Bricked XL710-QDA2 Recovery - Stuck in Recovery Mode (NVM 5.04 -> Fail)

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airwolf_it

New Member
May 2, 2026
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Hi everyone,

I'm running a VMware 8 home lab with multiple Intel XL710-QDA2 adapters (Device ID 1583). To avoid impacting production, I tested a firmware upgrade on a spare card.

The card arrived with:
- NVM Version: 5.04
- ETrackID: 800024D7
- Subvendor/Subdevice: 8086:0000

The Intel NVM Update Tool did not recognize it as updatable, so I modified the nvmupdate.cfg to attempt a forced update. The update failed and recovery tries failed with: "Manufacturing device identification not available. Aborting recovery."

The card is now stuck in recovery mode:
- NVM: n/a
- ETrackID: 00000000
- MAC: 00:00:00:00:00:00
- PBA: 000600-000

What I've tried
- nvmupdate64e.efi -u -rd -f with custom CFG
- Different NVM packages (6.80 / 8.50)
- Verified the card is still detected on PCIe

Current status
- Device is visible but reports: "DEVICE IS IN RECOVERY MODE"
- Triple full SPI dump (W25Q64) has been taken using an EZP2019+ (verified)

Planned recovery approach
My current idea is:
1. Dump SPI from a working retail XL710-QDA2 (NVM 6.80)
2. Flash it onto the bricked card to restore a valid NVM structure
3. Use EEUPDATE to restore original MAC addresses and Subsystem IDs / board data

Request
To move forward with this recovery without risking my production environment, I am looking for two things:

1. EEUPDATE (EFI or 64e), version ≥ 5.30
Required for 700-series adapters to restore board-specific data (MAC addresses, Subsystem IDs) once a valid NVM structure is back in place.
If direct sharing is not possible, even guidance on obtaining it through OEM packages or legitimate channels would be appreciated.

2. A full SPI flash dump (8MB / W25Q64)
Ideally from an Intel retail XL710-QDA2 (Device 1583, NVM 6.80 or newer).
A known-good dump would allow me to restore a valid baseline via SPI programmer, avoiding any impact on the adapters currently in production.

I understand these tools and files may not be publicly distributed.
If anyone can share them privately, or point me toward a reliable source, it would greatly help turning this card back into a usable spare instead of e-waste.

Additional question
Has anyone successfully recovered an XL710 in this exact state ("Manufacturing device identification not available") using SPI + EEUPDATE or similar tools?

Thanks in advance.