[Tool] Universal Intel WiFi & Bluetooth Drivers Updater

Important Drivers Other Drivers
3

In just one day (12 hours of focused work) I managed to push the Universal Intel Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Drivers Updater project three months forward by porting the engine from my other tool, Universal Intel Chipset Device Updater .

Changelog

All notable changes to the Universal Intel Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Drivers Updater project will be documented in this file. The format is based on Keep a Changelog, and this project adheres to Semantic Versioning.

[2026.03.0002] - 2026-03-16

Added

  • PowerShell Gallery Publishing: Script available via Install-Script universal-intel-wifi-bt-driver-updater
  • Multi-Database Support: -beta flag uses intel-wifi-driver-beta.md / intel-bt-driver-beta.md; -developer flag uses dev databases; default behavior unchanged (stable *-latest.md)
  • Dynamic Support Message: Credits screen loads support message from GitHub (data/intel-wifi-bt-message.txt) at runtime with inline color tag support; falls back to built-in static version if GitHub is unreachable
  • Help System Unified: -help and -? now show identical output via native Get-Help
  • Improved Console Exit: When launched from a PowerShell console (not SFX), screen is cleared after credits and a clean thank-you message is displayed before returning to the prompt

Changed

  • Architecture Rebuilt — BAT Launcher Retired: Universal-Intel-WiFi-BT-Updater.bat removed from the release; the script now auto-elevates natively; tool distributed exclusively as PS1 (for administrators) or SFX EXE (for end users)
  • Script Renamed: From Universal-Intel-WiFi-BT-Updater.ps1 to universal-intel-wifi-bt-driver-updater.ps1 to align with PSGallery naming convention
  • Path Handling: Replaced hardcoded C:\Windows\Temp and C:\ProgramData with $env:SystemRoot and $env:ProgramData for compatibility with non-standard Windows installations
  • Auto Mode Cleanup: Removed unnecessary wait at the end of -auto / -quiet runs — script exits immediately after completion

Technical Improvements

  • Boolean Flags: Refactored $DebugMode and $SkipSelfHashVerification from integer 0/1 flags to native PowerShell [bool] types
  • Dual Independent Detection: Wi-Fi (PCI bus, VEN_8086) and Bluetooth (USB bus, VID_8087) detected and installed independently
  • Bluetooth Device Fallback: BT detection attempts Bluetooth device class first, then falls back to full USB bus scan (VID_8087)
  • Version Comparison: Replaced string comparison with [version] cast for correct multi-part driver version handling
  • Code Cleanup: Removed redundant wrapper functions — logic inlined directly into core verification routines
  • Consistency: Replaced all cls alias occurrences with Clear-Host
  • Logging: All actions written to %ProgramData%\wifi_bt_update.log with timestamps and severity levels

Security

  • Maintained Integrity Checks: Self-hash SHA-256 verification and Intel Authenticode digital signature validation remain intact
  • Secure Temporary File Handling: Automatic cleanup of all temporary files after completion

[v24.0 (2025.11)] - 2025-11-xx — Legacy Release

Added

  • Initial Public Release of Universal Intel Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Drivers Updater
  • Automatic Hardware Detection: Scans for Intel Wi-Fi and Bluetooth adapters
  • Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Support: Wi-Fi 5 (AC) / Wi-Fi 6 (AX) / Wi-Fi 6E (AXE) / Wi-Fi 7 (BE) and Bluetooth
  • Dual-Script Architecture: BAT launcher (Universal-Intel-WiFi-BT-Updater.bat) for UAC elevation + PowerShell script for core functionality
  • SHA-256 Hash Verification: Every downloaded CAB package validated before installation
  • System Restore Point Creation: Automatic restore point before any driver changes
  • Digital Signature Validation: Verification of Intel Authenticode certificates

Security

  • Multi-layer Verification: SHA-256 hash checks + Intel digital signature validation
  • Administrator Rights Required: Mandatory elevation via BAT launcher for system-level operations
  • Dual-Source Download: Primary and backup download sources for reliability

Release Notes Format

Version Naming Convention

  • YYYY.MM.REVISION format (e.g., 2026.03.0002)
  • Date component reflects release year and month
  • Revision number increments with each update

Categories Used

  • Added: New features and capabilities
  • Changed: Modifications to existing functionality
  • Fixed: Bug fixes and issue resolutions
  • Security: Security-related improvements and fixes
  • Deprecated: Features marked for future removal (if applicable)
  • Removed: Features removed in this version (if applicable)