Error "No compatible network adapter found" after ESXi host upgrade

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• ESXi host is currently installed with a hardware specific custom Image
• After the ESXi host is upgraded to a major version(Example 6.5 to 7.0 or 7.0 to 8.0) , the upgrade completes successfully but the ESXi host fails to detect the Network adapters
• ESXi host is not reachable on the Network
• On the ESXi console, you will see error similar to:

"No compatible network adapter found. Please consult the product's Hardware Compatibility Guide (HCG) for list of supported adapters."

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 

Cause

This issue occurs when the upgrade is performed using a default VMware Image on the ESXi host which has hardware specific custom Image installed.  Custom Images from hardware vendors may contain additional device drivers which are not part of the VMware default Image. 

Resolution

To resolve this issue, perform the upgrade using a Hardware specific custom ISO.

To download the custom ISO specific to your ESXi hardware, kindly refer the "ESXi Downloads" section of VMware vSphere downloads, VMware Converter, OEM custom images, patches and addons in the Broadcom Support Portal

 

Additional Information

For additional details related to upgrading ESXi hosts with customer image installed, refer Conditions for deploying and upgrading an ESXi host deployed using a custom image