Without drivers, our computers would have a much more difficult time communicating with external devices, hardware components, and peripherals.
However, when a user finds an installed driver and doesn’t know what it’s used for, it can be a concerning situation.
This often happens with the Broadcom BCM20702A0 Driver on Windows.
The following guide will help you learn everything you should know about this driver and whether or not it should be on your PC.
Without further ado, let’s get into it.
Table of ContentsShow
Broadcom BCM20702A0 Driver And Its Role
Like all other drivers, the Broadcom BCM20702A0 driver is accountable for assisting your computer communicate with a specific device.
For example, upon installing a GPU on your motherboard, you must install a functioning, compatible driver for that GPU before it becomes usable. The same applies to the above-mentioned driver, except it’s used for Bluetooth devices.
To put it simply, this driver is required if you’re planning to use specific Bluetooth devices.
How Did The Broadcom BCM20702A0 Driver Get On My Computer?
The mentioned Broadcom driver can “show up” on your computer because of the following reasons:
- You’ve recently purchased and connected a specific Bluetooth device to your PC.
- You upgraded your Windows version to Windows 11.
- You have a computer with built-in Bluetooth functionality.
- You downloaded a bundle of “driver essentials” from a website.
- You’re using a PC from another owner who may have utilized this driver.
If none of the above-mentioned things apply, yet you still have the driver installed on your computer, we recommend checking its location and integrity, as it may be a malicious file disguised as a Broadcom driver.
Errors Related To The Broadcom BCM20702A0 Driver
Frankly, the Windows community isn’t particularly fond of Broadcom drivers. Most users say Broadcom drivers are unreliable and cause various errors, so they recommend uninstalling them unless you specifically have a device that requires the driver to be on your system. We recommend the same.
Here are some of the main known issues that you could face if the Broadcom BCM20702A0 driver is installed on your system:
- An error prompt notifies the user that the Broadcom BCM20702A0 driver is missing from the computer. This may occur while trying to connect a Bluetooth device that requires this driver to function.
- The BCM20702A0 driver stopped responding. This could happen while using a Bluetooth device, which results in an interrupted connection.
- You cannot uninstall the BCM20702A0 driver as it keeps restarting and crashing, or you get a message saying that a device currently uses it.
Indeed, Broadcom drivers aren’t quite stable and unless you regularly use a device that requires the BCM20702A0 driver to function, we recommend uninstalling it to avoid some of the above-mentioned issues.
Other than that, the BCM20702A0 Bluetooth driver is safe to use (when downloaded from an official source) and it cannot harm your computer.
Fixing The “BCM20702A0 Driver Failed To Respond” Error
As already mentioned, Broadcom drivers have a bad rep for being unstable. That said, it’s common for users to report the “Driver failed to respond” error when using the BCM20702A0 driver.
This error usually occurs upon plugging in a Bluetooth device that requires this driver, but after waiting for some time for the device to establish a connection with your computer, it eventually fails and the user sees the error instead.
This is common and frustrating when it happens, but can be easily fixed.
Follow the steps below:
- Upon encountering the error, shut down the computer.
- While the computer is not powered, remove the Bluetooth adapter and plug it into a different USB slot/port.
We recommend plugging it in your computer’s back panel rather than the front one, as the front can often be improperly connected and therefore not work.
- Remove all other USB-connected devices from your PC, leaving only the Bluetooth adapter.
- Power on your computer and wait for it to fully boot.
Now, the Bluetooth device should connect without further issues. If it does, plug in the other devices/peripherals so you can keep using your computer normally.
Please note that this method helps only if the “failed to respond” error happens due to an unexpected driver crash. If the cause is corrupt files or something similar, this method may not be as helpful.
Conclusion
The Broadcom driver mentioned in this guide can be helpful when you have a Bluetooth device requiring it to function properly.
However, it could also “accidentally” appear on your PC, in which case, we recommend uninstalling it to avoid potential errors due to instability.
