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New Bug In Windows 10 Anniversary Update Brings Wi-Fi Disconnects (infoworld.com)

Some Windows 10 PCs are now experiencing sudden drops in their Wi-Fi connections, with the Network Diagnostics tool reporting "Wi-Fi doesn't have a valid IP configuration." An anonymous reader quotes InfoWorld's Woody Leonhard: I've heard from many people who blame the Wi-Fi disconnect on Friday's KB 3201845, the patch (which still isn't documented on the Win10 update history site) that brings version 1607 up to build 14393.479. It's unlikely that the new patch brought on the bug because the large influx of complaints started on December 7 -- two days before the patch...

Speculation at this point says the disconnect results when a machine performs a fast startup, setting the machine's IP address to 169.x.x.x. It's an old problem, but somehow it's come back in spades in the past two days. I have no idea what triggered the sudden outbreak, as there were no Win10 1607 patches issued on December 6, 7 or 8.

Microsoft acknowledged the problem Thursday, recommending customers try restarting their PCs (or performing a clean start). Woody writes that it looks like Microsoft's latest Windows 10 patch "didn't cause the bug. But the patch didn't fix it, either."

24 of 191 comments (clear)

  1. Deja Vu? by Carewolf · · Score: 3, Funny

    Wifi disconnects after OS updates. My god, they really are copying macOS updates, right down to WiFI bugs.

    1. Re:Deja Vu? by ArmoredDragon · · Score: 4, Funny

      It's WAAS.

      Windows As A Superbug

  2. Fix Action by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    I have this problem as well. Running DHCP on the router I use. When I do an IP config I see a MS assigned address. Doing an IPCONFIG /RENEW gets a new IP address without the reboot.

  3. Microsoft is killing the business use of Windows by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Forced Windows updates must bring constant excitement to business people at travel. You never know, if the machine works after connecting it to network. And nobody in IT is there to help them.

  4. Same problem with a wired connection by Maddog+Batty · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I had the same problem on Wednesday with a wired connection. A reboot fixed it (after a lot of head scratching).

    --
    wot no sig
  5. There is a SORT-OF solution by Shaman · · Score: 4, Informative

    Hold the shift key down when you reboot, and keep it down until the login screen.

    Source: I own an ISP.

    --
    ...Steve
  6. Incorrect. KB3201845 contains a fix/workaround by Aryeh+Goretsky · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Hello,

    This issue has been going on for more than two days. Reports of it date almost a month:

    https://www.reddit.com/r/sysad...

    https://community.spiceworks.c...

    Although reports of it in Microsoft's support forum are more recent:

    https://answers.microsoft.com/...

    https://answers.microsoft.com/...

    https://answers.microsoft.com/...

    The December 9th patch - https://support.microsoft.com/... - might contain some kind of fix or workaround, although I don't see anything mentioned on the page which maps to the issue.

    Microsoft is keeping customers up to date with a page on its support forum. Here's Microsoft's short link to the page: https://aka.ms/netcom

    Regards,

    Aryeh Goretsky

    --
    Dexter is a good dog.
  7. An update installed last night and... by BenJeremy · · Score: 3, Informative

    ...my keyboard wasn't working. I had to unplug it and re-plug it back in. Annoying. I haven't tried out the WiFi issue yet, because I wire my network connections everywhere possible.

    The keyboard not working is a strange issue, though. I don't need a "fast reboot" option - with my system drive speed, I boot in 6 seconds from power button on to desktop on a cold boot. I don't need sleep mode, hibernation... I just need proper memory management for longer up times.

  8. Instability is the new normal? by ErichTheRed · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I've been on the Windows 10 Insider program for quite a while, and keep one work machine on a stable build and the other in the Fast ring. For a lot of our production machines, we're going to go with the next spin of Long Term Servicing Branch for just this reason. I'm not happy that you have to give up all feature updates for years in order to get an OS they're not going to be changing behavior on every month.

    Having seen both the stable and super-new builds running similar application loads, it's obvious that Microsoft is skimping on code quality in both, sacrificing it for fast feature releases. However, very few "breaking" bugs make it into their stable (CBB) builds. I'm not happy that the home consumers have to deal with these though...they have no choice. And when it's something like breaking wireless, that's a big deal -- most users are at least on laptops now if not tablets.

    On balance I think they made the right decision for the overall market on patching. Unpatched Windows home machines are just asking for ransomware or a botnet takeover, and consumers have no clue how to manage their machines. For business, I think they made an OK compromise, but wish they would make the updates not be all-or-nothing. The user population I support runs hundreds of applications from sources we don't control, and right now on Windows 7 we get a few security updates a year that break them, some in ways we can't fix without getting the vendor to make a change. In the old pick-and-choose model, we would figure out which monthly updates didn't break the application set and apply them, then wait for a time we could apply the "bad" ones when an application drops off the radar or gets fixed.

  9. This is what you get... by Chas · · Score: 4, Insightful

    When your OS vendor tosses their Q&A and basically uses their user base for testing out their shitty product.

    Still very happy with Win7, and there's ZERO need to upgrade at this point.

    --


    Chas - The one, the only.
    THANK GOD!!!
  10. DHCP broken too! by Billly+Gates · · Score: 2

    The Register has the scoop on it.

    Some users report typing:
    netsh winsock reset catalog
    netsh int ipv4 reset reset.log

    Has repaired their TCP/IP stack.

    Unrelated, I just woke up after I rebuilt a computer last night. I am greeted with a Windows 10 setup screen. I also have an older saved Windows 8.1 acronis image for same cpu and motherboard. I was just wondering if I should bite the bullet and go Windows 10 as I work in IT and need to know it ...

