Nuc 13 Extreme stuck on windows set up "Let's Connect You to a Network"

[johnnyC604]

I have several Nuc's and am not new to PC's, but this problem is driving me crazy. I just got a new Intel Nuc 13 Extreme. Installing the memory, drives, and graphics card went OK. I installed Windows 11 Pro, and it installed and rebooted. The problem is in set up. I get to a screen that says "Let's connect you to a network",  it displaya a wireless Icon, but the "next" button is grayed out, and there does not appear to be any way to progress beyond this screen. This apparently is a common problem, but I tried every solution I found on line to try topget past this **bleep** screen so I can do some troubleshooting, but nothing works.

I have a known good Ethernet connection,  and the lights indicate traffic. I tried the other ethernet port, as well as changing cables. I did manage to get to a command prompt, but no network information is shown when I type in ipconfig /all. 

I can see the netwrk "killer" adapter card is installed, and all cables are connected. I did try removing it, and reinstalling it. Nothing seens to work. I can only think either the adapter is defective, or perhaps I need to get the proper drivers installed. Has anyone else run in to this problem? Very exasperating. I really want to try to fix this before having to return it. 

[johnnyC604]

I sol;ved my own problem.

The way to get past the "let's connect to a network" screen is to do the following:
When you have installed windows and get to the "let's connect to a network screen", and there are no options to either connect or back out or proceed:

1. Hit Shift F10 to open a command prompt.

2. To disable windows network requirements which is causing the problem type the following in the command prompt:
OOBE\BYPASSNRO
then hit enter.

3. The system will reboot, and you get in to set up again.This time, when you get to the "Let's connect to a network" screen, there will be an option "I don't have Internet" Select this option. On the next screen choose limited setup without internet. Complete the set up and reboot.

4. If there are no internet options (which is what happened to me) you will have to manually download the required drivers. In this case I downloaded the Intel Wireless setup driver from the Nuc 13 support page, copied them on a USB stick, and inserted the USB stick in to the Nuc 13. As soon as I installed the wireless driver, internet became available, and I was able to connect to the internet, and use windows update to download and install all the other drivers. 

[Steven_Intel]

Hello johnnyC604,

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities.

I am sorry you were having this issue with your Intel NUC, and I am glad you were able to solve it. We appreciate you took the time to share this fix and hopefully, it may help other community members experiencing a similar behavior.

While we are also going to check on this, we would like to know if you need any assistance in regard to your NUC. If so, let me know, and I will be glad to assist you.

Best regards,

Steven G.

Intel Customer Support Technician.

[Steven_Intel]

This issue occurs due to the network drivers are not accessible. Posting the following workaround for anyone else with the issue:

1. Press Shift + F10, a command prompt window will appear
2. Type taskmgr and press Enter
3. Scroll down from the Background processes and find Network Connection Flow
4. Right click Network Connection Flow then select End Task
5. Exit the task manager and the command prompt

Best regards,

Steven G.

Intel Customer Support Technician.

[johnnyC604]

I tried that method first as it was posted as a potential solution on many sites. The same sites had responses from the community that it did not work, and it did not work for me. After using this co.mand the system went to a screen that said "oops, we lost the internet connection", and reverted to the previous screen and got stuck and stayed stuck through a reboot.
I wanted to test my NVME drive to see if it was the problem, and put it in my N12 Enthusiast and tried to load windows. I got the same result, and this method did not resolve the issue.

What I do know is that the method I originally posted worked in both machines, and allowed windows to be installed without an internet connection. After that, you can download the network drivers on a other computer and install via USB stick.

The overall cause is windows not recognizing the network devices and not loading any network drivers. Intel should be taking up this issue with Microsoft.

It is not just Nuc's affected. From what I saw in my research on the problem is a lot of angry new laptop purchasers, mainly Asus,

[Steven_Intel]

Many thanks for all the information provided.

We are going to research about it and I will get back to you as soon as I have an update.

Best regards,

Steven G.

Intel Customer Support Technician.

[Steven_Intel]

Hello johnnyC604,

In this case, the issue should be reported to Microsoft since it happens on multiple devices, as Windows 11 requires an internet connection for the setup.

The correct procedure would be the one pointed out on this article: https://pureinfotech.com/bypass-internet-connection-install-windows-11/

For now, we will proceed to close this thread. Please keep in mind that this thread will no longer be monitored by Intel. Thank you for your understanding.  

Best regards,

Steven G.

Intel Customer Support Technician.