How to fix Windows 8.1 wireless Limited Connectivity issue

There will be times, if it didn’t happen already, when your computer will connect to the wireless network, but it won’t connect to the internet, and you’ll see a “Limited Connectivity” message in the wireless network settings in your PC or Surface tablet.

The message can happen because of technical glitches, you have changed the security key in the router, or driver or configuration problems. Follow these instructions to resolve Limited Connectivity or Limited Access error in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1:

How to fix Wi-Fi Limited Connectivity issue on Windows 8.1

Reset the Windows TCP/IP stack

Use the Windows key + X keyboard shortcut to bring up the Power User menu and choose Command Prompt (Admin).
Type the following command:
```
netsh int ip reset C:\ipresetlog.txt
```
Restart your Windows 8 PC and check if you can successfully connect to the wireless network.

If the method mentioned above did not solve the problem try deleting the wireless profile in question and connect again. It could be that something went wrong with the wireless security key (WEP or WPA 2) in the router or in your computer and you need to refresh.

Reset Wi-Fi network on Windows 8

Open the Settings menu using the Windows key + I keyboard shortcut and click the Network icon.
From the Wi-Fi section right-click and select Forget this network to delete the wireless profile that is causing the problem.
From the Network settings, turn off and on again the wireless adapter, and connect to the same network again.

Reset Wi-Fi network on Windows 8.1

As it turns out in the new version of the operating system, Microsoft has removed the menu to delete wireless profiles. As such, we can still do the same thing, but we’ll be using the Command Prompt.

Note: These steps should also work in Windows 7, Vista, and XP.

Use the Windows key +X keyboard shortcut to bring up the Power User menu and choose Command Prompt (Admin).

Enter the following command and press Enter:

netsh wlan delete profile name=type-wireless-profile-name

Try to reconnect to your network and the problem should be resolved.

Reset WinSock on Windows

If none of the above worked you can open once again the Windows Command Prompt and reset the WinSock, which is the Windows network software. Also, using this command, you’ll need to restart your PC:

netsh winsock reset catalog

Quick Tips:

Make sure Windows is using the latest wireless drivers. To get the latest network adapter drivers, check your PC maker website.
In my experience additional software to control a wireless adapter can cause conflicts. So one piece of advice, only install the driver and let Windows take control WLAN adapter.

Update: If after trying all of the above solutions, you still having Limited Connectivity problems, changing the following network settings could also help.

Note: Apparently the following changes works best for Surface RT devices. However, you can try this solution on any Windows 8.1 PC, including Surface Pro.

Open the Command Prompt as administrator.

Enter the following commands (one at a time) press Enter and OK on each one:

netsh int tcp set heuristics disabled
netsh int tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled
netsh int tcp set global rss=enabled

Enter following command to verify all the previous settings are disabled:
```
netsh int tcp show global
```
Restart your device and see try to connect to your network.

In case none of these fixes resolve the issue, I created another guide that deals fixing Wi-Fi problems in Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1.