Windows Subsystem for Android unable to connect to internet

Question

I've been unable to get my Windows Subsystem for Android to make internet connections for a few builds now.

I'm having no luck with trying to figure out any way of debugging why internet connections aren't being made.

Anyone have thoughts on why this is happening?

Answer 1

I had this problem and went around and around with a bunch of suggested fixes as above, and then also found a lot of reference to 'Advanced Networking' which enables apps to have 'local network access' which ultimately means 'internet access'.

The issue is that the 'Advanced Networking' feature has been moved and renamed, so if you look for it in the WSA settings, you won't find it. The setting is now called 'Local network access' and is located on the 'Advanced settings' page, under the 'Experimental features' section. 'Experimental features' section first has to be expanded (1) and then you can toggle 'Local network access' (2):
For good measure, I then turned off the Subsystem from the System page, and the re-opened the Amzon Store app which automatically starts the subsystem back up. When I clicked the login button - I was immediately presented with the Amazon login page.

Answer 2

Hello Joseph,

Thank you for your question and for reaching out with your question today.

If you're experiencing issues with internet connections not being made in Windows Subsystem for Android, there could be several potential causes. Here are a few troubleshooting steps you can try:

1. Check your network configuration: Ensure that your host machine has a working internet connection. Verify that your network adapter is enabled and properly connected to the network.
2. Firewall and antivirus settings: Check if any firewall or antivirus software on your system is blocking the internet access for Windows Subsystem for Android. Temporarily disabling these security measures can help identify if they are causing the issue.
3. Proxy settings: If you're using a proxy server, make sure the proxy settings are correctly configured in Windows Subsystem for Android. You can check the proxy settings in the Android settings within Windows Subsystem for Android.
4. DNS resolution: Verify that DNS resolution is working correctly. You can try pinging a website by its IP address (e.g., ping 8.8.8.8) to see if you can establish a connection. If the ping works but website URLs don't resolve, there may be an issue with DNS resolution.
5. Windows Subsystem for Android update: Check if there are any updates available for Windows Subsystem for Android. Keeping your system up to date can help resolve known issues and improve compatibility.
6. Network isolation: Ensure that Windows Subsystem for Android is not running in an isolated network environment or sandboxed mode. Such configurations can restrict internet access for the subsystem.
7. Reset Windows Subsystem for Android: If none of the above steps resolve the issue, you can try resetting Windows Subsystem for Android. To do this, open PowerShell as an administrator and run the command: wsl --unregister Android.

I used AI provided by ChatGPT to formulate part of this response. I have verified that the information is accurate before sharing it with you.

If the reply was helpful, please don’t forget to upvote or accept as answer.

Best regards.

Answer 3

Hi a am having same problem with virtwifi setting inside wsa, for few years. It is because bad DNS server for wsa.

For some reason, the default DNS server for WSA and WSL doesn't work.

So you need to change it. How? Well, in a normal android is easy, but in WSA it's kind of dificult because you have to access to the WiFi config, and it's not accesible.

You can run this in adb:

adb shell am start -n com.android.settings/.Settings\$WifiSettingsActivity

Once on WiFi settings, go to the VirtWifi config, press the pencil icon, and change DNS to 1.1.1.1, 8.8.8.8 or your prefered ones.

Or you can download activity launcher (apk )and install it.

Then you must search "com.android.settings.Settings$WifiSettings2Activity" (you can use the search button and search Wifi) and click on it. Once on WiFi settings, go to the VirtWifi config, press the pencil icon, and change DNS to 1.1.1.1, 8.8.8.8 or your prefered ones.

I've had this issue for a long time, and after some loong time it disappeared. Now i reinstalled WSA to new version 2305 and this problem appeared again.

I hope it helps

Answer 4

Ok I am having same problem as others seems to be a dns issue,I can install the subsystem it works fine for a couple hours then bam cannot access internet, I tried changing the dns in windows worked for awhile then stopped working again, I am getting notifications from one of my apks so it works going in, but not going out.I have tried turning off firewall, tried with and without vpn none work, just reinstalled windows and subsystem as during my try's I messed something up and amazon appstore says it was installed but would not show in the apps section could not get login page.after reinstall worked fine for couple hours now cannot access internet again.