT/WiFI card? Your model has no certified drivers for W7 and a W10 driver for the 2015 model may not install correctly.

Loner T

Level 9

59,513 points

May 15, 2020 7:47 AM in response to MFLW

You can try the Legacy or the Win7x64 drivers. Please create a Windows System Restore point, before you install any driver.

Loner T

Level 9

59,513 points

May 15, 2020 4:06 PM in response to MFLW

The 5 gHz band supports both 802.11n and 802.11ac, so an 11ac driver is not necessary. I have a 2013 Mac. Let me check the driver installed on that Mac.