The latest Windows 11 security updates do more than just make your operating system more secure. According to several reports on Microsoft forums and social media, this security update also caused Windows users to experience Wi-Fi issues. If you were affected by these issues, you’ll be glad to know that Microsoft has shared the official solutions.
According to various reports on Microsoft’s forums, the issue appears to be related to the 802.11r standard, which allows fast roaming between access points on certain Qualcomm and MediaTek adapters. This issue was first discovered in Windows 11 security update KB5033375, which began rolling out on December 12th.
Without a solution from Microsoft, users had to find their own workarounds to resolve the issue. Fortunately, Microsoft has since confirmed these reports and issued an official fix that doesn’t require you to mess with your computer’s settings. According to a post shared on Microsoft’s Windows 11 known issues and notifications bulletin board, the issue was actually caused by updates KB5032288 and KB5033375. Therefore, Microsoft has released an update that leverages the Known Issue Rollback (KIR) feature introduced in March 2021 to resolve the issue.
Microsoft said the solution could take up to 24 hours to automatically roll out to consumer devices and suggested users restart their devices to speed up the process. Microsoft shared that this issue primarily affects systems that use 802.1x authentication to connect to corporate, educational, or public Wi-Fi networks. Although Microsoft did not reveal exactly what caused the problem, the fact that a fix is now available will definitely make users feel better. If you don’t want to wait for updates to download automatically, you can download the new Group Policy directly from Microsoft.
What is known issue rollback?
Known Issue Rollback (KIR) allows the company to address OS-breaking issues without forcing users to take many additional steps. This new feature first debuted in his March 2021, but was already in use in 2019. This system helps address Windows Update issues without completely rolling back the entire update.
At the most basic level, KIR helps Microsoft provide better support for updates it has already released. This step allows Microsoft to preserve the old code after an update in case something goes wrong with the new code. In that case, you can quickly resolve the issue by replacing it with the old code that worked. Because old code is preserved, Microsoft says it typically only uses KIRs for non-security updates where exploits aren’t a concern.
Previous ways some users fixed broken Wi-Fi in the latest Windows 11 update
Before Microsoft released information about an official fix, many users turned to other methods to fix the issue. The first solution for many users was to disable 802.11r on the access point. I had to find out the brand of router or access point I was using and look up the specific instructions for that device. This method is not recommended if you are new to the router and comfortable working within its online system.
The second (and easiest) solution was to uninstall the update until Microsoft fixed the issue. This is not ideal, as these types of security updates are designed to help shut down exploits that malicious parties can use to gain access to your system. Unfortunately, there were no alternatives at the time.
If you want to undo Windows updates, open the Start menu, setting > windows update > update historyClick to find the update you want to uninstall. Select it and Uninstall Option to remove problematic patches. Alternatively, you can uninstall updates at any time using Command Prompt. To do this, type: wusa / uninstall /kb:KB5033375 Completely remove security patches.
