Solved Windows 8.1 upgrade - Can no longer connect to WiFi

1DMF · Feb 13, 2014

I seem to be going round in circles trying to reconnect a working Windows 8 laptop to the WiFi after upgrading to 8.1

It refused to recognise the existing and working WiFi upon reboot after upgrade.

I have twice ran the 'netsh wlan delete profile name=[profile name]' command to remove the profile, rebooted the machine, re-added the profile, nothing happens.

The network symbol in the system tray when clicked doesn't show the profile I created, so I can't select it to connect to (though I set it to auto connect?), it just shows 'Hidden Network' , but when clicking this and I enter the SSID and WPA2 key, it just errors with a failed to connect message.

This was working fine, that's how I downloaded the update, now it's broken!

Any ideas?

1DMF.

chev65 · Feb 13, 2014

Does the wireless adaptor show up as it should in Device Manager?

Or does it show with the driver installed, or is there a yellow !?

1DMF · Feb 13, 2014

Hi Chev65,

The adaptor appears to be fine, and reports as such in device manager.

1DMF

Edit-> Well I decided to try again, only sitting next to the router, and it connected fine.

It appears the quality of the signal has dropped beyond usable since the update, how can this have affected signal quality?

chev65 · Feb 13, 2014

1DMF said:
Hi Chev65,

The adaptor appears to be fine, and reports as such in device manager.

1DMF

Edit-> Well I decided to try again, only sitting next to the router, and it connected fine.

It appears the quality of the signal has dropped beyond usable since the update, how can this have affected signal quality?

Most likely it's a driver problem. I'd need to see system specs with details on the wireless adaptor.

The ipconfig/all might also come in handy> http://www.eightforums.com/network-sharing/26581-network-posting-tips.html

1DMF · Feb 13, 2014

It's an HP250 Corei3 with a Ralink RT 3290 802.11bgn Wifi Adaptor.

We have 4 of them and I'm currently in the middle of upgrading the 2nd one, so will be interesting to see if it suffers the same fate.

I think I'll check out HP / Ralink for replacement drivers, Windows has always been the worst place to get hardware device drivers!

chev65 · Feb 13, 2014

1DMF said:
It's an HP250 Corei3 with a Ralink RT 3290 802.11bgn Wifi Adaptor.

We have 4 of them and I'm currently in the middle of upgrading the 2nd one, so will be interesting to see if it suffers the same fate.

I think I'll check out HP / Ralink for replacement drivers, Windows has always been the worst place to get hardware device drivers!

When I look around for updated drivers for the Ralink adaptor I see many similar complaints that it won't connect after updating to 8.1 and I can't seem to find any updated drivers.

You might try installing the latest driver in compatibility mode.
Using Compatibility Mode in Windows 8.1 | Teching It Easy: with Windows

1DMF · Feb 13, 2014

Yes, same here, it's clearly a known issue and one thread even had some idiot from MS chime in with corporate line BS claiming there is no way M$ would release an update that did this.

8.1 Driver Update Disables Wireless Connectivity - Microsoft Community

WRONG!!! - It's exactly what the problem is!,

M$ are forcing out a crap, unusable device driver updates that are trashing people's WiFi, as though Windows 8 wasn't a pile of dinosaur doo doo to start with, 8.1 has just made things worse!

I uninstalled the driver, then used this link : Station-Drivers - Ralink

To get the latest driver (which interestingly enough was only released 3 days ago!) and now the WiFi is working perfectly as it was prior to Windows 8.1 upgrade.

So glad I moved over to Linux Mint at home, not had one problem since the day I installed it, unlike the constant problems Windows 8 is causing me!

Thanks for your input, it certainly steered me in the right direction to find a resolve.

Much appreciated.

1DMF

chev65 · Feb 13, 2014

Msoft changed the way that DNS is handled because of a security flaw so most drivers required an update to work with this newer DNS method.

Calling it crap isn't really the proper way to describe it because it updates a security flaw that's been around quite a while. Unless you like having your browser redirected at the whim of a madman, then the update was required.

I'm glad you found the station driver site because Ralink site had nothing for this. You can see the new driver version has a different number than the old one, I'm not even sure who makes this new driver but I'm glad it's working.

Feel free to mark this thread as solved, It may help someone else with the same problem.

1DMF · Feb 14, 2014

Hi Chev65,

I'm not sure how DNS can affect a hardware device driver, it's simply IP -> text (domain) transformation / resolution.

A network adaptor is not affected by a web browser, I can communicate across TCP/IP through a plethora of connection protocols, all without the need to open a web browser, if this is M$ corporate party line spiel, it smells a bit.

Anyway, I'm no networking guru and all that matters is I found a resolve and now our 4 training laptops are updated, working and ready for next week's training course.

Hope it helps others , who may find themselves in the same predicament.

MasterChief · Feb 14, 2014

Blaming Microsoft for a device driver issue?

That's not their responsibility in any way. It's that of the hardware maker. Only they can make and release drivers for their own hardware.

1DMF · Feb 14, 2014

MasterChief, I think you are getting confused between MS update hardware device drivers and manufacturer device drivers.

If you look at the device driver info, you will see a Driver Provider property, I am now running the one from Ralink (hardware manufacturer) which works, the one provided by MS (operating system provider) didn't.

Now I don't know enough about driver signing, or how MS get the device drivers they provide or if they alter them in any way. All I know is every time I have ever let windows apply a driver update through windows update, it's usually broken the device, and so I never allow windows update to change device drivers anymore. I always update via the manufacturer.

I may not fully understand the process of cause, but I have far too often been a victim of the effect!

MasterChief · Feb 14, 2014

1DMF I think you are confused that Microsoft does not make device drivers except for its own hardware.

(Always someone that knows better. /sigh If I had just one dollar for each....meh nm...)

1DMF · Feb 14, 2014

Code:

1DMF I think you are confused that Microsoft does not make device drivers except for its own hardware.

No , not confused, I believe you have miss-read, at no point did I say 'made by' , I said 'provided by'. I also clearly stated that I was not sure if MS 'altered' them in any way, implying they were probably obtained originally from the manufacturer.

I'm not sure what point you are trying to make or why you are making insulting innuendos, the problem is fixed and the cause is clear. Discussion over!

MasterChief · Feb 14, 2014

1DMF said:
MasterChief, I think you are getting confused between MS update hardware device drivers and manufacturer device drivers.

Stop the nonsense. You said this.

chev65 · Feb 14, 2014

1DMF said:
Hi Chev65,

I'm not sure how DNS can affect a hardware device driver, it's simply IP -> text (domain) transformation / resolution.

A network adaptor is not affected by a web browser, I can communicate across TCP/IP through a plethora of connection protocols, all without the need to open a web browser, if this is M$ corporate party line spiel, it smells a bit.

Anyway, I'm no networking guru and all that matters is I found a resolve and now our 4 training laptops are updated, working and ready for next week's training course.

Hope it helps others , who may find themselves in the same predicament.

Sure you can do things on a network without a browser but everyone else still needs one and these drivers need to accommodate the masses. I agree it's a royal pain to make everyone update drivers just for an Op system update, ridiculous in fact. And for Msoft to expect all the manufacture's to update drivers on practically a yearly basis is a bit much to ask.

Security on DNS has been an issue for a long time with browsers being redirected etc. that can't happen anymore with the revised network stack. It was required for security or they wouldn't have changed it. In fact the entire network stack has been changed for this reason. Just compare what you see under Network Adaptors in Device Manager, it's all been changed since Windows 8 and believe me there was good reason for the change.

Peppersmum · Jul 5, 2014

I was having non-stop problems with web pages not loading even though my connection was showing I was connected. On the advise of a friend I logged into my router and changed the channel from auto to 1 and also checked for a firmware upgrade for the router and did the upgrade. A week later I have not had any further problems. Perhaps this will help someone else.

Temielnino · Jul 12, 2014

Need help for ralink wireless latest ip address

Terrum · Jan 3, 2015

1DMF said:
I uninstalled the driver, then used this link : Station-Drivers - Ralink

I have this exact same issue with my HP Split x2, which is running Windows 8.1. The signal on it appears really low and I suspect it is a driver issue. Sadly the link doesn't link to the driver anymore. Has anyone got a mirror of this? My WiFi card is a Ralink RT3290

Solved Windows 8.1 upgrade - Can no longer connect to WiFi

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