Intel releases its first Windows 11 driver for its new Wi-Fi 7 hardware

Intel has released a new set of Wi-Fi drivers for certain Windows 11 devices. However, these are a bit different because they are the first ever wireless drivers from Intel that support its new Wi-Fi 7 hardware products.

Specifically, the new Windows 11 Wi-Fi driver version 23.0.5 from Intel supports the company's Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE202 and Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 hardware. Here are the details:

Important Notice

 

• This software is dedicated only for the Intel Wi-Fi 7 products - Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE202 and Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200. Please do not install this software on the other Intel wireless products.
• The Wi-Fi 7 is not currently available because of pending OS support. As a result, after installing the drivers, the Intel Wi-Fi 7 products function with Wi-Fi 6E capabilities on Windows 11

Purpose

 

The 23.0.5 package installs the Windows 11 Wi-Fi drivers for the following Intel Wireless Adapters:

 

Windows 11

 

• 23.0.5.7 for Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE202 and Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200

Notes

 

• This software is dedicated only for the Intel® Wi-Fi 7 products - Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE202 and Intel® Wi-Fi 7 BE200. Please do not install this software on the other Intel wireless products.
• The Wi-Fi 7 is not currently available because of pending OS support. As a result, after installing the drivers, the Intel® Wi-Fi 7 products function with Wi-Fi 6E capabilities on Windows 11
• For installing Wi-Fi drivers on the other Intel wireless products, see Windows 10 and Windows 11 Wi-Fi Drivers for Intel Wireless Adapters.

Which file to choose

 

WiFi-23.0.5-Driver64-Win11.exe for Windows 11

 

Note: Windows 11 is only supported in 64-bit.

You can find the full release notes in PDF format here. It includes this note:

This software release version 23.0.5 has been updated to include functional updates. There may be other minor issues addressed which will impact performance, stability, or vendor specific functionality not listed above. Users should update to the latest version.

At the moment, the Wi-Fi 7 standard is not quite official but is expected to finally clear certification sometime in 2024. Recent reports indicate that Microsoft does plan to add Wi-Fi 7 support in Windows 11 and Windows 10 as well. When the standard is finalized, it is expected that Wi-Fi 7 will offer wireless data speeds up to 2.4 times faster compared to Wi-Fi 6E products.

Source