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Windows Server 2025 domain controllers may lose connectivity after reboot, says Microsoft

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Apr 14, 20252 mins

Apps and services running on the domain controller could become inaccessible or fail unless admins execute the workaround.

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Microsoft is warning IT administrators that their Windows Server 2025 domain controllers (DC) may lose network connectivity after they are restarted.

In a Windows release health dashboard update posted Friday, the company said that, after a restart, “Windows Server 2025 domain controllers (such as servers hosting the Active Directory domain controller role) might not manage network traffic correctly,” rendering them inaccessible on the domain network, or possibly allowing “incorrect access” over ports and protocols that should have been blocked.

As a result, it said, “applications or services running on the domain controller or on remote devices may fail, or remain unreachable on the domain network.” 

The post said that the issue is caused because the DCs did not use the domain firewall profile when rebooted, instead reverting to the standard firewall profile.

There is as yet no patch. Microsoft says it is working on a fix, which will be provided in “an upcoming release.”

There is, however, a workaround that admins must execute each time the server is restarted. It’s a simple one: restart the network adapter.

This can be done manually in various ways, including via the PowerShell command Restart-NetAdapter *.  However, Microsoft suggests creating a scheduled task to automatically perform the restart each time the server is rebooted.

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Lynn Greiner

Lynn Greiner has been interpreting tech for businesses for over 20 years and has worked in the industry as well as writing about it, giving her a unique perspective into the issues companies face. She has both IT credentials and a business degree.

Lynn was most recently Editor in Chief of IT World Canada. Earlier in her career, Lynn held IT leadership roles at Ipsos and The NPD Group Canada. Her work has appeared in The Globe and Mail, Financial Post, InformIT, and Channel Daily News, among other publications.

She won a 2014 Excellence in Science & Technology Reporting Award sponsored by National Public Relations for her work raising the public profile of science and technology and contributing to the building of a science and technology culture in Canada.

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