Microsoft often releases firmware update for Surface devices, but a recent update has caused some problems for some users. Reports of users having problems with their WiFi connection on some Surface devices appeared online, although Microsoft is yet to acknowledge the issue.
A recent firmware update released on July 31/August 1 for Marvell AVASTAR Wireless-AC Network Controller has resulted in some users having a problem connecting to 5Ghz WiFi networks. The firmware update, ironically, is meant to improve WiFi connectivity. But as it turns out, it’s broken things for some users instead.
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A user on Reddit explained:
“I updated the wifi driver to “Marvell Semiconductor, Inc. – Net – 15.68.17013.110”, and after that update, I can’t connect to a 5GHz wifi connection, I can only connect to 2.4 GHz. when i try to connect to the 5GHz, it says: “Unable to connect to this network”. Uninstalling the wifi driver, and restarting the device did help me get the 5GHz connection back to my Surface book, but when i decided to try to install the same driver again, and try to connect to 5GHz again, the same “Unable to connect to this network” appears. Does anyone have this issue?”
There are other users reporting similar issues on the Reddit thread, and there are similar reports on Microsoft Answers and the Feedback Hub, as Windows Latest first reported.
It’s not clear exactly how widespread the problem is, or if it’s affecting all the devices with the new firmware installed. Reports claimed that the first-gen Surface Laptop, Surface Book, and the 5th gen Surface Pro are affected. But Microsoft has released the same update for Surface Pro 6, Surface Laptop 2, Surface Book 2, and the Surface Pro 4.
Microsoft is yet to acknowledge the problem, so we aren’t entirely sure if a fix is on its way. But the current workaround for the problem is to simply downgrade the driver for the Marvell AVASTAR Wireless-AC Network Controller to an older version via Device Manager.