How To Fix The Limited Wi-Fi Connectivity Issue On Microsoft Surface

After a long development cycle and some cheesy advertisements, both Windows 8 and the Surface RT tablet finally made their way to the consumers on October 26th 2012, apparently to mixed reaction from critics and users alike. Rather than encouraging the UI overhaul, various users have found the latest version of Windows to be schlocky and flawed. According to some recent reports, a number of Surface users (including ourselves) have been facing limited Wi-Fi connectivity issues since day one. The tablet sometimes shows ‘Limited Connectivity’ error in network status, thereby leaving you unable to use the internet unless you reconnect to the Wi-Fi router or access point. Although Microsoft has released an update to combat this issue, a lot of users are still facing the same conundrum. On the bright side, however, the issue can be easily fixed by following a few simple steps.

Disclaimer: Please be advised that the solution provided in this guide requires changing a few core Windows RT files on the Surface tablet, which may result in malfunctioning of the OS if things go wrong. Proceed at your own risk as AddictiveTips won’t be held responsible if your device gets harmed in the process.

To get started, go to the Start Screen by pressing the Win key on the tablet (alternatively, you may press the Win key on your Touch or Type cover). Now open the Search Charm by swiping from the right edge of the screen and type ‘cmd’ (without the quotes) in the search bar. Press and hold the ‘Command Prompt’ app in the search results, swipe down to bring up the app bar at the bottom, and tap the ‘Run as administrator’ button.

This in turn will open the Command Prompt window in the desktop running under administrator privileges. Now enter the following three commands one by one:

netsh int tcp set heuristics disabled

netsh int tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled

netsh int tcp set global rss=enabled

You will see an ‘Ok.’ confirmation after each of the aforementioned commands.

Next, type the following command and press Enter:

netsh int tcp show global

After entering this command, you will see the some output similar to what’s demonstrated in the screenshot below. Verify that all the settings are disabled, except for the few shown below as enabled or having other values.

Now close the command prompt window and reconnect to your internet Wi-Fi router. That’s all, we hope you won’t face the Limited Wi-Fi Connectivity error anymore.

Tried this hack on your Surface? How did the experience go? Don’t forget to let us know in the comments below.

[via Microsoft Answer]