sfe16-43-Network card (MediaTek Wi-Fi/Bluetooth card) issue > will there be a BIOS update?

I've been having issues with the standard MediaTek Wi-Fi/bt card in my sfe16-43 which would 'reset' through a kerneldrivercrash if the Wi-Fi switched channel. I don't know when this started, could be with the update to windows 11 24h2 and subsequent driver updates. I noticed it because my network was upgraded to a new wifi 7 router, which made the crash issue more apparent. It's always the same 6 eventlog entries after which I have to wait/reslect the wifi ssid for a connection. These crashes also occur on non wifi7 routers.

The crashes were mitigated for a bit by reverting to the original 3.30 driver, but it still crashed at startup. Also tried all kinds of settings, like disable roaming, disable powersaving etc., but to no avail.
Replaced the card with an ax210 and it still shows the startup crash and subsequent crashes if it switches channel or has to reconnect. In the event logs it shows as the usbxhci part resetting. Now if I look at the bios version though hwinfo, it shows: AGESA!V9 PhoenixPI-FP8-FP7 1.0.0.2
On the amd site there are mentions of more up to date bios versions. https://www.amd.com/en/resources/product-security/bulletin/amd-sb-7027.html mentions PhoenixPI-FP8-FP7 1.1.8.0 (2024-09-19)

Could a bios/agesa update help with this crash issue? Or even just for the solved cve's? Will there be a bios update for the sfe16?

Regards,
Peter

[Edited the thread to add model name and issue detail to the title]

Accepted answers

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Puraw

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/723329/network-card-issue-will-there-be-a-bios-update

Hi, the AMD Ryzen 5 7640U does not appear on the official list of supported processors for Windows 11 version 24H2, consider reinstalling W11 23H2 as there will be driver and update issues running this laptop on 24H2.

PTRinc

Hi, my sfe16-43 has an amd ryzen 7 7840u, which is supported under 24h2 according to this list: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/design/minimum/supported/windows-11-24h2-supported-amd-processors

The 7640u is also on this list by the way.

My question was in regards of updating the bios to hopefully resolve the wificard resetting issue and the security issues. If the update is also needed to support 24h2, I hope acer will provide the update. As I don't have access to the changelogs for the bios updates from amd, I hope acer can provide an answer so I know if this laptop will be future proof. Or not, which is also an answer.

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1334893#Comment_1334893

Puraw

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1334897#Comment_1334897

Hi, the Ryzen 7 7840U CPU is not explicitly listed among the officially supported processors for the Windows 11 24H2 update, Windows processor requirements Windows 11, version 24H2 supported AMD processors | Microsoft Learn also not according to this list: List of Windows 11 supported processors.

StevenGen

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1334897#Comment_1334897

Hey PTRinc you are 100% correct as your SFE16-43 is listed by Acer Drivers & Manuals as being a Win-11 laptop and Acer has all the drivers for Win-11 for the MTK and Qualcomm cards, so first change your existing MTK driver and use the oem initial driver that Acer installed and worked for this laptop. Then allow windows update to update the Wi-Fi/BT driver to the most compatible driver.

If your MTK Wi-Fi/BT card doesn't not work properly and still has the switching problem, then the card is either faulty or you need to change the MTK card to the Qualcomm Foxconn WCN7851_NCM865 Wi-Fi 7 card and see if that will work better and will not have the switching issues. That is what I would do, as this Wi-Fi 7 card is a better card overall also.

These are the cards that Acer lists for the SFE16-43 laptop so replace your existing card with the Qualcomm Foxconn WCN7851_NCM865 Wi-Fi 7 card listed below and see if it fixes your WLAN problems as you should not need a bios update for the WLAN function to work. Good luck and hope this solves your problem.

If this answers your question and solved your query please "Click on Yes" or "Click on Like" if you find my answer useful👍

billsey

A BIOS update will not change anything in regards to the WLAN card. All WLAN drivers are handled by the OS. The WLAN card itself uses two channels of PCIe 3.0 and a USB 2.0 internal port, which is pretty standard for one that supports the higher speeds. As suggested you might change the card out if the drivers for the original card are acting up. They aren't very expensive…

PTRinc

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1334988#Comment_1334988

I did try to find a qualcomm wifi card, but they are not very available, at least not over here. And on various forums they said the ax210 from intel is a very well supported card and works on amd laptops. Will check if I can order from something like aliexpress, which I rather would like not to, but have to try something.

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1334997#Comment_1334997

AMD chipsets have (had) issues with the usb part of the chipset. I have an am4 amd pc afflicted with it and was solved by an agesa/bios update. So it wouldn't surprise me if that could help for this chipset/motherboard.

For completeness I will do a quick clean test install of w11 23h2 to see is there is an incompatibility with 24h2 and check the mediatek card in another laptop. Will report that back here.

billsey

Here are the WLAN cards that Acer actually tested on your system:

Although I see no reason why the AX210 shouldn't work as well… And Intel is definitely supported better.

PTRinc

Did a side by side install with a freshly downloaded 24h2 iso and thankfully this resolved the usb bus crashes.

Tried to figure out what could cause the drivercrash in my original install, but the only real difference is the other one is an upgrade from 23h2 to 24h2 and not a fresh install. I don't use exotic/many apps and it is a relatively fresh install from around august.
But should have tried the fresh install first before posting :$

Thanks for the comments.

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