Windows 11 Updates Reportedly Still Breaking Wired Internet by Wiping Dot3Svc Folder for Some Users

Microsoft has been clear about one thing. It wants everyone on Windows 11. Practically, it is the best way forward given that Microsoft killed official support for Windows 10 nearly five months ago. However, thousands of users who still want to stay on Windows 10 have the option to enroll in the ESU program so as to receive critical security updates.

Speaking of upgrades, let’s not forget that one Windows 10 user recently shared a frustrating story of their system automatically getting upgraded to Windows 11 while they were away, taking a shower. Given how Microsoft has handled Windows in the past few years, frustration among users is growing louder. Bugs and issues are linked to every other patch update these days. Who can forget the havoc caused by the January Patch Tuesday update, KB5074109?

On one hand, Microsoft is urging users to jump onto the latest Windows version, but it seems the migration isn’t as smooth as users may have thought.

Windows 11 upgrades are reportedly wiping critical network policies

The news comes via Neowin, which, citing a Reddit post from user BadSchpeller, reports that when upgrading from Windows 11 23H2 to 25H2, the update wiped the contents of the Dot3Svc folder. That directory stores policies related to Network Access Control, including IEEE 802.1X authentication for wired connections. In other words, if wiped, Ethernet access stops working on your systems.

The Windows Wired Auto Config service, or dot3svc, manages secure wired authentication. If its configuration disappears, managed networks relying on 802.1X fail to connect. In this case, the system completed the upgrade, then immediately dropped off the network.

As of now, it’s unclear whether a specific update has triggered the problem. However, if you are in the same boat, some users have suggested that the best way to get away with the problem is to connect to a wireless network and run a gpupdate command. For those unaware, this helps restore the missing Group Policy settings and allows wired connections to work normally.