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Quickly Fix “Limited Connectivity” Issue On Windows 8 and 8.1

Windows 8 is not perfect, so you may end up running into issues from time to time, for example the annoying limited connectivity issue


Usually connectivity issues can be fixed using our Winsock Fix – however if that won’t fix the issue you should inspect the power management settings of your network adapter. We outlined the steps necessary to do that below

What Is Causing This?

Sometimes your network adapter may go into a hibernation mode to save power e.g. shuts itself down to save energy. That’s actually a good idea, but the problem is that it sometimes won’t come back so that you run into connection issues and other problems without getting a proper error message from Windows itself

How Can I Fix This Problem Easily?

One of the best methods is to use our Winsock Fix, but as it could be a problem with your network adapter settings, let’s first check if any of the settings are wrong.

1. Step Right-click on your network adapter icon in the system tray

2. Step Click on Open Network and Sharing Center

Open Network And Sharing Center On Windows81.png

3. Step Click on Change Adapter Settings in the sidebar

Ethernet Adapter Settings.png

4. Step Now right-click on the adapter called “Ethernet” or “Local Area Network” or the one with the adapter name that you recognize (see the grey text e.g. Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller) – If you are not sure about this, download a copy of your motherboard handbook online and look it up

5. Step Click Properties

6. Step Now click the button Configure at the top

7. Step Go to the tab Power Management and uncheck the option Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power

Allow The Computer To Turn Off This Device To Saver Power Pic.png

8. Step Confirm with ok! Then try a reboot

I Tried The Winsock Fix And Changed The Power Management, Still No Dice!

Ok you tried the steps above and still no luck?

It could be an IRQL conflict – e.g. if you have recently added a new USB hub and it interferes with your network hub there could be certain problems

Read this and make sure to check for IRQL conflicts

Lastly, you can try to do some research on the netsh command and dig a little deeper into possible configuration problems