WinHTTP/UWP Network Failure: Browsers connect, but Windows OS and Apps are offline (Insider Build 26300)

Question

I am reaching out regarding a severe network connectivity issue on my machine running Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300 (Dev Channel).

While my web browsers (Win32) connect to the internet perfectly fine, the rest of the operating system behaves as if it is completely offline.

Symptoms:

• Native Windows/UWP apps (Microsoft Store, Xbox app, Mail, etc.) cannot connect to the internet.

Windows Update is completely broken and cannot download or check for updates.

The issue seems isolated to the WinHTTP/UWP networking stack, as standard browser traffic works flawlessly.

Troubleshooting Steps I Have Already Completed: To save time, please note that I have already run the following fixes via an Administrator Command Prompt, but none have resolved the issue:

Reset the WinHTTP proxy (netsh winhttp reset proxy)

Performed a full network stack reset (netsh winsock reset, netsh int ip reset)

Flushed DNS and performed an IP release/renew.

Ran the MSDT Troubleshooters for both Network Diagnostics and Windows Update.

Restarted the wuauserv and bits services and renamed the SoftwareDistribution and catroot2 folders.

Because I am on a Dev Channel Insider build, I suspect this might be a bug with the UWP network isolation or the WinHTTP stack in this specific flight.

Could you please let me know if this is a known issue for Build 26300, or provide advanced command-line steps to repair the UWP network stack, as I cannot rely on Windows Update or the Microsoft Store to download fixes?

Answer 1

Hi,

Have you tried doing a repair install from Settings: