Wireless internet limited connectivity Aspire E1-571 windows 8.1

Just upgraded to Windows 8.1 and suddenly cannot connect to the internet using the wireless card, Broadcom 802.11n Network Adapter.

I can still connect to the internet using the ethernet cable but whats the point of having a laptop if you cannnot move around the house and connect wirelessly????

I never had anyproblems connecting before the upgrade to 8.1. I can see the name of my home network in the list of wireless networks but when I attempt to connect I find it says limited connectivity and in the Network Connections it shows as an unidentified network.

Do I need to do a full reset back to factory settings and windows 8 to get my wireless internet back or doesanyone have any suggestions that may help.

I have ensured that the wireless adapter cannot be turned off by the computer to save power but that has not helped at all.

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ghostfaceuk

HI guys just to report problem solved.

If anyone else has this issue they need to search for Acer eRecovery and reinstall the wireless driver.

Once this has finished and the installer restarts your wireless card you should be up and running, at least thats the way its worked out for me.

shazzyrm

Thanks, this has been driving me bonkers lol

KevinKProf

Here's how I solved it on my two Acer Aspires:

1. Hit the Windows button

2. Type in "Device Manager"

3. Select Device Manager

4. Click on to expand 'Network Adapters'

5. Right-click on Broadcom 802.11n Network Adapter

6. Select 'Update Driver Software'

7. Select 'Browse my computer for driver software'

8. Select 'Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer'

9. Select 'Broadcome 802.11n Network Adapter (Broadcom)' - note NOT (Microsoft)

10. Select 'Next'

11. When done, select 'Close'

brianhf

Thanks for this it cured my problem which was driving my wife crazy with the ammount of time spent trying to fix problem

gbellcanada

Same problem here with windows 8.1 and drivers from both Acer and Microsoft for Broadcom 802.11n card in Aspire E1-531. Finally restored laptop to factory settings. I can now connect to Public Networks. Sure wish Acer would fix the driver so I could go back to 8.1.

gbellcanada

If I read your post correctly the Windows 8.0 driver for the Broadcom Card works in Windows 8.1.

KevinKProf

Are you saying selecting Broadcom didn't work and you had to restore to factory settings?

gbellcanada

That is correct. When I tried to connect to Shaw Open I kept getting the message "limited connectivity". I managed to connect once. I tired both the Microsoft and the Acer drivers with the same results. I finally decided to restore the machine to the factory defaults and the was able to connect. I had never tried to connect when the machine was running 8.0 and I upgraded to 8.1 after about 1 year after purchasing.

hindian

Not sure if anyone mentioned this, but sometimes the device can become confused with a connection, and simply requires an ip configuration reset. The steps are a lot easier than a full blown recovery, so if it helps, all you do is

run "cmd.exe"
type "ipconfig /release"
let the window load, then type "ipconfig /renew"
the renew can take anywhere from 5 seconds to a full minute, depending on random variables.

Hope this helps Smiley Happy

gbellcanada

Doing a reset didn't solve my problems of connecting to Public Networks. It is definitely a problem with the Windows 8.1 Broadcom Wifi card.

Is anyone from Acer monitoring these Discussion Forums???

gbellcanada

I went round and round with the problem of not being able to connect to a Public Wireless Network with an Aspire E1-531 with a Broadcom 802.11n card after updating to Windows 8.1. I had never tried to connect to a Public Wireless Network before the update so wasn't sure where the problem was. After trying untold number of fixes by others I decided to revert to Windows 8.0 using the Acer Recovery System. Low and behold I was able to connect to any Public Wireless Network in my area. I need to mention I didn't have any problems connecting to any Private Wireless Networks either with Windows 8.0 or 8.1. I then decided to upgrade to Windows 8.1 again and see what the results would be. Again I could not connect to any Public Wireless Networks. I rolled back the Broadcom 802.11n driver to the Windows 8.0 driver and presto we are in business again. The Broadcom driver on the Acer website version 6.30.59.20 works for both Windows 8.0 and Windows 8.1. The Broadcom driver on the Acer website version 6.30.223.170 for Windows 8.1 does not work! And the Microsoft driver installed during the update to 8.1 does not work either. There could be a setting for the card that is not quite right. Which setting? I don't know.

DavidA

I'm pretty good with computers but this one had me foxed for a while. I put a clean copy of Windows 8.1 on this laptop and the driver gave me limited WiFi. The problem, I think, is that the latest driver from Broadcom or Microsoft is not compatible with Windows 8.1. I'm surprised they haven't fixed this, but thankfully there's a workaround.

Go to Device Manager.
Expand the Network adapters section and select Broadcom 802.11n Network Adapter.
Right-click and choose Update Driver Software.
Choose Browse my computer.
Choose Let me pick
Uncheck Show compatible hardware
Select Broadcom
Scroll to Broadcom 802.11n Network Adapter
Try each of the drivers until you find one that works

In my case there were three drivers and it was the second one that worked, which is older than the other two. Date: 14/03/2012. Version: 5.100.245.200.

An alternative solution would probably be to just download that driver version and install it.

Hope that helps.

gbellcanada

Did you read any of the previous posts on this problem????

Look at my last post which is just before your post!

jimmyj

This did it! After a week and a half the University staff could not figure what it was. I finally found this post after trying to update my drivers and it worked!!! I cannot say thank you enough! Everything else on my PC was updated and working fine, the laptop worked on wifi at home also with no problems so it was an absolute mystery why it was not connecting to the Uni network. Hopefully it will work at home also now that I switched.