No Internet After a Windows 11 Update? How to Get Back Online

After installing a Windows 11 update, your PC shows a connection but no web page will load.

Why: Updates sometimes replace the network adapter driver or leave the network stack (Winsock and TCP/IP) in a corrupted state. The link looks “connected,” but the layers that actually move and translate traffic are broken.

Fix 1: Run the network troubleshooter

Let Windows try the automatic repair first.

1. Open the Get Help app, type connect to network and internet in the search bar, and select Run network diagnostics.
2. Let it run its checks and apply any fixes it suggests, then retest your browser.

This often resets a stuck adapter or fixes a misconfigured setting on its own.

Fix 2: Reset the network stack

This is the targeted fix for update-corrupted networking.

1. Click Start, type cmd, right-click Command Prompt, and choose Run as administrator.

2. Run these in this exact order, pressing Enter after each:

   netsh winsock reset
   netsh int ip reset
   ipconfig /release
   ipconfig /renew
   ipconfig /flushdns

3. Restart the PC. Windows can’t finish rebuilding these layers while they’re in use.

These commands reset the Winsock catalog, restore the TCP/IP stack to defaults, pull a fresh IP from the router, and clear the DNS cache.

Fix 3: Reinstall the network adapter driver

If an update swapped in a bad driver, reinstall a clean one.

1. Right-click Start and open Device Manager.
2. Expand Network adapters.
3. Right-click your Wi-Fi or Ethernet adapter and choose Uninstall device.
4. Tick Attempt to remove the driver for this device, then click Uninstall.
5. Restart the PC — Windows reinstalls a default driver for the adapter on boot.

Fix 4: Set a public DNS, or do a full network reset

If the connection looks fine but pages still won’t load, the DNS resolver may have broken in the update.

1. Go to Settings > Network & internet, open Wi-Fi (then your network) or Ethernet.
2. Next to DNS server assignment, click Edit, choose Manual, turn on IPv4, and set Preferred DNS 8.8.8.8 / Alternate DNS 8.8.4.4 (Google) or 1.1.1.1 / 1.0.0.1 (Cloudflare). Click Save.

Still offline? As a last resort go to Settings > Network & internet > Advanced network settings > Network reset, click Reset now, then Yes. This wipes all adapters and settings to default and restarts the PC — you’ll re-enter Wi-Fi passwords afterward.

FAQ

Other devices on the same network are fine. Then the router and ISP are fine and the update is the cause — Fix 2 and Fix 3 are the right repairs.

Can I just roll back the update? You can, but resetting the network stack (Fix 2) or reinstalling the driver (Fix 3) usually fixes it without giving up the update’s other changes.

Network reset warns about reinstalling software. Correct — after a network reset you may need to set up VPN client software or Hyper-V virtual switches again and re-enter saved Wi-Fi passwords.

Sources: Microsoft — Fix Wi-Fi connection issues in Windows · Microsoft — Fix Ethernet connection problems in Windows