Windows-on-Mac can’t see wi-fi networks

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Windows-on-Mac can’t see wi-fi networks

I’ve installed Windows 10 on my Mac via BootCamp long ago and have been using only the Windows system since then. I even somehow deleted previous (Mac) OS, although I don’t actually remember how exactly I managed to. The point is, it so happened that recently I needed to reinstall Windows 10 (with the removal of all files), and after the reinstallation I noticed that it no longer sees any wi-fi networks. And because of this there’s no way I can get back to Mac OS and fix everything. I ran the wi-fi diagnostic and it said that “Windows didn’t manage to find network adaptor drivers”. My guess is that under normal circumstances the newly-installed Windows is considered to open the Apple Software Update app and make the necessary changes (since Mac is not really a Windows OS device). And since I deleted everything related to Mac OS a long time ago, there’s no ASU app anymore to get things back to normal and which is why Windows doesn’t work properly now. Although if you hold the “option” button as you start up your Mac, the startup disk changing screen opens. And there is an option to choose Wi-Fi. And while on that screen, my Mac is able to see all the Wi-Fi networks nearby. That is funny, because even if I’d connect to my network while on that screen, I still won’t be able to see Wi-Fi networks later on on Windows. My problem seems unsolvable to me since there’s no way of connecting to the internet anymore and my Mac now turns into useless peace of iron. I was just hoping there’re any experts around who faced the same problem and could help me with it.

Windows, Windows 10

Posted on Jul 28, 2022 10:18 AM

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MushyMarmalade Author

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12 points

Aug 8, 2022 6:13 AM in response to MushyMarmalade

Just dealt with the problem. For those who met the same one, here’s the instruction. All you have to do is to install the proper network drivers. For that you’ll need another Mac or Pc, whatever, and a flash drive with which you’ll transfer the drivers. In my case, it was the Broadcom 802.11n network adapter drivers. You’ll be installing it via device manager. Press the “show hidden devices” button in case you don’t see the network adapter Windows for some reason has automatically installed. Then you update it for the one you’ve just got. To do this, you’ll need to manually choose the bcmwl63.inf (in my case, at least, or whatever comes with the .inf extension) file in your driver folder. Ignore Windows’ note about the error and now that you can finally use the internet you’ll have to download the iTunes app, because the Apple Software Update app is included in it. At last, you just open it and follow the instructions. That’s it. I wrote all this in case somebody else meets the same problem and after reading this they won’t have to deal with this for themselves, like I did.

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Windows-on-Mac can’t see wi-fi networks

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