How to Reset Network Settings in Windows 11 When Nothing Connects

Nothing will connect — Wi-Fi, Ethernet, or both — and you’ve already restarted the router. It’s time to reset Windows’ own networking.

Why: Windows keeps a stack of network components (Winsock, the TCP/IP stack, saved adapters and profiles). When these get corrupted, no amount of router restarting helps; you have to rebuild them. Start with the surgical reset, then escalate to the full one.

Fix 1: Reset the network stack with netsh (targeted)

This is the safest reset — it rebuilds the core network layers without deleting your adapters or saved Wi-Fi profiles.

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. This is required — Windows can’t finish rebuilding these layers while they’re in use.

netsh winsock reset clears the Winsock catalog, netsh int ip reset restores TCP/IP to defaults, and the ipconfig commands drop the old address, pull a fresh one, and clear the DNS cache.

Fix 2: Full Network reset in Settings (clean slate)

If the commands didn’t help, do the full reset. This removes and reinstalls every network adapter and returns all networking settings to default.

1. Go to Settings > Network & internet > Advanced network settings > Network reset.
2. Click Reset now, then confirm with Yes.
3. Windows reinstalls all adapters and restarts the PC automatically.

Use this as a last resort. According to Microsoft it’s meant for connection problems the steps above can’t fix, including issues left over after upgrading from Windows 10 to Windows 11.

Fix 3: Reconnect and rebuild what the reset cleared

A full network reset wipes saved networks and some installed networking software. After it restarts:

1. Reconnect to Wi-Fi and re-enter the network password — saved Wi-Fi networks and their passwords are erased.
2. Reinstall and reconfigure any VPN client software and, if you use them, Hyper-V virtual switches.
3. Re-apply any custom DNS, proxy, or static IP settings you had, since the reset returns them to automatic.

FAQ

What’s the difference between the two resets? The netsh commands (Fix 1) rebuild the core network stack but keep your adapters and Wi-Fi profiles. The full Network reset (Fix 2) removes the adapters and wipes all saved networks — heavier, but it clears corruption the commands can’t.

Do I lose my files? No. A network reset only touches networking configuration, not documents or programs (other than networking software you’ll need to reinstall).

It broke right after a Windows update. Updates can corrupt the network stack. Start with Fix 1; if that doesn’t restore the connection, the full reset in Fix 2 gives you a clean baseline.

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