Network and Sharing Center - The service to detect this status is disabled.

Question

Network and Sharing Center - The service to detect this status is disabled.

Rich Bell 0

I am running the latest version of Windows 11 Pro Canary. This has been a problem for at least the last 3 builds. I have tried everything that I could find online about fixing this problem. The links in the Sharing Center also do not work. All network related services are set to Automatic and are running. Troubleshooting doesn't find anything. I have reset the network. I have deleted and reinstalled all network drivers. The network is function correctly. I have posted on the Feedback Hub and have received no response.

What else can be done to fix this issue?

Rich Bell 0 Reputation points

2026-08-20T23:27:31.2933333+00:00

I followed the AI suggestions and didn't find a solution

2 answers

Your answer

Rich Bell 0 Reputation points

2026-08-20T23:27:31.2933333+00:00

I followed the AI suggestions and didn't find a solution

Answer 1

Since the network works and the issue is the status-detection layer, focus on NCSI and network profile detection rather than the adapter itself.

Verify what Windows currently thinks the connection state is. Run PowerShell:
```
   Get-NetConnectionProfile
```
Expected result for normal internet detection is IPv4Connectivity : Internet or IPv6Connectivity : Internet. If the profile is wrong here, the problem is in Windows network status detection, not basic connectivity.
Check whether NCSI active probing is enabled. Open Registry Editor and review:
```
   HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NlaSvc\Parameters\Internet
```
Confirm:
- EnableActiveProbing = 1
On Windows 10 version 1607 and later, the default probe values are:
- ActiveWebProbeHost = www.msftconnecttest.com
- ActiveWebProbePath = connecttest.txt
- ActiveWebProbeContent = Microsoft Connect Test
- ActiveDnsProbeHost = dns.msftncsi.com
- ActiveDnsProbeContent = 131.107.255.255
Risk: editing the registry incorrectly can cause system issues. Only correct values that are different from the defaults.
Do not disable active probing. NCSI uses active probes to determine internet connectivity. If probing is disabled, Windows can report no internet even when browsing still works.
Check the NCSI operational log. Open Event Viewer and go to:
```
   Applications and Services Logs\Microsoft\Windows\NCSI\Operational
```
This is the primary log location for NCSI probe and status events.
Confirm the probe endpoint behavior. NCSI uses an HTTP query to: http://www.msftconnecttest.com/connecttest.txt The expected result is HTTP 200 OK with content Microsoft Connect Test.
If the machine is domain-joined, also verify the applied network profile. Get-NetConnectionProfile should show the expected category, such as DomainAuthenticated on a correctly detected domain network. On Windows 11, domain profile detection is handled by the Network List Manager rather than NLA.
If this started across multiple Canary builds and all services, drivers, and network reset steps were already tried, compare against known Windows issues before making more changes. Review Windows release health for the installed build.

The key point is that this symptom usually means Windows cannot validate connectivity status through NCSI, even though the network stack itself is working.

Answer 2

Alex-L 12,555 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi Rich Bell

Thanks for confirming you've already worked through the NCSI, service, registry, logging, and network reset steps without improvement.

Given the environment, this starts to look less like a configuration problem and more like a potential Canary build regression affecting the legacy Network and Sharing Center or its status-detection components.

At this point, I'd be interested to know:

Does Settings > Network & Internet correctly show the connection status and network details?
Do the links in Network and Sharing Center fail only there, or do the equivalent settings pages open correctly from the modern Settings app?
Have you tested whether the issue occurs in a newly created local user account?

If the problem is limited to Canary builds and you've already submitted Feedback Hub reports, there may not be an end-user fix available until Microsoft investigates and addresses the underlying issue. It may also help if other Canary users can confirm whether they see the same behavior.

Rich Bell 0 Reputation points

2026-08-21T15:00:59.29+00:00
Network and Internet do not show the connection status and network details. It show "Unknown" at the top of the dialog.

The equivalent settings in the Settings app appear to work correctly.

A new user account still has the problem.
Alex-L 12,555 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-24T11:03:06.71+00:00

Hi Rich Bell

Thanks for providing those details.

Since the issue also occurs in a newly created user account, that makes user profile corruption less likely. The fact that the modern Settings app appears to function normally while Network and Sharing Center reports "Unknown" and its links do not work suggests the underlying network connectivity is intact, but Windows is failing to properly determine or display network status.

Given that this behavior has persisted across multiple Canary builds, and you've already verified services, reset the network stack, reinstalled drivers, reviewed NCSI-related settings, and tested with a new profile, this is starting to look more like a build-specific issue than a local configuration problem.

At this point, I'd be interested to know whether other Canary users can reproduce the same behavior. If they can, that would further support a regression in the Insider build rather than an issue unique to your PC. In the meantime, continuing to update to newer Canary builds and keeping the Feedback Hub report active may be the best path forward unless Microsoft acknowledges the issue or a future build resolves it.