Has your Internet connection gotten slower over time? Maybe you had a virus and now your Internet connection isn't running properly? It may be time to clean up your network connection. Here's how to reset your network adapter in Windows 10.
Windows 10 has a command line utility called Netsh (Network Shell) that allows you to display and modify the network configuration of your computer. The most common use of Netsh is to reset the TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) stack back to default. Since Netsh is a command-line tool, you will need to use a Command Prompt with Administrative privileges.
How to open a Command Prompt with Administrator privileges in Windows 10 (link will open in separate window)
Netsh commands for resetting your network adapter in Windows 10
Netsh commands run in a Command Prompt with Administrative privileges
Note: This section is intended for advanced computer users. If you are not comfortable with advanced troubleshooting, ask someone for help. Follow these steps to reset the Windows Firewall, TCP/IP stack and Winsock manually. You will have to restart your system to complete the reset.
The following is a list of the Netsh commands with descriptions that you can use to reset your network adapter in Windows 10:
netsh advfirewall reset
Restores the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security policy to the default policy. The current active policy can be optionally exported to a specified file. In a Group Policy object, this command returns all settings to not configured and deletes all connection security and firewall rules.
netsh int ip reset
Removes all user configured IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4) settings. Restarting computer is required before the default settings will take effect.
netsh int ipv6 reset
Removes all user configured IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) settings. Restarting computer is required before the default settings will take effect.
netsh winsock reset
Resets Winsock Catalog to a clean state. All Winsock Layered Service Providers which were previously installed must be reinstalled. This command does not affect Winsock Name Space Provider entries.