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XPS 13 9350 Wifi not working in Safe Mode
I ran Windows 10 in Safe Mode with Networking last week and discovered that the Wifi doesn't work.
In Device Manager there was an error showing that "Windows cannot initialise the device driver for this hardware, (Code 37), see attached screenshot.
I have followed suggestions online, e.g. uninstall device, deleting driver software, installing latest drivers etc but it still comes up with the same driver error and code.
The Wifi card is a Dell 1820A 802.11ac so can someone tell me if this message is correct and that Wifi in my laptop will not work in Safe Mode or is this a problem.
Thanks.
johnptd
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July 29th, 2020 03:00
I tried this on my XPS 9550 and see the same issue. I believe I have the same WiFi card. I have seen a number of posts indicating Dell laptops have this issue. When I try to start WLan Auto Config service in Safe Mode, I get a message that the service cannot be started in Safe Mode. For some systems they were able to start WiFi using the Internet icon on the Safe Mode login screen. But the only option that many get is the "Airplane Mode" setting. So for some reason you cannot enable WiFi on Safe Mode which makes Safe Mode rather crippled if you cannot get things you might need from the Internet. It would not be so bad if the XPS 9x50s had an Ethernet connection but they don't. I have a dock which I use for Ethernet connection but the drivers for that were not enabled in Safe Mode as well. So apparently we are stuck.
JohnD
Hawkeye58
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July 29th, 2020 04:00
Many thanks for your reply as it confirms what I expected, that it's the WiFi card that's the problem.
It's very annoying that a manufacturer can design laptops without an Ethernet port when the WiFi doesn't work in Safe Mode...how are users meant to access the internet!!!
My wife has a very old Toshiba laptop and it has an Ethernet port and also an Intel WiFi card that does work in Safe Mode...so much for modern Dell laptops!
I also have a dock which is a WD15 and I use it for my Ethernet connection, large screen, keyboard & mouse and speakers and it does work in Safe Mode so at least I have a way to connect to the internet in Safe Mode.
The problem would be if I wasn't at home and didn't have access to the dock, I would also be like a lot of others and be stuck!
I think Dell have a lot of explaining to do about why they chose this WiFi card that doesn't work in Safe Mode leaving users without internet access!
What dock are you using?
johnptd
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August 5th, 2020 06:00
I am using a Plugable dock:
https://plugable.com/products/tbt3-ud1-83/
I originally tried the Dell TB15. It was a disaster. So I tried the above dock. Works great. Never had an issue with it. It does not have all the bells and whistles that the Dell docks have, but it works fine for my needs.
JohnD