Devices now blocked from upgrading to version 1903

Sep 15, 2019 07:16 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft has just acknowledged a new bug hitting Windows 10 version 1903, as some devices equipped with certain Wi-Fi cards might no longer be able to connect to wireless networks after installing this latest release of the operating system.

The software giant says the incompatibility issues hit machines equipped with Intel and Broadcom Wi-Fi adapters, and when the whole thing occurs, users end up seeing a yellow exclamation mark near the network icon in the system tray.

No ETA on the fix just yet

For now, Microsoft blocked the impacted devices from upgrading to Windows 10 version 1903, or May 2019 Update, until a fix is released.

“Microsoft and NEC have found incompatibility issues with Intel Centrino 6205/6235 and Broadcom 802.11ac Wi-Fi cards when running Windows 10, version 1903 on specific models of NEC devices. If these devices are updated to Windows 10, version 1903, they will no longer be able to use any Wi-Fi connections,” Microsoft explains.

“The Wi-Fi driver may have a yellow exclamation point in device manager. The task tray icon for networking may show the icon for no internet and Network & Internet settings may not show any Wi-Fi networks.”

Microsoft says the bug only exists on Windows 10 May 2019 Update, and users whose devices are already hit should try disable and re-enable the Wi-Fi adapter in Device Manager. Of course, this isn’t the most convenient workaround, but the company claims this should fix the connectivity issues until you reboot your device (so you’ll have to reapply this fix when you boot back to the desktop).

Meanwhile, there’s no ETA as to when a patch could land, and Microsoft emphasizes that it’s critical for impacted devices not to be upgraded to Windows 10 version 1903 using a different method other than Windows Update because they could all end up losing Wi-Fi connectivity.