A recent Windows 10 update may be the cause of your internet issues - here’s why

Software giant Microsoft has confirmed a new issue regarding internet connections in its optional cumulative updates for operating system, Windows 10.

What updates have caused the issue?

Initially, Microsoft’s May and November 2019 updates to Windows 10 - also known as Windows 10 version 1903 and 1909 - were a part of the company’s plan to bring new features such as a light desktop theme, a better start menu, AI improvements to Cortana and new apps to the software.

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However, this led to a number of complaints from users experiencing various issues.

Windows aimed to address the issues with a new update in February 2020, but the company has recently confirmed that this update is also linked to further user troubles.

What issues were caused by the May and November updates?

The May and November 2019 update issues ranged from unusually high central processing unit usage and system crashes, to incompatibilities with antivirus softwares, leaving devices vulnerable to attacks. There were also problems that caused Internet Explorer mode on Microsoft Edge to fail, among many others.

What kind of issues were caused by the February 2020 update?

Referencing the most recent February 2020 update, Microsoft has confirmed that on “some PCs” the internet connection can stop functioning, with very limited internet or “no internet connection”. This issue is strongly linked to systems which are using VPN connections.

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Several reports online claimed the update has led to installation issues, crashes and even total losses of data. Some users believe the issues are not apparent in the testing phase.

On a Microsoft community forum for this update, one user wrote, “This update KB4532693 caused all the data on my laptop to be erased. Even after uninstalling the update, the laptop would not successfully boot.

“Then ‘Resetting’ the laptop to factory settings while choosing to keep all personal data erased everything. EVERYTHING. This is a major screw up. Unbelievable.”

Another said, “I have no words, this just happened to me, I just came to confirm it, it’s all over the web, but it’s not just a few files, for me it was dozens of gigabytes of data, this is definitely the end of the line.”

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These problems have been impacting some of Microsoft’s most popular programs, such as Microsoft Teams, Office, Outlook, Office 365, Internet Explorer and some versions of Edge.

What is being done to fix the issues?

With a team of testers for the software, the company is now continuously trialling new test builds and is working on releasing new updates for both its Windows operating system and Office suite of apps.

As users wait for a fix to be rolled out, the company suggests restarting the device multiple times to possibly solve the issue.

The majority of these software updates aim to fix security vulnerabilities as well as some stability fixes. The company is still in progress with its major Windows 10 update to address the issue in question, and announced it could take up to two weeks to launch the fix for the issue, with aims to have it ready by early April.

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