Ipconfig Media Disconnected On Windows 10 – How To Fix?

It is difficult imagining a life without the internet nowadays, with many important services moving online. If you are having trouble connecting to the internet, you are likely to miss out on various stuff online, which may be important to you, including many services that are available online.

Here I shall discuss how you can resolve when you get the ipconfig media disconnected error on Windows 10.

Diagnose Media Disconnected Windows 10!

The first thing that you should do when you cannot connect to the internet is checking the physical connection between your devices. This includes checking the router, cables and the ports for any potential damage, which may be preventing you from connecting to the internet.

If you have isolated that, the problem is with connecting to the Windows 10 device only, check if you have the ipconfig media disconnected error. To diagnose this, follow these steps:

1. Open a Run window by pressing Win + R.
2. Type cmd and press Enter to launch the command prompt.
3. Type the following command and press Enter to check the IP address and other network-related information:
   ipconfig /all
4. Locate the entries titled Media State and check the state of this entry.

If you notice Media disconnected as the current state, the issue is most likely being caused by incorrect network configuration or DNS cache. Here are some of the potential fixes to how you can solve the Media state media disconnected error.

How To Solve Ipconfig Media Disconnected Error?

You can try the following steps to troubleshoot your network disconnection issues on your Windows 10 devices.

(Note: Make sure that your device is enabled. Open a Run window and type ncpa.cpl and press Enter to launch Network Connections. Here, check if your preferred connection is disabled, and enable it from the right-click context menu)

Solution 1: Refresh Your Connection

First, try refreshing your connection. This can be very helpful if the network adapter does not pick up the IP address from the router. Simply follow these steps to power cycle the system:

1. Turn off your device.
2. Unplug both your modem and router and wait 30 seconds.

3. Now plug in your modem and router one by one, and wait for them to load up.
4. Log into your ISP terminal if there is an option for the same, and then turn on your device.
5. Try running ipconfig command in Command Prompt again and check if the status changes for your connection.

If this fails to solve your media state media disconnected error, you can follow some more solutions which may help you solve your error.

Solution 2: Reset WINSOCK And IP Stack

Winsock (Windows Sockets API) is the programming interface and the technical specification that handles the input/ output requests for internet applications, defining how Windows network software should access network services like TCP/IP.

When you see the ipconfig media disconnected status, it is commonly attributed to the Winsock API, which when corrupted can lead to this error. You need to reset the WINSOCK API and IP stack in order to reset this error.

1. Open an elevated Command Prompt. To do this, open a Run window by typing Win + R, type cmd and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to launch command prompt with administrative privileges.
2. Type the following commands one by one and press Enter after each command to execute it.
   netsh command winsock reset catalog
   netsh int ipv4 reset reset.log
   netsh int ipv6 reset reset.log
3. Restart your system once the commands are executed.

Solution 3: Uninstall Your Drivers And Install Generic Drivers

Drivers are the configuration files that facilitate the communication between your device driver and your operating system. Missing or corrupt drivers can lead to many different errors, revolving around malfunctioning hardware. If something has gone wrong with the related driver, you may be facing difficulty connecting to the internet because of this.

1. Open a Run dialog by pressing Win + R.
2. Type devmgmt.msc and press Enter to launch the Device Manager console.
3. Expand the Network Adapters section by clicking the small arrow next to it. Here you will find all the network adapters that are installed on your system right now.
4. Right-click on the adapter that you want to uninstall to reveal the context menu.
5. Select the Uninstall device from the context menu. (This shall remove the adapter from the list, which is giving you the media disconnected

6. Click OK on the confirmation prompt.
7. Restart your computer.
8. The generic driver for your device should be installed automatically if you are connected to the internet.
9. However, if you are not, you can install the driver manually. To do this, navigate to your manufacturer’s website and download the latest driver from their Download center.
10. Double click on the downloaded file to run the installation.
11. Restart your PC again after the installation is complete.

After the installation of the drivers, check if the issue still persists. Your media disconnected error should now be resolved on your Windows 10 device.

Solution 4: Disable Network Sharing

Many users have reported that an option in the Network Connections called network sharing is the cause of this error on their devices. You may have turned this setting on during some other troubleshooting, or to share your internet with other devices.

To disable network sharing, follow these steps:

1. Open a Run dialog by pressing Win + R.
2. Type ncpa.cpl and press Enter to launch the Network Connections console.
3. Right-click on your active connection, and click on the Properties option from the context menu.
4. In the Properties window, switch to the Sharing
5. Uncheck the box next to the option that says “Allow other network users to connect through this computer”.
6. Click on OK to apply the changes.
7. Restart your computer.

Now open an elevated command prompt as shown earlier, and check if you still get the ipconfig media disconnected error. Your error should now be solved.

Solution 5: Run The Network Troubleshooter

With Windows 10, many users have trouble connecting to the internet for one reason or another. This led Microsoft to include a Network Adapter troubleshooter, which can diagnose and solve some of the errors on user devices. This can be a good place to start and solve your error.

1. Open your Windows Settings You can use the keyboard shortcut Win + I.
2. Click on Update & Security.
3. From the left pane menu, select Troubleshoot.
4. Scroll down to locate and click Network Adapter under Find and fix other problems.
5. Click on Run the Troubleshooter
6. Follow the on-screen instructions to find and fix problems with your network adapter.
7. Restart your computer once the troubleshooter finishes scanning your device.

Now check if your error persists.

Solution 6: Reset TCP/IP

Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) is a set of communication protocols used on the internet and other computer networks, used to interconnect network devices on the internet. Follow these steps to reset TCP /IP if you get the ipconfig media disconnected error on Windows 10:

1. Open an elevated Command Prompt. To do this, open a Run window by typing Win + R, type cmd and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to launch command prompt with administrative privileges.
2. Type the following command and press Enter to execute it and reset Internet Protocols:
   netsh int ip reset resettcpip.txt
3. Restart your computer once the reset completes it.

Solution 7: Network Reset

If none of the solutions provided above helped you, you have to perform a network reset to solve your media disconnected Windows 10 error. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Open the Windows Settings You can use the keyboard shortcut Win + I, or launch it from the Start menu.
2. Click on Network & Internet.
3. Make sure you are on the Status menu in the left pane.
4. In the right pane, locate and click on Network reset.
5. Follow the on-screen instructions to reset the network.

Wrapping Up

So there you have it. Now you know how to solve the ipconfig media disconnected error using the solutions provided above. Tell us in the comments if you found this useful, and to discuss further the same.