Solved WiFi Drivers In Windows 11 Clean Install.

Mitch · Sunday at 11:37 AM

Hi, I'm hoping someone can keep me right about clean installing W11 24H2 please. We have a Dell All In One Desktop 5400 which I'm considering doing a clean install of 24H2. I want to use the Media Creation Tool option. When the install process gets to the "Let's Connect You To The Internet " part, are basic WiFi Drivers included in the Windows 11 download or do I need to put them on to the USB after the Media Creation Tool is created? I may also Connect the PC using an Ethernet cable if that makes any difference? Would appreciate your advice. Thanks Mitch.

gunrunnerjohn · Sunday at 11:45 AM

If you use the Ethernet connection, you should be able to simply add the WiFI drivers after the initial installation.

Mitch · Sunday at 11:58 AM

Thanks for the reply. If I just wanted to do the install using WiFi due to distance from the router are basic WiFi Drivers built in to the W11 download just to get started (MS Account) etc? Thanks

gunrunnerjohn · Sunday at 12:02 PM

Certainly not for all machines, I just faced that issue with a Mini PC I was installing. I had to drag a cable to it because the WiFi drivers were nowhere in sight.

I'm pretty sure there are some basic drivers there, and my wired Realtek NIC drivers were available in the distribution ISO file.

Taliseian · Sunday at 12:21 PM

On my current system, my WiFi card drivers are not included on the standard Win11 ISO. That leaves two easy options to install them during the setup process: add them to the ISO before or install them during the setup process.

Personally I have them unpacked in a folder on my second NVME drive and install them during the setup (easier for me and I don't have to muck around with an ISO), but some people like the other method. I have used both and they both work just fine.

gunrunnerjohn · Sunday at 12:23 PM

Yep, just having the drivers on a USB stick is an easy way to deal with the problem.

BamaInArk · Sunday at 12:30 PM

The Win11 installer comes with a subset of wireless NIC drivers that may or may not work with your motherboard especially if a newer motherboard. But unless you specifically desire to use your Microsoft Account login it's generally advised to install without network access. Also I think the Win11 installer now when it gets to that point in the install process if it doesn't detect your wireless NIC it will have an option to allow you to install a current wireless driver. You just have to point to the driver location during the install.

NavyLCDR · Sunday at 12:40 PM

I just did Windows 11 on a brand new HP laptop. Windows 11 install did not have the WiFi drivers for it, had to be loaded separately.

Mitch · Sunday at 12:54 PM

Thanks everyone. I've just checked the Dell website for the Service Tag. The latest driver is this. Is it a case of downloading the driver and copying it across to the installation USB? I assume when it gets to the Internet connection part you would click Load Driver? Thanks

Intel BE2xx/AX4xx/AX2xx/9xxx Wi-Fi Driver

This package contains the Intel BE202, BE201, BE200, AX411, AX211, AX210, AX201, AX200, 9560, 9462, and 9260 Wi-Fi driver. Wireless drivers help your operating system to communicate with wireless devices such as wireless cards and network interface controllers. This update addresses the Dell Security Advisories (DSA). A security advisory is a statement when a security vulnerability impacts a product, and a remedy is available for the vulnerability.

Fixes & Enhancements

Fixes:
- This release contains security updates as disclosed in the Dell Security Advisory DSA-2025-096. For more information, see Dell Security Advisories and Notices.

Enhancements:
- This release contains certified drivers for Windows 10 October 2018 Update, Windows 10 May 2020 Update, Windows 10 October 2020 Update, Windows 10 2022 Update, Windows 11 October 2021 Update, Windows 11 22H2 Update, Windows 11 23H2 Update, and Windows 11 24H2 Update.
Read More

Version

23.110.0.5, A60

Release date

25 Feb 2025

Download Type

Driver

Importance

Critical

garlin · Sunday at 1:10 PM

Dell bundles their drivers inside an installer EXE, which you can't run during Setup.

But you can download the EXE, and extract it using 7-Zip or another tool.

