How to Fix No Internet After Windows Update in Windows 10 and 11

Windows updates occasionally break network connectivity. Here's how to restore it without reinstalling Windows.

Quick Fixes First

# 1. Reset network stack
netsh winsock reset
netsh int ip reset
ipconfig /flushdns
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew

# Restart
Restart-Computer

If that doesn't work, continue.

Check Network Adapter Status

# View all adapters
Get-NetAdapter | Select-Object Name, Status, MacAddress, LinkSpeed

# If adapter shows "Disabled"
Enable-NetAdapter -Name "Ethernet" -Confirm:$false

# If adapter shows "Not Present" or missing
# The driver may have been removed — see below

Roll Back Network Driver

The update may have replaced your working driver with an incompatible one:

Win + X → Device Manager
Network adapters → right-click your adapter
Properties → Driver tab → Roll Back Driver

# Check current driver version
Get-NetAdapter | ForEach-Object {
  $adapter = $_
  Get-WmiObject Win32_PnPSignedDriver |
    Where-Object {$_.DeviceName -like "*$($adapter.InterfaceDescription)*"} |
    Select-Object DeviceName, DriverVersion, InfName
}

Reinstall Network Adapter Driver

# Uninstall and reinstall the adapter (Windows will reinstall on next boot)
$adapter = Get-NetAdapter | Where-Object {$_.Status -eq "Up" -or $_.Status -eq "Disconnected"} | Select-Object -First 1
$infName = (Get-WmiObject Win32_PnPSignedDriver | Where-Object {$_.DeviceName -like "*$($adapter.InterfaceDescription)*"}).InfName

# Uninstall driver
pnputil /delete-driver $infName /uninstall /force

# Restart to reinstall automatically
Restart-Computer

Uninstall the Problematic Update

# Find recently installed updates
Get-HotFix | Sort-Object InstalledOn -Descending | Select-Object -First 5 HotFixID, InstalledOn

# Uninstall specific KB
wusa /uninstall /kb:5055523 /quiet /norestart
# Restart after

Fix Corrupted TCP/IP and Winsock

# Complete network stack reset
netsh int ip reset C:\ip-reset.log
netsh int ipv6 reset C:\ipv6-reset.log
netsh winsock reset C:\winsock-reset.log
netsh advfirewall reset

# Register DNS
ipconfig /registerdns

# Restart after all commands
Restart-Computer

Fix DNS Resolution

# Set manual DNS (Cloudflare)
$adapter = (Get-NetAdapter | Where-Object {$_.Status -eq "Up"}).Name
Set-DnsClientServerAddress -InterfaceAlias $adapter -ServerAddresses ("1.1.1.1", "8.8.8.8")

# Test DNS
Resolve-DnsName google.com -Server 1.1.1.1

Run Network Troubleshooter

msdt.exe /id NetworkDiagnosticsNetworkAdapter

Check Windows Firewall Reset

An update sometimes resets firewall to block all connections:

# Check firewall status
Get-NetFirewallProfile | Select-Object Name, Enabled, DefaultInboundAction, DefaultOutboundAction

# Reset to defaults if rules are wrong
netsh advfirewall reset

Summary

Try in order: reset Winsock/IP stack → roll back network driver → uninstall the update → manual DNS. Most post-update connectivity issues are solved by netsh winsock reset + driver rollback + restart.

Frequently Asked Questions

Wi-Fi adapter disappeared from Device Manager after update — why?

The update may have removed the driver. Device Manager → View → Show hidden devices — if it appears greyed out, right-click → Enable. If still missing, download the driver from your PC manufacturer's support page.

Internet works but only on some sites after update?

Likely a DNS issue. Set manual DNS to 1.1.1.1 and 8.8.8.8 and flush the DNS cache: Clear-DnsClientCache.

Can I prevent this from happening again?

Yes — block driver updates through Windows Update: Set-ItemProperty "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate" -Name "ExcludeWUDriversInQualityUpdate" -Value 1 -Type DWord.