Windows 11 23H2 to 25H2 Upgrade Reportedly Disrupts Internet Connectivity for Users
A persistent bug in Windows 11 in-place upgrades is reportedly wiping critical 802.1X wired authentication configurations, leaving enterprise workstations completely offline until manual intervention occurs.
System administrators across Reddit’s r/sysadmin community are raising alarms, warning that this issue has reappeared across annual Windows 11 version updates, including the 23H2-to-24H2 and recent 23H2-to-25H2 upgrade paths.
How the Upgrade Breaks Wired Connectivity
During a standard Windows 11 in-place upgrade, the contents of the C:\Windows\dot3svc\Policies folder are silently deleted.
This specific directory stores the 802.1X wired network (LAN) authentication profiles that are normally applied via Group Policy, as reported by Cybersecuritynews.
The system’s Wired AutoConfig (dot3svc) service strictly relies on these policy files to securely authenticate machines against network switches that enforce IEEE 802.1X port-based access control.
Once the system wipes this folder, the newly upgraded machine permanently loses all wired network connectivity the moment it boots into the new operating system. This instantly isolates the workstation from the corporate network.
The bug’s catch-22 nature makes it exceptionally damaging in large enterprise environments.
Without active network access, the upgraded machine cannot contact domain controllers to receive a fresh Group Policy push that would naturally restore its 802.1X configuration.
To fix this, IT administrators must physically connect the affected device to a non-802.1X-enforced switch port or a dedicated remediation network segment.
They must then manually run gpupdate /force, wait for the policies to apply, and finally reconnect the machine to the secured port.
Only then does the wired authentication configuration correctly rewrite to the folder.
This problem is not new to network administrators. Documented cases on Microsoft Q&A platforms stretch back to older Windows 10 to Windows 11 migrations.
Sysadmins report that this exact data-loss behavior is now blindly repeating across annual Windows 11 upgrades, persisting through at least three major release transitions without any official fix from Microsoft.
In specific upgrade scenarios, the bug even extends beyond the dot3svc files by deleting the machine’s computer certificate store, heavily compounding authentication failures for organizations that rely on EAP-TLS with PKI certificates.
Available Mitigations and Workarounds
Microsoft has not publicly acknowledged this regression as a known issue on its official Windows 11 release health dashboard.
Because no dedicated Knowledge Base (KB) patch exists yet, system administrators have documented several reliable interim mitigations to prevent mass network lockouts while deploying Windows 11 24H2 or 25H2.
| Mitigation Category | Key Action Required |
|---|---|
| Backup and Restore | Manually copy the C:\Windows\dot3svc\Policies folder to external storage before upgrading, and restore it immediately after the new OS boots . |
| Post-Upgrade Update | Connect the device to an open, non-802.1X port and execute gpupdate /force /target:computer to securely force the policy re-application . |
| Script Injection | Inject LAN profile restoration commands directly into the standard Windows SetupCompleteTemplate.cmd deployment script . |
| MECM Task Sequence | For managed enterprise deployments, add a post-upgrade step to forcibly re-push 802.1X settings before the device attempts to rejoin the secured network . |
Administrators managing large organizational fleets must audit their upgrade workflows immediately.
Implementing proactive policy backup steps is strictly recommended before deploying new Windows 11 versions at scale.