Copy the "Intel-BE2xx-AX4xx-AX2xx-9xxx-Wi-Fi-Driver_89W84_WIN64_23.110.0.5_A60_02.EXE\Production\Windows10-x64\0\Drivers\Drivers" folder to the top of your USB stick. When it comes time to provide a driver, you can search the USB drive for the folder.

Mitch · Sunday at 1:33 PM

Thanks very much. I can connect the PC to the Router using an Ethernet cable. If I did this would this bypass the need for WiFi Drivers and the "Lets connect you to the Internet " part is done and until setup is completed and I can download the Drivers from Dell? It's my first clean install and wanted to make it as straightforward as I can. Thanks for your help. Mitch.

gunrunnerjohn · Sunday at 1:38 PM

The timely insertion of the following key sequence still works with 24H2, just did a Windows 11 Pro install last week on my Mini-PC.

Early in the setup after you respond to the language selection, do this.

Shift-F10

In the command window, enter the following.

OOBE\BYPASSNRO

That will allow you to create a local account and bypass the mandatory Microsoft account prompt.

garlin · Sunday at 2:24 PM

Mitch said:
Thanks very much. I can connect the PC to the Router using an Ethernet cable. If I did this would this bypass the need for WiFi Drivers and the "Lets connect you to the Internet " part is done and until setup is completed and I can download the Drivers from Dell? It's my first clean install and wanted to make it as straightforward as I can. Thanks for your help. Mitch.

You can do that too.

Mitch · Sunday at 2:28 PM

Thanks again. My daughter, who will be using the PC mostly, wants to use a MS Account - she has to for uni, so we don't really want to bypass the Account setup part. Will the Ethernet connection allow us to move past the account setup part and we can install all the drivers, including WiFi Drivers, when the installation is completed? Thanks. Mitch.

garlin · Sunday at 3:01 PM

What you can do is to install it with one account (either a MS Account or use the bypass to create a Local Account).

After logging on, you can run Settings and add a second account which can be your choice of an existing MS Account or new local account). If you change the account type after creation to be an Administrator, then it has all the same rights to this PC.

Once she's at school, she can leave your original account alone or remove it because she's an Administrator.

You should temporarily disable BitLocker protection on the system. Because if she takes over the PC, you want any BitLocker encryption keys to belong to her account and not your's. She can re-enable BitLocker after getting settled in and the keys will be backed up to her MS Account.

gunrunnerjohn · Sunday at 3:05 PM

I always have an extra local admin account on the computer, it helps in case things go south for some reason with the primary account.

hsehestedt · Sunday at 3:06 PM

If you find WiFi not working during Win setup and you really want those drivers it is almost comically easy to load those during setup.

Just create a folder called $WinPe_Driver$ and place the WiFi driver in that folder. The driver must be extracted. Drop that folder onto the root of your Windows install media.

That is all. The driver will be automatically loaded during setup.

Mitch · Sunday at 3:17 PM

Thanks garlin. I think we'll do that. What I wasn't sure about was if connected using Ethernet while setting up at the MS account stage if Windows would detect the Ethernet connection automatically without having to install WiFi Drivers at that point but that would seem to be the case? Thanks

garlin · Sunday at 3:22 PM

MS really, really, really wants everyone to use a MS Account (go figure!).

During the install, W10 & 11 have network setup wizards which are there to "help you get online". So you can't claim you can't use a MS Account because you don't have a working network. Windows includes a default collection of drivers for the more popular network devices (Ethernet and Wi-Fi). Not every device will be recognized, but you have a greater chance of finding a compatible Ethernet driver than a Wi-Fi one.

Mitch · Sunday at 3:42 PM

My son did a clean install on this pc in December 2023 - I think it was Windows 10 and he used an Ethernet connection and the Internet Connection was auto detected. I'll also load the WiFi driver on the USB just in case. Thanks very much to everyone for your help. Mitch.

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Intel BE2xx/AX4xx/AX2xx/9xxx Wi-Fi Driver

Fixes & Enhancements

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