No network connection VMware Fusion 22H2 Tech Preview

[NJRonbo]

Pretty wild all the hoops one needs to go through to install this Preview on an M1 Mac

Installed Windows 11 and had to go through all the terminal commands to install Windows without network connectivity.  Then, once installed, I had to run VMWare Tools and another script through Windows Power Shell in order to get network connectivity back.

The problem?  To date, I have no network connectivity on my Virtual Machine.  The settings are for NAT which should technically work, but alas, no Internet connection to Windows 11.

Anyone have a solution?

[techieboy]

@Technogeezer's suggestion to peek into the .vmx file helped me fix the "no connection" issue after having installed Windows 11 from ISO and installing VMware Tools in Fusion 13 Pro. 

In the .vmx file, I found this: ethernet0.virtualDev = "e1000e"

Since the virtual hardware compatibility for Windows 11 is locked at 20  (only compatible with the new Fusion 13 and Workstation 17), it didn't make sense that the e1000e NIC would be the default, so I changed it to vmxnet3 (hat tip to @thegreatmattman for helping me remember this virtual NIC).

Saved the .vmx, booted the VM, and the new NIC was recognized I ran Windows Updates to get the Win 11 Enterprise N OS up to date. 

[gabarrio]

Hi

I am running MacOS Ventura (13.0.1 (22A400)) with VMWare Fusion Preview v12

Professional Version e.x.p (20486664), followed the instructions at:

https://cellular.fm/2022/08/03/install-windows-11-arm-vmware-fusion-apple-silicon-m1-m2-mac-macbook-...

and the only way to have internet access at the W11 ARM version 25247 is by connecting a LAN adapter  (Wired) to the Mac and when the pop up appears, I choose "Connect to Windows" (instead of to Mac)

HTH

Gabriel

[gabarrio]

Now is working with Wi-Fi.

1.-click on Install VMWare Tools (again)

2.-Go to the path (usually "D:\")and read the ReadMe file

Follow the instructions to disable the protection (Set-ExecutionPolicy) to run scripts and run the ps1 file as instructed.

Wi-Fi will work (at least in my case as Bridged)

After rebooting the W11 VM, it may need a ipconfig /renew (I guess W11 is faster booting than the internal DHCP Client windows process...a delay would help I guess)

HTH!

[Technogeezer]

There are better instructions available in these forums for installing Windows 11 than that article.

You should be running the released version of Fusion 13 - it's no longer necessary to run the tech preview - and you may find one day that it stops working because the license for the Tech Preview will expire. Fusion 13 has a personal use license like Fusion 12, so if you are using Fusion for non-commercial purposes it's free for you to use.

You do not need a USB LAN adapter to get network connectivity to the VM. You may have missed steps in the installation and configuration of your VM.

Shut down the VM and open the virtual machine's settings

Open the VMs General settings. What is the virtual machine operating type found in the VM's properties? It should be Windows 11 64-bit ARM. If not, change it. 

Open the VM's configuration file by option-right clicking the VM in the Virtual Machine Library and selecting "Open config file in editor". Look for a line that begins with:

ethernet0.virtualDev = 

If the line reads:

ethernet0.virtualDev = "vmxnet3" 

you're fine.

If it reads:

ethernet0.virtualDev = "e1000e"

then you most likely answered the operating system question wrong then went back and changed it (or you have a VM configuration that you used with an earlier version of the Tech Preview that didn't have the VMware network adapter support).

If this is the case, change the "e1000e" to "vmxnet3" (just change the string within the quotes, leave the quotes alone).

Close the editor.

Now power up the VM.

Now see if you have a network. If you don't make sure you install VMware Tools per the instructions you found in the document, then reboot.

The network should now be found.

You might want to look at the Unofficial Fusion 13 for Apple Silicon Companion document, found here in the VMware Fusion Documents part of the forum. It's got additional info you will want to read as you work with Windows 11 ARM on Fusion 13.

[gabarrio]

Thanks so much! I will read all that! (I thought there was no info about this subject, sorry!)

[chentao1006]

It's very strange. In my case, I have to change the option from "vmxnet3" into "e1000e". Then I can connect to the network.

Thank you!

