How to Fix Wi-Fi Crashing After the Latest Windows Update
The latest Windows 11 security update didn’t just make the operating system more secure. According to several posts on Microsoft forums and social media, the security update also caused problems with Wi-Fi for Windows users. If these issues have affected you, you will be glad to know that Microsoft has shared an official solution.
According to various posts on the Microsoft forums , the issue appears to be related to the 802.11r standard, which enables fast roaming between access points on some Qualcomm and MediaTek adapters. The problem was first noticed in Windows 11 security update KB5033375 , which began rolling out on December 12.
Without a solution from Microsoft, users were left to find their own workarounds to fix the problem. Luckily, Microsoft has since confirmed these reports and released an official way to fix it that doesn’t require you to tinker with your computer’s settings. According to a post posted on Microsoft’s Windows 11 known issues and notifications board , the problems were indeed caused by updates KB5032288 and KB5033375 . As such, Microsoft has released an update to address the issue using the Known Issue Rollback (KIR) feature that the company introduced in March 2021.
Microsoft said it could take up to 24 hours for the solution to automatically roll out to consumer devices, and suggested users reboot their devices to speed up the process. Microsoft said the issue primarily affected systems attempting to connect to corporate, educational, or public Wi-Fi networks using 802.1x authentication. Microsoft hasn’t specified what exactly caused the problem, but the fact that a fix is now available will no doubt improve the mood of users. If you don’t want to wait for the update to download automatically, you can download the new Group Policy directly from Microsoft’s website.
What is rolling back known issues?
Known Issue Rollback, or KIR, allows a company to resolve OS-breaking issues without forcing users to go through a ton of extra steps. This new feature was first introduced in March 2021, but was used as early as 2019. The system helps solve Windows Update problems without having to completely roll back the entire update.
At the most basic level, KIR helps Microsoft provide better support for updates that have already been released. This procedure allows Microsoft to keep the old code after an update in case there are problems with the new code. If so, they can replace it with the old code that worked, quickly solving the problem. Because the company retains older code, Microsoft says it typically only uses KIR for non-security updates where exploits are not a concern.
Previous Ways Some Users Fixed Broken Wi-Fi in the Latest Windows 11 Update
Before Microsoft released information about the official fix, many users turned to other methods to solve the problem. The first possible solution that many users turned to was disabling 802.11r for their access point. You would have to figure out what brand of router or access point you have and then find specific instructions for that device. This method is not recommended unless you are familiar with your router and don’t work with its online systems.
The second (and easiest) solution was to simply uninstall the update until Microsoft fixed the problem. This is not ideal because these types of security updates are designed to prevent exploits that attackers could use to gain access to your system. Unfortunately, there was no alternative at that time.
If you ever want to undo a Windows update, open the Start menu, select Settings > Windows Update > Update History , and then find the update you want to uninstall. Select it and select the Remove option to remove the problematic patch. Alternatively, you can always uninstall the update using the command line. To do this, type wusa /uninstall /kb:KB5033375 to completely remove the security patch.