Windows – 5GHz capable drivers for BCM94360CS on Windows 7

bootcampdriverwifiwindows


Background


I'm running Windows 7 via bootcamp on my early 2015 Macbook Pro (via a separate guide: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/guide-install-windows-7-in-macbook-pro-early-2015-with-almost-fully-support-include-track-pad.1992139/) and had to jump through many hurdles to get this working.

Everything works well for the most part other than the wifi.

My card is a Broadcom BCM94360CS; I've tried numerous drivers but almost ALL of them don't work whatsoever. The only one that worked for me was the Chinese driver listed in the guide above (direct link to driver: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bxq–onVE9j5T1dNY3BlRWxEZms/view?usp=sharing).


The Problem


Whilst the driver works, it's connection speed and overall stability is quite terrible and it does not seem to support 5GHz networks (there is not even an option in the settings; other devices on the same networks have also had much faster speeds by comparison).

Since this is a Wifi driver issue, I was hoping somebody could kindly provide a stable driver capable of faster speeds and / or assist me in editing the INF file to enable such functionality.


I don't have any experience editing INFs or anything like that but I managed to get my unsupported 2015 Mac stable on Windows 7 so I feel I'm somewhat tech savvy if anyone has any advice.

Admittedly, I'm not even sure if I installed the drivers correctly the first time but nonetheless, spamming F8 to disable driver signature reinforcement when I boot up isn't such a big deal.

As for why I have to stick to Windows 7, it's related to compatibility with a programme needed for school. Windows 10 is simply not an option at the moment so don't waste your breath telling me to upgrade lol.


Thank you!

Best Answer

The problem is that you're looking for drivers for a wireless adapter that was pretty much only on Apple devices* for an Operating System that reached End of Mainstream Support January 15th, 2015. It went completely EOL (End of Life) in January of 2020.

Your 2015 MacBook Pro was literally released the same time, if not shortly after Windows 7 was deprecated for Windows 8. Apple, nor Microsoft were going to spend development cycles writing a driver for it - this is why it's so rare.

Supposedly, Boot Camp 6 drivers might work for you. However, there's no tweaking of INF files that will increase throughput - that's a function of how the driver was written. INF files are what describe to the Windows installer what the driver name and location is, the device name and location, and what registry options to be added/modified during install. None of it "fixes" a problematic driver.

I understand that Windows 7 is critical for you, however, it's odd that a school would require you to utilize a tool that only runs on an OS that's been dead for 5 years now. Your next option would be Windows 8, which might have better compatibility. Windows 10 does have Compatibility Mode which allows older software designed to run on Windows 7/8 to run on Windows 10.

Now, if this is something you've personally decided that you only want to run Win7 and/or this particular application, then you'll need to make some compromises on your end as it's extremely unlikely you'll see any development on this driver for Windows 7.

Finally, your last option is to run the App in a VM rather than in Boot Camp. As it runs in virtualized environment with virtualized network adapters, you won't have any compatibility issues with respect to drivers.


* https://deviwiki.com/wiki/Broadcom_BCM94360CS