[Technogeezer]

If you have to change the networking to e1000e in a Windows 11ARM VM to get networking to work then you are either using an expired Fusion Tech Preview version or you are doing something wrong.

Install the released Fusion 13 and use instructions in the Fusion 13 documentation and the Unofficial Fusion 13 for Apple Silicon Companion I linked to in my previous response. 

Windows 11 ARM only has an e1000e for kernel debugging. Any instructions you are seeing telling you to enable kernel debugging with Fusion are woefully obsolete. Fusion 13 contains a vmxnet3 networking driver for Windows 11ARM that does not require you to change the virtual NIC to e1000e or enable kernel debugging. 

[LVGandhi]

Technogeezer,

I am still using tech preview.

How to get fusion 13 and change from preview to fusion 13?

[RDPetruska]

Uninstall the Tech Preview (I thought it expired several months ago anyway - not sure how it is still running on your system).  Download the released Fusion 13 - https://customerconnect.vmware.com/downloads/info/slug/desktop_end_user_computing/vmware_fusion/13_0

If non-commercial you can use the free Fusion Player.

Then, read Technogeezer's guide https://communities.vmware.com/t5/VMware-Fusion-Documents/The-Unofficial-Fusion-13-for-Apple-Silicon...

[LVGandhi]

I want to use fusion for personal, non-commercial use. How to get it free. 

Can tech preview updated to fusion player?

[Technogeezer]

Did you look on the Fusion product page on VMware.com?

https://www.vmware.com/products/fusion.html

If you do, you should find a link there to register for the personal use license. You will need to register for a VMware account if you don’t have one..

[LVGandhi]

I am registered user of this community. Can I use this account for registering for personal use account?

[RDPetruska]

---

@LVGandhi wrote:

I am registered user of this community. Can I use this account for registering for personal use account?

---

Yes

[LVGandhi]

I have the latest update 22621.1848 for windows 11 in tech preview.

Is it necessary to remove this and go for fusion 13. What are extra benefits ?

[Technogeezer]

The Windows update is fine and VMs that you built on the Tech Preview will work fine on Fusion 13. .

The benefits for using Fusion 13 are that

• The Tech Preview is over. You are expected to be using a released Fusion version. 
• Bugs you find in the Tech Preview will never be fixed. And there are bugs..
• There are important security CVEs that have been fixed in Fusion 13.
• There are functional bugs in networking that have been fixed in Fusion 13. 

Take a look at the release notes for Fusion 13 and later updates. The Tech Preview had a habit of unexpectedly dropping network connections for the VM and running the CPU utilization on one core of the host up to 100% with one of the VMware networking processes. The only recourse was to shut down the VM and Fusion and restart them both.

And I'm personally aware of a problem with where AirPlay doesn't work properly when Fusion 13 is active - I just got word from VMware about a support case I have opened for this incident that they have a fix pending for a future update. That'll never get into the tech preview.

If you're using Fusion for non-commercial (personal) use, there's no reason why you shouldn't register for the free Fusion 13 personal use license. If you're using it for work, you should really upgrade to a supported version of Fusion and not continue to use beta software.

[LVGandhi]

Thanks Technogeezer.

Can I install fusion 13 when tech preview exists with Windows 11 VM and use that vm from fusion 13?

[Technogeezer]

I’d personally perform a complete manual uninstall of the tech preview using the instructions from the VMware KB article  https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1017838 then reboot and install Fusion 13. There is no reason to keep the tech preview installed. 

This procedure in the KB article does  not touch your existing VMs. Just open them with Fusion 13 once you have it installed and they will be added to your Virtual Machine Library. They will then power on just fine. 

[LVGandhi]

I have customer connect account.

When I try to register to get the fusion free use key, PIN code I enter as 620001 is not accepted.

I get error as follows.

How to go ahead.

[LVGandhi]

SORRY TECHNOGEEZER.

The problem of getting key was solved finally. Though my address pin was not recognised, I went through some help and found writing address has some problem. I tried some combinations and finally it suggested the revised address by VMware. I accepted. Got license key. As per your suggestion, uninstalled preview and installed fusion 13. Now all ok.

[alex17pat]

I searched on every forum on internet and eventually end up fixing this by performing cleanup of network devices.