    However this story scared me and got me wondering if that is really a good idea? What do you all think? Hmm

    1. Re:DHCP broken too! by MightyMartian · · Score: 2

      Translation: I'm an MS shill

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
  11. 20 years by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "Microsoft acknowledged the problem Thursday, recommending customers try restarting their PCs"

    Almost 25 fuckin' years after releasing Win 3.1, and their trouble shooting advice is still "have you tried restarting it?"

    On the other hand, I have a Linux server that just passed 1015 days uptime with no restarts or reboots. It hosts about 50 websites and runs 24/7 with constant activity. Windows couldn't even dream of that kind of service.

    --
    Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    1. Re: 20 years by Billly+Gates · · Score: 2

      Not to sound like an ass but I will quote/paraphrase something I read on similar topic on theregister.co.uk this morning.

      He said um what do you guys do all day on your computers that run Linux? Do you all just browse the web and do nothing else but pretend to be important with no other apps?

        Do you all run 90% of your work in virtual machines where you run Windows anyway?

      He went on saying he uses music production software and hardware and something called DAW. The free software is horrible and is no substitute or doesn't meet his needs.
      Sorry LibreOffice, the gimp, and Killustrator are no substitutes for Word, Excel, Adobe Photoshop, or Adobe illustrator. No can-do. If your resume is misformatted because LibreOffice can't be bug to bug compatible with your tables it goes into the trash.

      So the argument is moot as not everyone becomes a Unix system administrator when they grow up. Besides web browsing what can you do with Unix? No serving doesn't count either for mere mortals so don't give me that?

    2. Re:20 years by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      Almost 25 fuckin' years after releasing Win 3.1, and their trouble shooting advice is still "have you tried restarting it?"

      Their? Everyone's advise is that. It puts a device back to a somewhat known state. There are plenty of cases where Linux machines have been suggested to do the same. I've done it with Unix machines to fix faults to which we had limited insight. Vendors will ship devices with embedded controllers that have dedicated reset switches on them and when they don't they'll advise simply turning it off and on again.

      And on one of our $100,000 Nuclear E1 certified safety systems, when a discrepancy is noticed between the 3 redundant controllers do you know what happens? The 2 which are presumed correct initiate a watchdog restart of the third. One day a main processor didn't seem to startup properly so you know what we did? Pulled it out of the rack ... and put it back in again.

      On the other hand, I have a Linux server that just passed 1015 days uptime with no restarts or reboots.

      Ha piss weak. All of our Windows machines at my last work place had over 5 years on them until we needed to power them down to cut over the powersupply of the building during a plant outage. Windows can dream of that kind of service, but that dream only becomes a reality when looked after by a compitent IT person rather than a "It's Linux so it's the bestest attitude".

      Get off your high-horse.

    3. Re: 20 years by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 2

      He said um what do you guys do all day on your computers that run Linux?

      Like I said, I have a Linux server (3 actually) that host websites. Between the 3 of them they host about 150 sites, and they make money for me as well as providing various other services, some which I give away at no cost. So that's what I do with Linux.

      I also have Linux Mint on my laptop and for basic day-to-day stuff it does everything I need (email, browsing, video, audio, etc).

      I'll be the first to say that there's really no good equivalent for some applications like Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. For those you'll need a Windows box. However, the vast majority of people don't those applications.

      --
      Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    4. Re:20 years by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 3, Funny

      All of our Windows machines at my last work place had over 5 years on them

      Lol, sure they did. And I was a door gunner on the Space Shuttle.

      --
      Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    5. Re: 20 years by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 2

      For "Photoshop" the Gimp is pretty much identical

      Look, I like Linux, but I know enough about Photoshop and GIMP to know that GIMP is in no way "pretty much identical" to Photoshop.

      --
      Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
  12. Re: sigh by Billly+Gates · · Score: 2

    The issue is not ipv4. It's the corrupted windsock catalog. Ipv6 is impacted as well. The solution is to reset it with nutshell from an elevated command prompt or PowerShell:

    netsh winsock reset catalog
    netsh int ipv4 reset reset.log

    Or use an older more reliable OS until MS hires a QA team again and stop relying on Joe Six packs as their QA team

  13. Happy Anniversary! by JoeyRox · · Score: 3

    You loved last year's gift of privacy invasion so much I didn't know how to top that. Then I thought of disconnecting your WiFi so you would lose access to the single most essential activity on your computer. I hope you enjoy it!

  14. Re: No use by Billly+Gates · · Score: 2

    Or just don't run Windows 10.

    Thankfully I have a copy of acronis with an older 8.1image with updates disabled to just download. I install them manually a month or so later.

    I really did want to keep 10 and if works fine for a few weeks and I always run into a problem every other month or so. So damn frustrating. I NEED to learn 10 for work as we will migrate soon but shit too many problems??

  15. Re:Will reboot to fix Windows ever end? by peragrin · · Score: 2

    Type cmd.exe into Cortana

    Run program
    Type ipconfig /release. Press enter
    Type ipconfig /renew. Press enter

    Press red close x in corner

    Wifi fixed

    --
    i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
  16. Re:No use by CaptainDork · · Score: 2

    This.

    If one computer aggravates, scoot your chair over to the other one.

    --
    It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
  17. Finally catching up to Linux features by sciengin · · Score: 2

    As a long time Linux user I am glad that the Windows peasants are finally getting this feature that we have been enjoying for years.

    (yeah I know, its the fault of the device manufacturers)