This news somehow slipped under my radar. It appears that Microsoft has broken another essential feature in its Windows 10 operating system with another problematic update, reports Windows Latest. This appears to be a slightly odd bug in which Windows 10 is showing that there’s no internet connection in the taskbar icon, despite users able to browse the Internet without any problem, since there is a perfectly valid connection.
There appears to be a bug in this month’s Patch Tuesday update that is breaking internet connectivity for some users. Affected users are being alerted to a connection issue that does not actually exist, by showing incorrect ‘No Internet Access’ message within the ‘Network and Internet’ settings on Windows 10. Bafflingly, the issue only appears to affect select internet-enabled services baked into the operating system.
Users have spotted a yellow triangle on the system tray that indicates the system has ‘No Internet Access’, but this error is displayed when the device/system is actually connected to the router correctly. Windows 10 updates have been riddled by bugs and security issues all through and Microsoft has been dealing with them through follow-up security patches. Despite this false Windows ‘warning’, users are able to go online through their browsers, but certain features like Cortana, Microsoft’s Feedback hub and the Microsoft Store and apps like Spotify are not working thanks to this bug.
Windows Latest writes that Microsoft has now confirmed that there is an issue with the Network Connectivity Status Indicator (NCSI) leading to users seeing the No Internet Access notification on systems that are still able to access internet resources via the browser. Microsoft is investigating the issue and will be fixing it with future updates.
Anecdotal evidence from the Windows Latest blog post suggests the main features impacted for users are Cortana, Microsoft Store, and Spotify, which is enough to cause frustration. The next Patch Tuesday is scheduled for August 11, 2020, though Microsoft could rush it out to users a bit earlier. This update bug appears to be another blow for Windows 10 users who have had a rough time with the latest operating system. A German website Born City reports that one reader who experienced the bug suggests the problem could be related to VPN or proxy usage, but it’s still not very clear what the root cause of this issue is.
As one user complaint reads, “In the taskbar, the Wi-Fi icon shows ‘No Internet Access’, but I have a stable internet connection wirelessly (Ex: I can browse the internet, ping IP Addresses, etc.). Another problem is when I try to open Cortana it also says that I have no internet connection (By the way, I can also open Microsoft’s website),”
More importantly, for the time being, the folks over at ‘Windows Latest’ have identified a workaround that involves editing the Registry. But be advised that you can break things by mucking around in the registry, so be sure to back up your important data first. It’s always a good idea to backup your registry settings before making any changes, so you can revert back if something goes wrong. But if you’re not confident in your computing knowledge or skills, then this is perhaps something you should really avoid doing. This is assuming you have the latest Windows 10 OS update installed on your system.
With that being said, if you really want to give this ‘Registry editing’ workaround a shot, then you need to follow these steps very carefully:
- Type ‘Registry Editor’ in the Windows 10 search box in the taskbar, and click on the app when it appears in the panel above
- Click ‘Yes‘ to allow the app to run
- Inside the editor, find the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NlaSvc\Parameters\Internet
- Highlight ‘EnableActiveProbing’ and change the value data from 0 to 1
The above hack should hopefully do the trick, although, there are some folks who have found that this workaround hasn’t worked for them, and others have said the appropriate value is already set to 1, yet they are still encountering this gremlin/bug, which is indeed very strange!
Hello, my name is NICK Richardson. I’m an avid PC and tech fan since the good old days of RIVA TNT2, and 3DFX interactive “Voodoo” gaming cards. I love playing mostly First-person shooters, and I’m a die-hard fan of this FPS genre, since the good ‘old Doom and Wolfenstein days.
MUSIC has always been my passion/roots, but I started gaming “casually” when I was young on Nvidia’s GeForce3 series of cards. I’m by no means an avid or a hardcore gamer though, but I just love stuff related to the PC, Games, and technology in general. I’ve been involved with many indie Metal bands worldwide, and have helped them promote their albums in record labels. I’m a very broad-minded down to earth guy. MUSIC is my inner expression, and soul.
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