Windows 11 25H2, 24H2 delete the internet

Recently, a user complained about how Microsoft had forcibly upgraded his system from Windows 10 to 11 without his consent. While moving to Windows 11 is important right now, as Windows 10 is no longer supported (assuming you haven't signed up for the ESU), there are real problems that users are facing after the upgrade, as one of them discovered today.

The affected user recently upgraded his system to Windows 11 25H2 from 23H2 and claims that the Dot3Svc folder, which contains key policies and settings for NAC (Network Access Control), was deleted along with its contents, meaning he cannot connect to the internet via wired means as 802.1x authentication is not working.

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For anyone wondering, the Windows Wired Auto Config service (dot3svc) in Windows 11/10 is a system service that manages IEEE 802.1X authentication on wired or Ethernet connections.

The user says:

Is there any update from Microsoft confirming/fixing the issue that continues to plague Windows 11 upgrades? … This happened from Windows 10 to 11, but now it also happens when updating from one annual release to another (23H2 to 25H2). In either case, the dot3svc folder deletes its contents and the computer is offline until a gpupdate is run with it online.

If you're wondering why the user is reporting " it's still bugging ", the problem is not new, as it first started in Windows 11 24H2 or 23H2, when users reported that upgrading from Windows 10 to 11 was leading to such 802.1x authentication issues, meaning they couldn't access the internet via Ethernet.

There are many posts online documenting the issue, although it seems Microsoft never publicly acknowledged it. However, the company appears to have fixed it with the Windows 11 November and December 2024 Patch Tuesdays (via Reddit ).

For anyone wondering how to resolve this issue, you will need to connect to a working wireless port and run a gpupdate , which essentially updates the group policy settings to restore the correct policies.

Reddit ( link 1 , link 2 , link 3 ), Microsoft forums ( link 1 , link 2 )

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Although the press releases will range from very select to rare, I said I'd pass...because sometimes the editors hide.