diff --git a/etc/inc/pfsense-utils.inc b/etc/inc/pfsense-utils.inc
index 2f7c8bfabe..883b8ad254 100644
--- a/etc/inc/pfsense-utils.inc
+++ b/etc/inc/pfsense-utils.inc
@@ -866,34 +866,40 @@ function enable_hardware_offloading($interface) {
 	if(stristr($interface,"lnc"))
 		return;
 
-	if(isset($config['system']['do_not_use_nic_microcode']))
-		return;
-
 	/* translate wan, lan, opt -> real interface if needed */
 	$int = filter_translate_type_to_real_interface($interface);
-	if($int <> "")	
-		$interface = $int;
+	if($int <> "") $interface = $int;
 	$int_family = preg_split("/[0-9]+/", $int);
-	$options = strtolower(`/sbin/ifconfig {$interface} | grep options`);
+	$options = strtolower(`/sbin/ifconfig -m {$interface} | grep capabilities`);
 	$supported_ints = array('fxp');
-	if (in_array($int_family, $supported_ints))
+	if (in_array($int_family, $supported_ints)) {
+        	if(isset($config['system']['do_not_use_nic_microcode']))
+                        continue;
 		mwexec("/sbin/ifconfig {$interface} link0");
+        }
 
-	if($config['system']['disablechecksumoffloading'])
+	/* skip vlans for checksumming and polling */
+	if(stristr($interface, "vlan")) 
 		return;
 
-	if(stristr($options, "txcsum") == true)
-	    mwexec("/sbin/ifconfig {$interface} txcsum 2>/dev/null");
-
-	if(stristr($options, "rxcsum") == true)
-	    mwexec("/sbin/ifconfig {$interface} rxcsum 2>/dev/null");
+	if($config['system']['disablechecksumoffloading']) {
+                if(stristr($options, "txcsum") == true)
+                        mwexec("/sbin/ifconfig {$interface} -txcsum 2>/dev/null");
+                if(stristr($options, "rxcsum") == true)
+                        mwexec("/sbin/ifconfig {$interface} -rxcsum 2>/dev/null");
+	} else {
+               	if(stristr($options, "txcsum") == true)
+                        mwexec("/sbin/ifconfig {$interface} txcsum 2>/dev/null");
+        	if(stristr($options, "rxcsum") == true)
+                        mwexec("/sbin/ifconfig {$interface} rxcsum 2>/dev/null");
+        }
 
 	/* if the NIC supports polling *AND* it is enabled in the GUI */
 	if(interface_supports_polling($interface)) {
 		$polling = isset($config['system']['polling']);	
 		if($polling) {
 			mwexec("sysctl kern.polling.enable=1");
-	    	mwexec("/sbin/ifconfig {$interface} polling 2>/dev/null");
+                        mwexec("/sbin/ifconfig {$interface} polling 2>/dev/null");
 		} else {
 			mwexec("sysctl kern.polling.enable=0");
 		}
diff --git a/usr/local/www/system_advanced_network.php b/usr/local/www/system_advanced_network.php
index 8919dcedf1..ffb003c518 100644
--- a/usr/local/www/system_advanced_network.php
+++ b/usr/local/www/system_advanced_network.php
@@ -98,8 +98,10 @@ if ($_POST) {
 
 		if($_POST['disablechecksumoffloading'] == "yes") {
 			$config['system']['disablechecksumoffloading'] = $_POST['disablechecksumoffloading'];
+                        setup_microcode();
 		} else {
 			unset($config['system']['disablechecksumoffloading']);
+                        setup_microcode();
 		}
 	
 		write_config();
@@ -214,8 +216,8 @@ function enable_change(enable_over) {
 								<td width="22%" valign="top" class="vncell">Hardware Checksum Offloading</td>
 								<td width="78%" class="vtable">
 									<input name="disablechecksumoffloading" type="checkbox" id="disablechecksumoffloading" value="yes" <?php if (isset($config['system']['disablechecksumoffloading'])) echo "checked"; ?> />
-									<strong>Disable hardware checksum offload.</strong><br>
-									This option will hardware assisted checksum offloading. FreeBSD sometimes has difficulties with certain drivers.
+									<strong>Disable hardware checksum offload</strong><br>
+									Checking this option will disable hardware checksum offloading. Checksum offloading is broken in some hardware, particularly some Realtek cards. Rarely, drivers may have problems with checksum offloading and some specific NICs.
 								</td>
 							</tr>		
 							<tr>