I know software updates are important to improve your computer experience and patch security holes, but in the last Patch Tuesday, which Microsoft released on Aug. 12th, that also included the August update (Update 2), its hurting Surface Pro 3 more than it’s helping. Since I updated Surface Pro 3 to the latest August firmware update, I have been having a bunch of Wi-Fi issues.
For example, almost every time I wake the tablet, I see that it’s not connected to my wireless network; upon login, I am sometimes lucky enough to see that it reconnects automatically. Other times I have to restart Windows in order to reconnect.
But today I am seeing something totally new, after waking my Surface, I am noticing that the wireless adapter got disabled on its own. Going to Control Panel and navigating to Network Connections, I tried to re-enable the adapter, but it didn’t work.
So if you’re experiencing the same issue, there is an easy workaround to this problem, just follow the steps below:
Fixing Surface Pro 3 wireless network adapter
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Tap and hold the Start button and select Devices Manger
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Find Network adapters, expand and tap and hold “Marvell AVASTAR Wireless-AC Network Controller”
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Choose Uninstall and select “Delete the driver software for this device.” And press OK.
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You just erased the driver for the wireless adapter on your Surface Pro 3. Now you just need to re-install the driver, to do this just follow these steps:
While in Device Manager, tap the Scan icon from the toolbar (the little PC with a magnifier on top). This action will scan your Surface Pro 3 for changes, at this point Windows 8.1 should detect and reinstall the corresponding driver automatically.
Now go back to Network Connections and hopefully, you’ll see that the wireless adapter is enabled once again. Go right ahead and connect to your local network as it should be working normally. Though, you might have to re-enter the wireless passphrase.
The reason to why the Surface Pro 3’s Marvell AVASTAR adapter got disabled on its own still unknown to me, but I’ll keep digging and I will update this article accordingly.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].