Windows 8 Atheros AR9485 Wireless Problems | Cannot Connect to Network

If you happened to buy a new laptop over the holiday seasons chances are you may have Qualcomm Atheros AR9485 wireless adapter.¬¨‚Ć I have run across three machines, 2 HP’s and one Lenova that use this wireless adapter all three laptops were unable to connect to Wi-Fi.

When connecting a generic error simply states unable to connect to network.  Unfortunately the help option simply lists very basic things to try and troubleshoot when in fact the problem is in fact the driver for device.  This problem is not apparent because if you glance in Device Manager it will appear the device is working and if you attempt to auto update the device driver it will say it already has best driver.  After a few trial and errors I found a driver that worked for this device on all 3 laptops running windows 8 64 bit.

Here is the working device driver for the Qualcomm Atheros AR9485  Simply unzip the file and run the installer and the wireless will start working.

Some of my initial thoughts on the launch of Windows 8

In general the new consumer class Windows 8 fleet of machines available at retail have good price points but still seemed to be plagued with typical Windows OEM partner problems.  These machines still have lots of junk ware installed by default, Norton trial license, Babylon Search Engines, etc etc.

I also had a machine with a track pad that stopped working and also needed a driver update.

The new Metro  interface still seems a bit jarring and unnecessary for all users,  it works well on touch but seems like Microsoft should have a toggle setting to turn it off and let the user run a traditional desktop if they desire.  Overall my two cents is that Windows 8 future is still uncertain, although I should mention it is quick, boots fast and seems very stable once all drivers are loaded correctly.