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Forum Discussion
Netgear A7000 causes Blue Screen of Death on Windows 10. Please help!
I have the Netgear A7000 USB network adapter with the 'latest' drivers (2017 are the latest....) - 'Software Version 1.0.0.15.' When I use the A7000 on a 16GB 2016/2017 Acer Predator laptop...
bagg1o wrote:Probably on newer setups something changed in USB controller. Probably not HW itself, but maybe some firmware on motherboard, or controller drivers on host, or whatever that changes quite often.
Adapter driver was updated for last time after your Acer was released, so driver probably supported these systems without issues and was tested on them. For newer systems, like mine or your Galaxy Book or whatever that came out year or so ago, kernel driver is outdated and will simply not work, and Netgear doesn't care to even give generic response, so I wouldn't expect them to fix it.
I think we can make very safe assumption that only "driver development" Netgear did there, was wrapping generic relatek chipset driver that A7000 is based on with some fancy features, and this work probably was done by employee who not even work there anymore. As Realtek did not update drivers for this chipset for even longer time, I do not think there is anyone competent enough in Netgear to actually fix issues related to original chipset kernel driver. This is why they give no response, they just cannot do anything with that, physically. They could be more transparent, but you know, that would be admitting their support impotence on their own product and no-one high in sales/marketing team would allow that. Sad, but probably true.
Cheers.
Thanks. Unfortunately you may be right. :(
The fact that Netgear continues to ACTIVELY sell this adapter and has not updated the drivers since 2017 despite tons of owners having issue with the A7000 is amazing to me. Even if the drivers need to be supplied by Realtek or whoever else's chipset it uses (if not Realtek), Netgear is repsonsible for ensuring the product works as advertised.
They have not replied in weeks to all the threads about issues with the A7000.
Full disclosure - I have an Orbi RBK853 and love it! (Also loved my prior RBK53 and RBK753S).
But the A7000 is another story. I love it on my Predator, but it is unusable on my Samsung Galaxy Book Flex and many other computers based on all the other A7000 owners complaining here and in the Youtube videos.
By the way, with my second A7000 (I opened it today - had bought two), I tried driver 1.0.0.11 as someone suggested as a fix, but it did not help - it disconnected after just one hour on my Galaxy Book Flex, which is worse than it performed with my 1.0.0.15 driver (with my other A7000 which I had been using till now on both computers back and forth to compare how the 2 computers worked with the A7000)...
Update - In my specific case, the A7000 adapter is NOT overheating on the two computers where it works (I just got a new Adata XPG I Xenia Xe i7 16GB laptop) I tested this with 1 - 2 hours worth of large downloads on both laptops. Not a single disconnect or issue!
In short, I solved this A7000 issue by taking an extreme route - by getting a new laptop which has USB-A ports as well, to replace my Galaxy Flex which only has USB-C ports has served me really well!
1. A7000 works fine on the 32GB i7 Acer Predator (late 2016 model bought new in 2017 - upgraded RAM and both drives recently to increase RAM and storage and hard drive speeds):
The A7000 works fine on the Predator - great speeds, NO disconnects and works day in and day out - I have had one A7000 hooked up to the Predator for weeks at a time and it never disconnects or needs to be unplugged etc. Gets 858 Mbps actual download speed via the A7000.
2. A7000 also works fine on my brand new 2021 Adata XPG Xenia Xe laptop (which I just received last Tuesday to replace the Flex initially due to this issue [extreme solution I know), but the Xenia also has a better keyboard, faster SSD, runs MUCH quieter and is much cooler to the touch) - I have another A7000 which I hooked up last Thursday.
The A7000 has been working flawlessly since then (getting 675 Mbps / 700 Mbps down using the A7000). No disconnects or issues with speeds - I tested it yesterday with 7 large downloads back to back and was getting around 680 Mbps consistently.
3. A7000 has issues - The issue is specifically with the above A7000 when used with the 2020 16GB i7 Galaxy Book Flex (which only has USB-C ports) where I experienced the A7000 disconnecting after anywhere from 1 hour to 24 hours and at that point it has actually locked up requiring the adapter to be removed (in turn causing a Blue Screen of Death error) and the laptop to be restored to restore wifi, until the issue happens again (within hours).
So the A7000 issue, in my case at least, either has to do with the USB controller on the Flex and / or the fact that the Flex requires USB-C to USB-A conversion (adapters) to connect the A7000. I tried 2 different top-rated USB-C to USB-A adapters and the same disconnection & locking issue happens.
I even tried a powered USB hub, per Paulie12's recommendation, with the Flex and it did not help to resolve the A7000 issue...
So I am keeping my brand new Xenia Xe (along with my existing Acer Predator) for use with the A7000 and selling my only 1 year old Galaxy Book Flex to some very lucky individual - I suspect the auction may end up going for less than I paid (got a great deal a year ago for the Korean edition to get 16GB of RAM and nVidia MX250 since the one sold in the US only had 12GB max and, if I recall correctly also no nVidia).
Anyway, the A7000 has been working fine on my predator for 2 weeks (since I installed it again after using ethernet for a week or so) and on XPG since I received it last Tuesday!
This is why manufacturers need to keep USB-A ports.
As a final test to confirm the issue has to do with USB-C ports , I may try the A7000 on my XPG using one of the USB-C ports and my USB-C to USB-A adapter.