An unidentified network error on your Windows 11 PC might be one of the common problems on your PC and can cause issues in using the internet. It is an error you might have encountered while connecting to a new network you haven’t used. When you encounter this error, your PC is connected to a network, but access to the internet is unavailable.
In this blog, let’s look at the reasons behind unidentified network connections on Windows 11 and how you can fix the issue.
Without further ado, let’s begin!
4 Effective Ways to Fix Unidentified Network Errors on Windows 11
When using a connection, data packets are exchanged between your PC and the network. An unidentified network error occurs when your PC experiences loss in those data packets or faces an issue in decoding the identity of the received packets from the network.
In simple words, when the connection cannot identify the source of network traffic or receives a broken network, the unidentified network error is shown. There are 4 ways you can resolve the problem. You can find all of them below!
Method 1 – Reset Your Connection
If you have connected your PC to a new modem or ethernet cable, chances are that the connection was not properly made. Try resetting your connection by disconnecting the source from your PC.
You can use the following ways to reset the connection –
- Disconnect the network from Wi-Fi and forget the network device.
- Reset your modem or restart the connection process from your broadband service.
- Leave the modem off for 10 seconds so that it loses all the power from the device.
- If you are using an ethernet cable, simply remove it from your PC and then plug it in again.
- Restart the device and try to reconnect. Identify the connected network as home or public, depending on the type of usage.
If the error was due to a physical connection or an unsteady network, this should do the trick. If the unidentified network error still appears, move on to the next technique.
Method 2 Check for Problematic IP Address
The IP address of your PC plays an important role in establishing the connection. If there is an issue with the IP address on your PC, you can not use the internet without coming across an unidentified network error.
If you have ever played with the IP configuration of your PC or have never configured the DNS cache, it might be the reason causing the error.
To check the configuration and reconfigure your PC’s IP, use the following steps –
Step 1 – Open Command Prompt as Administrator
Open the Start menu and type CMD in the search bar. When you find the cmd application, click on Run as administrator.
Step 2 – In the Command Prompt, use the following commands to configure your IP:
ipconfig /Release – This command helps you find out everything about the ethernet ports and Wi-Fi connections and their IP addresses.
ipconfig /Renew – This command helps renew the IP address. . It goes through all the ports to check which one is in use and finishes the task for you.
ipconfig /Flush DNS – Finally, this one is used to flush the DNS caches so that any sort of error that it might be causing can be fixed instantly!
Step 3 – Once you are done with steps 1, 2, and 3 , restart your PC and reconnect to your network, the error should be gone.
Resolving issues with your PC’s IP address always does the trick for older PCs using a newer network or a connection you have never used.. However, since the root causes of unidentified networks are unknown, if this does not work too, you have no other option than to try other ways.
Method 3 Reconfigure DNS Server on Your PC
If renewing your IP did not work, the DNS server might be the culprit here. The reason behind unidentified network errors on Windows 11 can be the inability of your network to choose the DNS server properly, or choosing a misconfigured DNS. Either way, you will not be able to use the internet unless you make it work.
Here’s how to reconfigure your DNS server –
- Press Windows + X on your keyboard to open the quick-access menu.
- Select Network Connections.
- In network connections settings, find Advanced network settings and click on it.
- Once you have opened advanced network settings, scroll down to find more network adapter options under related settings.
- In more network adapter options, find the connection showing the error.
- Right-click on it and select Properties.
- In properties, find Internet Protocol Version 4, (TCP/IPv4) and select it. After selecting, click Properties.
- In properties, you can find the obtained DNS server address options. Click on the use the following server address and insert 8.8.8.8 or any other DNS server you know of.
- Save the changes.
You can instantly see the unidentified network error vanish, and your network will start working again.
Method 4 – Update Network Adapter Drivers
If none of the above techniques have worked, maybe the issue is not in the network but within the network adapter driver. . Network adapter drivers allow your PC adapters to function well and work seamlessly with the data packets that the sends connection.. Malfunctioned or outdated drivers can hamper the exchange of data packets on a network, thus, you are advised that you keep your drivers updated.
The only reason behind these drivers becoming outdated is that there is no inbuilt way to trace whether they are outdated or corrupt. . No one scans for drivers manually and thus, the issue persists.
Thankfully, you do not have to worry about manually installing updates for your network adapter drivers, as you can install Advanced Driver Updater. It is a dedicated tool that can assist you in finishing the updates for all your PC drivers . How does it work? Well, here’s a quick step-by-step explanation –
- Download and install the tool on your PC using the button shared below.
- Open the tool to initiate the search for outdated drivers on your PC.
- Click on Start Scan Now to initiate the scanning. Let the tool go through all the installed drivers on your PC to find out which ones are fine and require updates.
- Once the scan is over, you have a list of outdated drivers.
- Click on Update All to let the tool find, fetch, and install the latest updates. This will update the outdated network adapter. However, if you are using the trial version, to update driver you will need to click Update driver next to the network driver.
Once the process is finished, restart your PC and try connecting to the network again. This should fix all the issues related to network adapter drivers. Drivers are crucial when it comes to connectivity for a PC, be it the network adapter driver or Bluetooth drivers on your PC, so make sure you update them regularly.
Conclusion-
With these 4 techniques, we come to an end for this blog. You don’t have to use all of them. If you are aware of the issue that might be causing the error, go for the listed way to resolve it. However, if you have not cracked the core reason, I suggest you update your network adapter drivers.
Leave a line in the comments section and let me know which worked best for you. Hope the blog helps you out. Good Luck!
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