How to remove Hyper-V Virtual Ethernet Adapters (vEthernet) ?

Anil Lutchman 96 Reputation points
2021-06-18T19:20:01.607+00:00

I was recently testing Hyper-V and VMware Workstation Pro on my Windows 10 Pro Laptop . After deciding to only use VMware I removed the Hyper-V feature however, for no reason the Hyper-V Virtual Ethernet Adapters (vEthernet) will not be uninstalled or deleted. Its becoming a problem now since it is randomly conflicting with my VMware Virtual Ethernet, Wi-Fi and Ethernet Adapters by continuously dropping my network connections.

After continuous attempts of disabling and uninstalling the devices from device manager>network adapters it always re appears. Further research recommended to remove the Sandbox and Linux Subsystem for Linux (WSL) features. This also did not work. I also tried several PowerShell commands to disable the NetAdapter and the NetAdapterBindings unfortunately this did not resolve the issue.

I am kindly asking for assistance.

Windows 10
Windows 10
A Microsoft operating system that runs on personal computers and tablets.
10,417 questions
0 comments No comments
{count} votes

Accepted answer
  1. Anil Lutchman 96 Reputation points
    2021-06-20T21:13:20.11+00:00

    I think i have figured it out. After spending more time researching i'm believing that the way in which Windows Defender Application Guard (WDAG) works it uses Hyper-V resources for security. After remove the windows feature WDAG the NICs were gone. I had no idea about this feature until now. I highly recommend to turn on this feature but even though its a great feature i personally turned it off since i have Sophos home with ATP protection.

    Read more here  md-app-guard-overview

    0 comments No comments

5 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
  1. Dave Patrick 425.7K Reputation points MVP
    2021-06-18T19:39:54.543+00:00

    I'd try;

    • From cmd.exe set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1 and press ENTER
    • In Device Manager, click view then SHOW HIDDEN DEVICES.
    • Expand NETWORK ADAPTERS, check if there are any grayed out NICs and select UNINSTALL

    --please don't forget to upvote and Accept as answer if the reply is helpful--

    4 people found this answer helpful.

  2. Dave Patrick 425.7K Reputation points MVP
    2021-06-18T19:23:52.243+00:00

    Please post a screenshot Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network Connections

    also the text results of ipconfig /all

    0 comments No comments

  3. Anil Lutchman 96 Reputation points
    2021-06-18T19:32:50.76+00:00

    Thanks for your reply. See attached items.

    107038-netadapters.png

    107140-ipconfigall.txt

    0 comments No comments

  4. amomen 381 Reputation points
    2021-06-18T19:49:28.2+00:00

    You can go to Hyper V Manager -> 'Your PC' settings and remove virtual switches.