Have you lost your network and internet connection after Windows 10 1903 update? Network icon in system tray displays a yellow triangle mark indicating “Unspecified network” and running diagnostic results “Ethernet does not contain a valid IP configuration“. This problem is either Unspecified Network or Ethernet does not contain a valid IP configuration It mainly occurs when a device is unable to” Windows PC obtaining a valid IP address from a DHCP server, it is due to a problem with the network adapter driver, a wrong network configuration, or a malfunction of the network interface card (NIC).
Ethernet does not have a valid IP configuration
If you are also facing this issue “Ethernet does not have valid IP settings after running the Windows troubleshooter. Here are four effective solutions that you can try to fix this problem.”
Before proceeding, restart all network hardware (router, switch, modem, etc.), including your computer. This will fix the problem if a temporary bug is causing the problem.
Temporarily disable antivirus and VPN connection (if configured)
Also check and make sure that the DHCP Client service is running,
- Press Windows + R, type servies.msc and OK
- Look for the service named, DHCP Client
- If it’s running, right-click and select Restart,
- If the service does not start, double-click on it, and change the Autorun type.
- Restart Windows and see if this helps.
Run the network troubleshooter
Windows 10’s built-in troubleshooting tool contains several troubleshooting programs that can automatically fix some common problems with your computer, such as network, hardware, and hardware problems, using web and software compatibility. Let’s run Windows’ built-in network troubleshooter and see if it helps.
- Press Windows key + X and select Settings
- Click Update & Security and then Troubleshoot
- Search the internet and run the troubleshooter,
- Then click on the network adapter and run the troubleshooter
- Restart Windows after completing the troubleshooting process. Check if the problem is solved.
Check that the NIC is configured to obtain an IP address automatically
- Press Windows + R, type ncpa.cpl and OK
- Right click on active network adapter and select properties,
- Double click on Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP / IPv4) to get its properties
- Here click Obtain an IP address automatically and Obtain DNS server address automatically.
- Click Apply and OK to validate the changes, now check if the problem is resolved.
Reset TCP / IP settings
If the problem persists, run the following commands to reset the TCP / IP settings to their defaults and clear the DNS cache. This will likely fix the problem for you.
Type cmd in the search menu in the Start menu, right-click on Command Prompt, and select Run as administrator.
To reset TCP / IP settings and clear DNS cache, run the following commands one by one and hit Enter key after each one.
Close Command Prompt and restart windows for the changes to take effect. Now check if problem is resolved or not.
Update your network adapter
Do you still need help? Let’s update your network adapter driver and see if that helps.
Follow the steps below to update the drivers.
- Press Windows key + R, type devmgmt.msc, and hit Enter.
- In the device manager, go to the network adapter.
- Right click and click Update Driver Software.
- Select the option to automatically search for a driver and allow Windows to download and install the latest NIC driver.
- Restart Windows and check for other network and Internet connection problems.
Reinstall the network adapter
If updating the network adapter did not solve the problem, try reinstalling or installing the network driver compatibility mode.
- Press the Windows Key + R and type “devmgmt.msc” to open device manager.
- Expand the network adapter and right-click on the network adapter you are having the problem with and click Uninstall.
- If you are asked to confirm, click OK.
- Restart Windows to completely remove old network adapter,
- Open Device Manager again, click Action and then Scan for hardware changes.
- This will automatically install the network adapter.
You can also download the latest network adapter drivers from the manufacturer’s website.
- Right-click on the driver installation file and click “Properties.”
- Click on the “Compatibility” tab
- Check “Run this program in the compatibility mode for” box and select Windows 8 / 8.1 or 7 from the drop-down list and proceed with the installation.
- Follow the onscreen instructions to install the driver on your computer
- Once done, restart PC and check if problem persists.
Did these methods help to fix “Unidentified network” or Ethernet does not have valid IP settings in Windows 10, 8.1 and 7? Tell us about the comments Section.
