Microsoft Investigates Windows 10 May 2020 Update Bug That Wrecks Wi-Fi For Some Users
The May 2020 Update has introduced a bug (thanks to a recent Patch Tuesday update) that affects the Wi-Fi status icon, which erroneously reports that there is “No Internet Access” even though a user’s internet connection is working just fine. For example, one user reports that they were still able to perform a ping command and browse the internet using their internet browser.
However, where the problems come into play is for apps that rely on the Windows operating system itself to report if there is an active internet connection. If the system is reporting “No Internet Access”, then apps will take that designation as fact and will complain that they can’t connect. Reports on the Microsoft Community forum confirm that apps like Spotify (which goes into offline mode) and even Microsoft’s own Feedback Hub will not work due to the bug.
Some detective work traced the problem to a fault setting in the Windows Registry. User ДмитроЖелябін wrote:
use Registry Editor, go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NlaSvc\Parameters\Internet
and modify: EnableActiveProbing
then change "Value data" from "0" to "1"
and restart your computer
This “fix” seems to be working for most people, however, some are still having problems. “When I originally experienced this issue I found that the whole 'Parameters' key was empty. I thought it would be an easy fix to just populate that key with the default data,” wrote Alceryes. “It worked for about 24 hours (my active wireless internet was recognized properly) but then, the following day, it went back to not being recognized.
“Now, it doesn't matter what changes I make to the enableactiveprobing or disablepassivepolling DWORDs. Windows just won't recognize my internet connection (even though it works fine).”
For its part, Microsoft is currently investigating the problem. A company representative simply writes in TechNet post, “Microsoft has known about this issue but haven’t resolved it yet.”
