Jillian Ellis

Learning Intention: To know how to fix a disabled DNS Client following Windows 11 update (March 2026)

Problem: My laptop installed the latest Microsoft updates but there was no option to connect to Wi-Fi afterwards. I tried many different fixes to no avail. Eventually, after much poking and prodding, I found the core of the issue and resolved it.

Instructions:

To check whether you are having the same issue as me:

1. Go to the search bar and type “services”.
2. In the list, look for DNS Client. If it says “disabled”, right-click on it and choose the option “properties”.
3. Where it says “startup type”, check whether or not you are able to change it to “automatic”. If not, you are in the same position as I was.

To fix it, you need to:

1. Press the windows key and R at the same time.
2. Navigate the list on the left-hand side, clicking the v symbol to see the following headings: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Dnscache
3. Left-click on “Dnscache”
4. On the right-hand list, look for “Start”
5. Double-click “start” and change the value to “2” (mine was set to 4 before I changed it.
6. Restart your computer.

Outcome: For me, the outcome was that I was then able to connect to Wi-Fi again after the update.