You're encountering a crash in the Windows Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) service, which is responsible for running your mobile hotspot. The crash is happening in ipnathlp.dll
, a core component that handles NAT (network address translation) and routing for ICS. This suggests your Raspberry Pi's connection triggers a bug or unexpected condition in ICS, causing the Windows service to crash and your hotspot to shut down.
What's Going Wrong
When your Ubuntu headless Raspberry Pi connects, something about its network behavior possibly:
an unexpected DHCP request,
IPv6 handling,
routing loop,
or invalid packets
is causing svchost.exe
running SharedAccess
to crash in ipnathlp.dll
.
This is not a hardware issue with your Pi or Wi-Fi adapter, it's a software crash on the Windows side.
Steps to Fix or Work Around the Issue
1) Disable and Re-enable ICS
Sometimes ICS gets into a corrupted state. Try resetting it:
Open services.msc
Find Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)
Right-click → Stop
Wait 10 seconds → Right-click → Start again
Then re-enable the hotspot and try connecting the Raspberry Pi again.
2) Update Windows
Check for and install any Windows updates. You are on build 26100.1150 and the crashing module is from 26100.4202 this mismatch suggests either:
A partial update,
Corrupt system files,
Or new bugs introduced in recent Windows Insider builds (likely, if you’re on a preview version).
To fix this:
- Go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update
- Check for updates
- Reboot Update Windows Check for and install any Windows updates. You are on build 26100.1150 and the crashing module is from 26100.4202 this mismatch suggests either:
- A partial update,
- Corrupt system files,
- Or new bugs introduced in recent Windows Insider builds (likely, if you’re on a preview version). To fix this:
- Go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update
- Check for updates
- Reboot
3) Run System File Checker
Corruption in ipnathlp.dll
or related services may cause instability.
Run the following in Command Prompt as Administrator:
sfc /scannow
Then:
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
4) Use Static IP on Raspberry Pi
If your Raspberry Pi is sending unexpected DHCP requests or causing issues during negotiation, assigning it a static IP may help.
Edit /etc/netplan/01-netcfg.yaml
(or similar) on your Raspberry Pi to set a static IP like 192.168.137.2
(Windows ICS default subnet is 192.168.137.0/24
).
Example:
network:
version: 2
ethernets:
wlan0:
dhcp4: no
addresses: [192.168.137.2/24]
gateway4: 192.168.137.1
nameservers:
addresses: [8.8.8.8, 1.1.1.1]
Apply with:
sudo netplan apply
5) Consider Using USB Tethering Instead
If Wi-Fi ICS keeps failing, using USB tethering from your phone to your PC (or PC to Pi via USB gadget mode) can be more stable and doesn't rely on ipnathlp.dll.
Wishing you all the best, lemme know how it goes
Kind Regards
Mark Dicks